Ben Stiller is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. Stiller has won the hearts of many people with his unique comedic and directorial skills, becoming one of the leading Hollywood entertainers. In this video, you’ll learn about the life of the popular comedy film star. Ben Stiller — how Zoolander
Lives and how he spends his millions Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller was born on November 30, 1965, in New York. His father, Jerry Stiller, was a comedian coming from a Polish Jewish family. His mother, Anne Meara, was an Irish Catholic but she converted to Judaism
After marrying Jerry. Although our hero’s parents didn’t stick to all religious rules, they still celebrated Hanukkah and Christmas. The family also celebrated Benjamin’s Bar Mitzvah (a ceremony commemorating a person’s spiritual maturity). The Stillers already had a four-year-old daughter Amy when Benjamin was born. The parents often brought their kids on set so
It’s no surprise they decided to follow in their parents’ footsteps and pursue an acting career. Ben showed interest in cinema production at an early age. He used to shoot movies on real 8mm film with his sister and friends when they were kids.
At 9 years old, Ben made his on-screen debut as a guest star in the TV series Kate McShane in which his mother also starred. In the late ‘70s, he performed with the New York City youth troupe
NYC’s First All Children’s Theater. At the same time, he went to the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine. Then he attended the Calhoun School which he graduated in 1983 knowing he wanted to do sketch comedy. The popular TV show Second City Television inspired him to choose this path.
By the way, music was another hobby he had in high school — he was a drummer for the post-punk band “Capital Punishment”. Even though the band didn’t make it to the top, the members made themselves names in other spheres. The group reunited for their 30th high school graduation anniversary.
Soon after that, they released the mini-album “This is Capital Punishment” to celebrate it. After finishing high school, Ben performed as an opening act to Jadin Wong, a burlesque artist. Then he enrolled at the film school at the University of California in Los Angeles,
But he dropped out nine months later and came back to New York. There he signed up for acting classes, went to auditions, and tried to find an agent. In the summer, he worked as a waiter in a restaurant frequented by celebrities.
Apart from cinema, the young artist was also into theater. You could say that his acting journey started on the theater stage. Benjamin managed to grab critics’ attention with his performance in a production of The House of Blue Leaves by John Guare. He shared the stage with
John Mahoney. The production was a success and received four Tony Awards. Many years later, Stiller was cast in another production of the play, only for a different role. At the same period, the actor decided to try his hand at directing and filmed the
10-minute mockumentary The Hustler of Money. The parody of Martin Scorsesee’s film The Color Of Money was featured in one of the episodes of the TV show Saturday Night Live. Meanwhile, our hero appeared in episodes of the TV series Miami Vice and American Playhouse.
During that time, the up-and-coming actor made his debut on the silver screen: he was cast in the adventure movie Hot Pursuit and the war drama Empire of the Sun by Steven Spielberg. In 1988, Ben played a supporting role in the drama Fresh Horses. A year later,
He appeared in the comedy That’s Adequate, the action movie Next of Kin, and the short comedy film Elvis Stories which he also wrote. During that time, he also joined the crew of the TV show Saturday Night Live as host and writer. However the show executives didn’t want Stiller
To keep on doing short films, so he left after four episodes. In the early ‘90s, Ben’s filmography was enriched by roles in the drama Stella, the comedy TV film Working Tra$h, and the adventure movie Highway to Hell. He also
Shot a music video for the song “Going Back to Brooklyn” starring the comedian Colin Quinn. Back at the time, it was rumored that he dated the actress Janeane Garofalo. After that, he was in a relationship with Jeanne Tripplehorn. The couple
Even got engaged but there was never a wedding as they broke up in 1996. In 1992, Stiller made a short uncredited appearance in the comedy The Nutt House. He also created the sketch comedy show The Ben Stiller Show and became its writer, director,
And producer. The show aired on MTV for a year and then moved to Fox. Together with Judd Apatow, another comedian who worked on the show, they put together a small cast. Amy, the elder sister of our hero, was a frequent guest on the show. Among numerous guest stars, there
Were even their parents. Despite being a hit with critics, the show often got low ratings. After the show was closed, it received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program. In 1993, he did his first voiceover gig: his voice appeared in an episode of the
Animated family TV series 2 Stupid Dogs and an episode of the sitcom Frasier. After that, Ben played a leading role in the romcom Reality Bites which he also directed. His mother Anne Meara was cast in the project as well. The movie was filmed in Austin,
Huston, in 42 days and was welcomed by the audience. In the mid-‘90s, Stiller played the leading role in the kid’s comedy movie Heavyweights. He also voiced an episode of the animated sitcom Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man. In 1996, the actor appeared in the romantic movie If Lucy Fell, the comedy Flirting with Disaster,
Episodes of the comedy TV sitcom Mr. Show with Bob and David and the TV show NewsRadio. Apart from that, he made a cameo as a manager in the romcom Happy Gilmore and kept on the directorial work filming the movie The Cable Guy starring Jim Carrey. At first,
Stiller wanted to play the main role of the Cable Guy himself, but he ended up with another role. The movie received mixed reviews but there was still a win for Stiller: he linked with Jack Black and Owen Wilson, members of a group of comedian actors referred to as Frat
Pack. Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Steve Carell are also a part of the group. Meanwhile, MTV invited our hero to host the VH1 Fashion Awards. He filmed a sketch about a male model named Derek Zoolander. Since the audience loved the sketch,
The actor brought the character back for another sketch at the 1997 VH1 Fashion Awards, which became a prototype of a feature film that went out later. Apart from that, Ben was a guest star in the television sitcom The Larry Sanders Show and the iconic sitcom Friends.
In 1998, Stiller co-starred with Cameron Diaz in the film by the Farrelly brothers There’s Something About Mary. He got $3 million for the role, an MTV Award for Best Fight, and three more nominations. By the way, the artist says this is his favorite movie he starred in.
That same year, he appeared in the detective film Zero Effect, dramedies Your Friends and Neighbors and Permanent Midnight. He also voiced an episode of the animated TV comedy series Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. Meanwhile, Stiller founded the production company “Red Hour Productions” with the producer Stuart
Cornfeld. As for personal life, back at the time, Ben dated the actress Amanda Peet, but their relationship wasn’t serious and lasted only a few months. Nevertheless, they are apparently still friends. He also had a relationship with model Rhea Durham. In 1999, according to rumors, the actor had a fling with Calista Flockhart.
Meanwhile, he appeared in the dramedy The Suburbans, the criminal drama Black and White, and the action fantasy comedy Mystery Men. Ben also voiced the main character in the animated movie Hooves of Fire and went back to directing with a parody TV series
Heat Vision and Jack for the Fox channel. The project was canceled after the pilot aired. On the bright side, Benjamin met the love of his life while working on the project — actress Christine Taylor. That same year, the actor spoke out about living with bipolar disorder in an interview for the first time.
In 2000, Stiller was cast in the comedy The Independent, the romcom Keeping the Faith, and the music video for Limp Bizkit’s “Air Raid Vehicle”. MTV wanted Ben to create another short film and he came up with Mission:Improbable: a parody of Tom Cruise
In Mission Impossible 2 and his other movies. Apart from that, he made a cameo in an episode of the comedy TV show Freaks and Geeks and portrayed one of his most famous roles: male nurse Gaylord “Greg” Focker in the romcom Meet the Parents. Jay Roach’s movie was welcomed by critics and
Grossed more than $330 million with a budget of $55 million. The cast was nominated for an MTV Award for Best On-Screen Team, while Stiller received the award for Best Comedic Performance. May 13 was a special day in the life of our hero as he married his love,
Christine Taylor. The wedding ceremony took place in Kauai, Hawaii. The love birds spent their honeymoon in Indonesia and Australia. In 2001, Stiller shot his third feature film, the comedy Zoolander where he played Derek Zoolander. The movie, which Ben also produced,
Was banned in Malaysia as it depicted a plan to assassinate the prime minister of the country. He received a paycheck of $2.5 million and three MTV Awards nominations. Fun fact: Stiller Sr. also appeared in the movie. He jokingly complained about his son treating him
Like a regular actor on set, but at the same time, he was proud of his son being so professional. The signature Ben Stiller look with pursed lips was inspired by real life. It was a face he used to
Make every time he looked in the mirror and fixed his hair or something like that. It was not until Ben’s wife pointed this idiosyncrasy out that he decided to use it in the comedy. After that, Ben co-starred with Owen Wilson in Wes Anderson’s project The Royal Tenenbaums.
That same year, Ben went on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and won $32 thousand for a charity Project ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) that he advocates for. Then, viewers could witness the actor in the youth comedy Orange County and an episode of
The sitcom Undeclared. During that time, the actor also voiced an episode of The Simpsons, the animated film Legend of the Lost Tribe, three episodes of the adventure animated TV series Liberty’s Kids, and made a cameo in the TV show The King of Queens.
On April 9, 2002, Stiller tried himself in a whole new role — he became a father to a baby girl whom the happy parents named Ella Olivia. In 2003, the new father produced the black comedy Duplex which he also starred in. He was also an executive producer
For the comedy Crooked Lines and made a short appearance in the movie Nobody Knows Anything! In 2004, Stiller was nominated for Worst Actor at the Golden Raspberry Award for five movies out of six he appeared in: Along Came Polly, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Envy,
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and Starsky & Hutch. By the way, he produced two of the latter projects. However, MTV acknowledged Stiller’s performance in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story with an Award for Best Villain. MTV also nominated the movie Along
Came Polly for Best Dance Sequence and the cast of Starsky & Hutch for Best On-Screen Team. The comedy Meet the Fockers was another success and earned the actor $10 million. That same year, he voiced an episode of the animated TV series King of the Hill
And appeared as a guest star in the TV shows Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development. In 2005, Benjamin and his wife Christine welcomed their second child together, a son they named Quinlin Dempsey. Our hero also voiced a character in the animated movie
Madagascar. Meanwhile, he appeared in two episodes of the TV show Extras, scoring an Emmy nomination. In 2006, the star had small parts in the comedies School for Scoundrels, Danny Roane: First Time Director, and Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, which he also
Executive produced. In December, Ben starred in the hit family comedy Night at the Museum. In 2007, Stiller co-starred with Malin Åkerman in the romcom The Heartbreak Kid, produced the sports comedy Blades of Glory, and voiced an elf in the Christmas TV film
Elmo’s Christmas Countdown. According to Forbes, Stiller garnered $38 million from the projects. In 2008, Ben directed, co-wrote, and co-produced the movie Tropic Thunder. The dark comedy starred Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, and our hero. Fun fact: the idea came to him back in 1987,
While he was filming for Empire of the Sun. The movie premiered on August 11 in California, two days before the theatrical release. More than two hundred disability rights activists protested the movie premiere due to it being derogatory to people with mental disabilities. Because
Of this, the movie premiered in a private screening with a lot of security guards. Stiller’s next projects were voicing Alex the Lion in the animated movie Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and executive producing the horror The Ruins. In 2009, Ben appeared in the movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. After that,
He starred in the comedy The Marc Pease Experience; and worked as an executive producer on the documentary The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story. He directed and produced the TV film The Station, voiced the animated movie Merry Madagascar, and won the MTV Generation Award.
2010 was even more eventful: viewers could see Ben make a cameo appearance in Joaquin Phoenix’s mockumentary I’m Still Here. He also appeared in the documentary project In Search of Ted Demme and starred in the comedy drama Greenberg which made his bank account $6 million heavier.
Apart from that, he reprised the role of Greg Focker in the controversial yet commercially successful movie Little Fockers, for which he earned $20 million. Stiller also made a cameo in the movie and TV series The Trip. He appeared in the romcom Submarine, of which he also was the executive producer. He continued
His journey as an executive producer working on and voicing the animated movie Megamind. Another voicing project was the animated TV series Phineas and Ferb. That same year, Ben was diagnosed with Lyme disease, while Time magazine added Ben to the list of the 100
Most Influential People in the World. In 2011, he appeared in the criminal comedy Tower Heist alongside Eddie Murphy and other stars. The main role of Josh Kovaks, the building manager of the apartment complex The Tower, made our hero $15 million richer.
Meanwhile, he produced the action movie 30 Minutes or Less, 10 episodes of the reality TV drama Next Time on Lonny, and the comedy The Big Year, earning $1 million for the latter. Apart from that, Stiller made an appearance in the sketch show Funny or Die Presents… and
Received the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy at the BAFTA Awards. In 2012, the hero of our video appeared in an episode of the comedy TV series Eagleheart and the movie The Watch. Once again, he voiced Alex the Lion in the animated movie Madagascar 3:
Europe’s Most Wanted and worked as an executive producer of 29 episodes of the TV series Burning Love. The show aired for two years and Ben appeared in four episodes. The $33 million the actor earned over the year made him one of the top five highest-paid actors according to Forbes.
The next year, Stiller treated the fans to the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty which he directed and starred in. After that, he joined the crew of the TV series The Birthday Boys, appearing in one episode and producing ten episodes. In the same period,
Ben Stiller appeared in a commercial for the Japanese fruit beer Kirin and imprinted his hands and feet at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The actor was joined by his wife Christine, their kids, and fellow actor Tom Cruise who’s been his friend since 1996.
In 2014, Ben starred in two movies: the fantasy film Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb and the dramedy While We’re Young. He dedicated the rest of his time to producing 22 episodes of the stand-up TV project The Meltdown with Jonah and
Kumail which was canceled in 2016. In June, Stiller was diagnosed with prostate cancer which he beat in September of the same year. In 2015, the actor’s mother passed away after suffering a stroke. During that time, he was working on various TV series including Workaholics, Big Time in Hollywood, FL,
And Another Period. Apart from filming for the projects, he was the executive producer in the two latter ones. He also worked as the executive producer on the improvisation comedy TV show Crash Test: With Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer. During the spring Paris Fashion Week, the movie
Zoolander 2 was announced. It happened at the Valentino fashion show, with Stiller and Wilson walking the runway dressed as their characters. The sequel to Zoolander premiered in February 2016. The artist set the Guinness World Record for the longest selfie stick at the
Movie premiere. He used a 28 ft 1 inch selfie stick to take a picture of him and the cast. It’s funny that every time before starting a project, Ben would gather the cast and the filming crew and give an inspiring speech. After that, he would stomp on a glass which is a
Jewish wedding tradition. While performing the ritual before getting to work on Zoolander 2, he stepped on the glass and its fragment pierced the sole of his shoe, cutting his heel. Stiller said that it was probably a bad sign for the project: the movie eventually grossed
$56 million with a budget of $50 million and received six Golden Raspberry nominations. That same year, our hero appeared in the comedy drama Don’t Think Twice and an episode of the TV series Haters Back Off! In 2017, our hero starred in dramedies The
Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) and Brad’s Status. His personal life wasn’t smooth sailing: after 17 years of marriage, he separated from his wife. However, they stayed friends and never filed for divorce; Ben and Christine never dated anyone during that time. On July 2, 2018, the celebrity
Was named Goodwill Ambassador for The United Nations refugee agency. Earlier, Stiller went on a trip with UNHCR to meet with refugees from Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. As a producer, he worked on the teen comedy The Package, the romantic comedy Alex Strangelove,
And the mini TV series inspired by real-life events Escape at Dannemora. He also directed the latter. After that, he went on to produce the romcom Plus One and 51 episodes of the TV series In the Dark which was canceled in 2022, and other projects. In 2020, Stiller appeared in the comedy Sarah Cooper:
Everything’s Fine and the comedy detective Hubie Halloween. He also produced the dramedy Friendsgiving, the documentary Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics, the dark comedy Dinner in America, and the reality TV show Celebrity Escape Room. In July, Ben hosted a charity event on Zoom in support of NHS and initiatives
Combating racial injustice. During the call, famous comedy actors did a table read of an unproduced Stiller’s project from the ‘90s. By the way, during the lockdown, Ben moved into his wife’s house to stay with his family. Having spent some time together, they were
Able to patch things up. Unfortunately, the father of our hero, Jerry Stiller, passed that same year. In 2021, it was announced that Ben would direct, write, and produce an on-screen adaptation of the podcast “Bag Man”: the project that looks into the bribery scandal that led to
The resignation of the US Vice President Spiro Agnew. The movie is currently in pre-production. In the meantime, in 2021, Stiller appeared in the romantic comedy heist movie Locked Down. In 2022, Stiller made a cameo appearance in the movie Bros,
Had a supporting role in the comedy drama Bleeker, and directed the TV series Severance. In June, the actor with UNHCR visited Poland to meet families of Ukrainian refugees. Several hours later, he was seen in Lviv and then Kyiv where he spoke with Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
Showing support for Ukraine and standing against the violence of Russia. He also visited the town of Irpin where war crimes of the Russian army took place. In November, Ben Stiller and John Travolta starred in the ad for the game God of War: Ragnarok.
2023 brought the celebrity some new gigs: voicing an episode of the animated sitcom Krapopolis and producing the TV series High Desert. In February, Stiller reprised his iconic role of Zoolander for a Pepsi Super Bowl commercial. Currently, Ben is filming a TV series based on the novel by Gary Shteyngart “Super Sad True Love
Story”. He’s also preparing to film the thriller London starring Oscar Isaac and working on a documentary about his parents. Apart from that, there’s a sequel to Dodgeball in the works. Stiller is a vigorous environmental activist supporting environmental protection organizations.
By the way, the actor went vegan for his health. He also supports some charity organizations, including the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and Starlight Children’s Foundation. Ben takes an interest in politics and stands with the Democrats. The celebrity loves the art of photography and has even displayed his works at a photo
Exhibition. His favorite actress of all time is Diane Keaton. The star’s net worth is said to be $200 million. A fortune like this allows Stiller to invest not only in film production but also in real estate. One of the first biggest items he ever bought was
A Mediterranean mansion he purchased in 1999 for $1 million 825 thousand. In 2008, Ben and his wife bought an apartment in New York for $10 million. In 2013, they put it on sale for $9.6 million. The Manhattan apartment has a stunning view of
The Hudson River. The duplex has five bedrooms, with the master bedroom on the first floor, and 5 and a half bathrooms. The other four bedrooms were designed for the son and the daughter of the couple. There’s also a huge living room, a cozy media room,
And an eat-in kitchen equipped with high-class appliances. Aside from that, there are also staff rooms and a staff entrance. The duplex was sold in 2013 for $9 million. In 2016, our hero purchased a luxurious apartment in West Village in New York for $15.3 million.
The open-space apartment has a spacious living room and a family dining zone, an eat-in kitchen equipped with modern kitchen appliances and a breakfast bar. There are also four bedrooms, 4 and a half bathrooms, and a study. The residents of the apartment complex have access to a hot tub,
An indoor swimming pool, a gym, and plenty of outdoor space. In 2022, Ben decided to sell the apartment overviewing the Hudson river. He lost some money on the deal, earning $14.5 million. In 2011, he and his wife sold their long-time Los Angeles residence to
Jason Statham for $7.3 million, although the original price was $11.5 million. The 4,800-square-foot Italian-style villa is beautifully landscaped and has a swimming pool. Inside there’s a wonderful terrace, an open kitchen filled with light, 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, and a home cinema. The main recurrent theme in the house is the dark wood.
According to sources, the Stillers still co-own a 13.8-acre piece of land on a cliff in Hawaii, which they bought in 2002 for $8.5 million, and a 32-acre property in Chappaqua, New York. They bought the latter in 2010 for $10 million. On the huge territory, there’s a three-floor
7,200-square-foot mansion. There’s also a hall with front stairs and hardwood floors, a formal living room, and a dining room with fireplaces. The early 20th century building was renovated but they never touched the facade and the columns. Onsite there’s a fenced swimming pool with a
Small house near it, a kid’s playground, a huge gym, a tennis court, and a two-hole golf course. And now, let’s take a virtual look at the car collection of Zoolander. He started out with simple cars: Ford Taurus and Fiat 500 X. As years went by,
Ben upgraded his collection. The actor and his wife were seen driving a Mercedes CLS Class worth around $73 thousand. He also owns a Maserati Quattroporte and a Jaguar XJ. After going to the premiere of Iron Man in 2009 on a rented Audi Q7, the actor bought the same car a year later.
When talking about his craft, the artist states that he finds directorial work more exciting than acting. Apart from that, Ben’s family and their support mean everything to him. In dozens of years of his career, he showed versatility, a comedic approach, and acting mastery in a wide
Variety of big screen and TV projects. His iconic characters in the movies Zoolander and Meet the Parents have secured Stiller a spot as one of the favorite and recognizable Hollywood stars. Which of his movies do you like? Share in the comments!
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