Judd Apatow Biography

With both parents devoted to his obsession with comedy, Apatow got his first taste of showbiz when he hosted a program called "Club Comedy" on his high school's 10-watt radio station. He began performing stand-up at age 17 and, after graduating high school in 1985, headed west for the University of Southern California's screenwriting program. He found himself writing jokes for name comedians, which led to writing for television and an eventual Emmy win. The leap to the silver screen was a short and very successful one as he is best known for writing and directing the comedies The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and Knocked Up (2007) as well as producing Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) and Superbad (2007), essentially turning his comedic sensibility into its own brand.


1. He describes his childhood as nerdy but tranquil.
2. His father was a real estate developer, and his mother worked at a comedy club in Southampton, N.Y.
3. His childhood hero was comedian Steve Martin.
4. He dropped out of the USC screenwriting program after two years and moved into an apartment with comedian Adam Sandler, whom he met at the Improv.
5. He is married to actress Leslie Mann whom he met on the set of The Cable Guy and who starred in both The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.


"My way of dealing with the world has always been to make fun of it and observe it but not take part in it. That's how I became a writer. But when you have kids, suddenly you have to be part of things. It leads almost to a breakdown because your whole defense mechanism is now really destructive."
— The New York Times, 2007


Wife: Leslie Mann, actress; married 1997
Daughters: Maude; Iris


Drillbit Taylor - (2008 ) - Producer
Forgetting Sarah Marshall - (2008) - Producer
Pineapple Express - (2008) - Producer
You Don't Mess with the Zohan - (2008) - Screenwriter
Step Brothers - (2008) - Producer
View all films


http://www.myspace.com/juddapatow