Ben Stiller

Growing Up

Benjamin Edward Stiller was born November 30, 1965 in New York City to famous comedy team parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Ben has one older sister, Amy.

Growing up in a show business family, Stiller was no stranger to the celebrity life. His parents took Ben and his sister on television sets and his first TV appearance was at age six on The Mike Douglas Show.

Early Acting, Directing

As a child, Stiller experimented with Super 8 movie making, honing his talent as a budding director, no doubt. His first acting role was on the television series Kate McShane at 10 years old. His mother, Ann Meara, starred on the show.

Other childhood roles included performances with NYC’s First All Children’s Theater.

Stiller attended film school at the University of California in Los Angeles, but left after nine months. Back in New York City, Stiller attended acting classes and snagged a role in the Broadway show The House of Blue Leaves, starring John Mahoney.

Short Films

Ben Stiller’s first short film was a spoof on The Color of Money, called The Hustler of Money and starred Stiller in the Tom Cruise role and Mahoney as the Paul Newman character. The film focused on the characters as bowling hustlers versus the original film’s pool hustlers. The Hustler of Money aired on Saturday Night Live in 1987. In 1989, Stiller was offered a writer position at Saturday Night Live – he worked as a writer and featured performer on SNL for five shows.

Other short films included Elvis Stories, starring John Cusack, Jeremy Piven, Mike Myers, Andy Dick and Jeff Kahn and the MTV film Back to Brooklyn.

Television Show

In 1990, Stiller was offered a 13-episode show on MTV, called The Ben Stiller Show, which parodied a variety of TV shows and films. The show was canceled after one season.

Fox offered Stiller the opportunity to do The Ben Stiller Show again in 1992 (which starred Andy Dick, Janeane Garofolo and Bob Odenkirk) and while just 12 episodes aired, it was a critically acclaimed fan favorite. The show won an Emmy for “Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program" after its cancellation.

Film Roles

While Ben Stiller had small roles in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun, as well as Fresh Horses, Stella and Highway to Hell, his film career began to grow with parts in:

• Reality Bites (1994)
• Heavyweights (1995)
• If Lucy Fell (1996)
• Flirting with Disaster (1996)
• There’s Something About Mary (1998)
• Zero Effect (1998)
• Your Friends & Neighbors (1998)
• Permanent Midnight (1998)
• Mystery Men (1999)
• Meet the Parents (2000)
• The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
• Duplex (2003)

The comedy There’s Something About Mary, co-starring Cameron Diaz, was the film that made Stiller a household name.

In 2004, Stiller starred in Starsky & Hutch, Envy, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Along Came Polly and Meet the Fockers.

In 2005, Stiller provided his vocal talents for the animated film Madagascar.

Recent Ben Stiller films include 2006's Night at the Museum and 2007's The Heartbreak Kid.

Stiller as Director

Ben Stiller has also directed a number of films, including:

• Reality Bites (1994)
• The Cable Guy (1996)
• Zoolander (2001)
• Tropic Thunder (2008)

Upcoming Films

Ben Stiller can be seen (or heard) in these upcoming movies:

• Madagascar 2: The Crate Escape
• The Smurfs
• Tropic Thunder
• The Marc Pease Experience
• Hardy Men
• Night at the Museum 2: Escape from the Smithsonian

Personal Life

Ben Stiller has been linked with many actresses, including Jeanne Tripplehorn, Janeane Garofalo, Calista Flockhart and Amanda Peet.

Stiller married actress Christine Taylor in 2000. The couple met when they filmed a Fox pilot that never aired, called Heat Vision and Jack. They have a daughter, Ella Olivia and a son, Quinlin Dempsey.

Ben Stiller Facts

• Ben Stiller has hosted MTV’s Music Video Awards and provided a number of short films for various MTV awards, including the Tom Cruise spoof, Mission: Improbable.
• He co-starred with his dad on the television show King of Queens, playing his father’s character, Arthur, in a flashback.
• Stiller is part of the “Frat Pack,” which includes Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson and Steve Carell.