Ben Stiller was born Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller on November 30, 1965, in New York City. He is an American actor, director, producer, and writer.
Stiller comes from a comedy dynasty and has built a career spanning film, television, and streaming.
Who is Ben Stiller?
Ben Stiller works across acting, writing, directing, and producing. He first gained wide recognition for his comic roles before shifting more heavily into serious directing work.
His comedy often centers on neurotic, anxious characters caught in awkward situations. Stiller built that style through decades of film roles alongside a growing career behind the camera.
In recent years, he has become known for directing and executive producing the Apple TV+ series Severance. That show has become one of the most acclaimed dramas on television.
Early Life of Ben Stiller
Stiller grew up in New York City as the son of comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, who performed together as the duo Stiller and Meara. His parents were regulars on The Ed Sullivan Show and brought their children along to their comedy sets.
He has one sibling, his older sister Amy Stiller, who also became an actor. Growing up around performers shaped his early interest in filmmaking.
At age ten, Stiller received an eight-millimeter camera from his family. He used it to make amateur short films, often spoofing major Hollywood movies.
He attended the Calhoun School in New York City. Stiller later enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, to study film but left after about nine months to pursue acting in New York.
Ben Stiller Age
Ben Stiller is 60 years old as of 2026, born on November 30, 1965. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius.
He has spent more than four decades working in entertainment since his stage debut in the 1980s. Stiller has increasingly focused on directing television in the years since turning 55.
Ben Stiller Ethnicity and Nationality
Stiller holds American nationality and was born in New York City. He comes from a Jewish family, with his father Jerry Stiller being a Polish Jew and his mother Anne Meara an Irish Catholic who converted to Judaism.
That mixed heritage shaped much of his upbringing in New York. Stiller has spoken about growing up immersed in his parents’ comedic and cultural world.
Ben Stiller Height and Weight
Ben Stiller stands at approximately 5 feet 7 inches, or about 1.70 meters. His exact current weight is not publicly confirmed.
He has often used his physical presence and expressive face for comic effect on screen. Stiller’s intense stares and awkward body language became signatures of his comedic characters.
Ben Stiller Education
Stiller attended the Calhoun School in New York City, graduating in the early 1980s. He then enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles to study film.
He left UCLA after roughly nine months. Stiller chose instead to pursue acting and filmmaking opportunities directly in New York theater.
Ben Stiller Career
Stiller made his Broadway debut in 1986 in The House of Blue Leaves, appearing alongside John Mahoney. During that production, he created a short parody film that caught the attention of television producers.
Early Career
Stiller’s parody short of Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money aired on Saturday Night Live in 1987. Two years later, the show hired him as a writer and performer, though he only appeared in a handful of episodes before leaving.
He then moved to MTV, where he developed short comedic video projects. Those projects led Fox to give him his own show, The Ben Stiller Show, in 1992.
The series ran only briefly but won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program in 1993. It also helped launch the careers of cast members like Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk.
Breakthrough and Major Films
Stiller made his feature directorial debut with Reality Bites in 1994, followed by The Cable Guy in 1996. He then co-starred with Cameron Diaz in There’s Something About Mary in 1998, which became a major commercial hit.
That same year, he also appeared in Zero Effect, Your Friends and Neighbors, and Permanent Midnight. In 2000, Stiller starred in Meet the Parents alongside Robert De Niro, a role he later reprised in two sequels.
He directed and starred in Zoolander in 2001, then appeared in six films during 2004 alone, including Along Came Polly, Dodgeball, and Starsky and Hutch. He voiced a lion in the animated Madagascar franchise starting in 2005 and starred in the box-office hit Night at the Museum in 2006.
In 2008, Stiller directed and starred in Tropic Thunder alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black. He directed, produced, and starred in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in 2013, a personal passion project.
Recent Work
Stiller shifted increasingly toward television directing in the late 2010s. He directed the Showtime limited series Escape at Dannemora in 2018, earning a DGA Award for his work and multiple Emmy nominations.
He went on to direct and executive produce Severance for Apple TV+, which premiered in 2022. The show’s second season, released in 2025, earned 27 Emmy nominations, the most of any series that year.
Stiller also took smaller acting roles in comedies including Hubie Halloween in 2020 and Bros in 2022. He appeared in Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore 2, which premiered on Netflix in July 2025.
Ben Stiller Awards and Recognition
Stiller won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1993 for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program on The Ben Stiller Show. He later earned multiple Emmy nominations for directing Escape at Dannemora and Severance.
At the Television Academy’s 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards, Stiller received nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series for Severance, though he did not win either award that year. He also won a Directors Guild of America Award in 2019 for directing Escape at Dannemora.
Stiller has received thirteen MTV Movie Award nominations across his career, winning three. Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals also named him Man of the Year in 2007.
Ben Stiller Wife
Ben Stiller dated actresses including Jeanne Tripplehorn, Calista Flockhart, and Amanda Peet earlier in his career. He met actress Christine Taylor in 1999 while directing the Fox sitcom Heat Vision and Jack, in which she starred.
The couple married in 2000 in Kauai, Hawaii. They share two children together.
After 17 years of marriage, Stiller and Taylor announced their separation in 2017. The pair later reconciled during the COVID-19 pandemic after quarantining together with their children, making their reunion official in 2022.
They have since made joint public appearances, including at the 2025 Emmy Awards and the 2026 Met Gala. Stiller has spoken openly about how the separation and reconciliation changed his appreciation for the marriage.
Ben Stiller Children
Stiller and Taylor have two children, daughter Ella Olivia Stiller and son Quinlin Dempsey Stiller. Ella pursued acting, while Quinlin has largely stayed outside the public eye.
Both children were present during their parents’ pandemic-era reconciliation. The family has since appeared together at select public events.
Ben Stiller Net Worth
Ben Stiller’s estimated net worth is $200 million as of 2026. His wealth comes mainly from decades of acting, directing, producing, and box office earnings.
He also runs Red Hour Productions, his own production company. Stiller and Taylor own real estate holdings that include a longtime property in Hawaii and land in Chappaqua, New York.
Ben Stiller Social Media
Stiller is active on Instagram under the handle @benstiller. He also posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, under the same handle.
He regularly shares updates related to his film and television projects on these platforms. Stiller also comments on sports and current events through his social accounts.
The Bottom Line
Ben Stiller directed and executive produced Severance, which earned 27 Emmy nominations for its second season in 2025. His earlier film work includes There’s Something About Mary in 1998 and Zoolander in 2001, both of which he helped shape as director and star.
Stiller grew up immersed in comedy as the son of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. He built his own reputation playing tightly wound, anxious characters across three decades of film comedy.
He continues directing television while taking select film roles, including a part in Happy Gilmore 2 in 2025. Stiller remains married to Christine Taylor, with whom he shares two children.
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