Comprehensive information and links about Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller (born November 30, 1965 in New York CityBen Stiller is an American comedian, actor, and film director. Stiller is the son of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, both of whom are veteran comedians and actors.

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He grew up in up in Manhattan, the second child of his famous comedy parents, who frequently took him on the sets of their appearances. His interest in filmmaking was early, making Super 8 movies with his sister and friends. At ten years old, he made his acting debut as a guest on his mother's series .

In 1983, he enrolled as a film student at the University of California, Los Angeles. Stiller lasted nine months before dropping out to relocate back to New York City as he made his way through acting classes, auditioning and trying to find an agent.

He landed a role in the Broadway revival of John Guare's , alongside John Mahoney, a play which later garnered four Tonys. During its run, Stiller produced a satirical mockumentary whose principal was fellow actor Mahoney. His comedic work was so well received that he followed up with a 10 minute short called "The Hustler of Money," a parody of the Martin Scorsese film featuring him in a send-up of Tom Cruise's Vince character and Mahoney in the Paul Newman role-- only this time as a bowling hustler instead of a pool shark. The short got the attention of Saturday Night Live, which aired it in 1987, and two years later offered him a spot as a writer.

In 1989, Stiller wrote and appeared on a season of Saturday Night Live as a featured performer. He was offered his own vehicle on MTV as host and performer in a self-titled comedy sketch show, which led to The Ben Stiller Show on the Fox Network in 1992. The show lasted 12 episodes on FOX-- with a thirteenth unaired episode broadcast by Comedy Central in a later revival. Throughout its short run, the Ben Stiller Show frequently appeared at the bottom of the ratings, even as it garnered critical acclaim, eventually winning the Emmy for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program" after it was cancelled. The show also starred (and launched the careers of) his frequent collaborators Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo, and Bob Odenkirk.

Stiller directed both was well-received, showing he could be a bankable star both behind the camera as well as in front of it.

In the parody self-help book they co-authored, , he and frequent co-star Janeane Garofalo wrote about, as they put it, their "train wreck of a relationship", but it was done with a tongue in cheek . During much of the 1990s, he was involved with actress Jeanne Tripplehorn.

Among his film credits include a tyrannical nursing home employee in

Personal

In May 2000, Stiller married Christine Taylor, whom he met while filming a never-broadcast television pilot for the FOX network called , starring Jack Black. He and Taylor have a daughter, Ella Olivia, born April 10, 2002, and a son, Quinlin Dempsey, born July 10, 2005.

Amy Stiller, his older sister, is also an actress.

Princeton University's Class of 2005 inducted Stiller as an honorary member of the class during its "Senior Week" in April, 2005.

Stiller frequently does spot-on impersonations of many of his favorite performers, including U2's Bono, Tom Cruise and Bruce Springsteen.Stiller struggles with bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. After letting off unexplained mood changes of aggressivity and happiness during the making of , he was quoted as saying, "I have not been an easygoing guy. I think it's called bipolar manic depression. I've got a rich history of that in my family."Stiller appeared in the second season of Arrested Development as fictional magician "Tony Wonder" in the episode titled "Sword of Destiny." He also appeared in a recent episode (episode 9, season 3) of Arrested Development for a small cameo of the same role.