Ben Stiller
Stiller was born in New York City. His father, Jerry Stiller, is Jewish and his mother Anne Meara, who is of Irish Catholic background, converted to Judaism after marrying his father. His parents frequently took him on the sets of their appearances, including an appearance on The Mike Douglas Show when he was six. He admitted in an interview that he considered his childhood unusual: "In some ways, it was a show-business upbringing—a lot of traveling, a lot of late nights—not what you'd call traditional." His sister, actress Amy Stiller, has made appearances in many of his productions, including The Ben Stiller Show as the Bride of Frankenstein, Reality Bites as a psychic phone operator, and most recently, Tropic Thunder as a script supervisor. He displayed an early interest in film making and made Super 8 movies with his sister and friends. At 10 years old, he made his acting debut as a guest on his mother's television series Kate McShane. In the late 1970s he performed with the New York City troupe NYC's First All Children's Theater, performing in several roles, including the title role in Clever Jack and the Magic Beanstalk. After being inspired by the television show Second City Television while in high school, Stiller realized that he wanted to get involved with sketch comedy. Stiller attended the Cathedral School in and graduated from the Calhoun School in New York in 1983. He started performing on the cabaret circuit as opening act to the cabaret siren Jadin Wong. Stiller then enrolled as a film student at the University of California, Los Angeles and joined Beta Theta Pi fraternity. After nine months, Stiller left school to move back to New York City. He made his way through acting classes, auditioning, and trying to find an agent. After beginning his acting career with a play, Stiller wrote several mockumentaries, and was offered two of his own shows, both entitled The Ben Stiller Show. After acting in a few films, Stiller had his directorial debut with Reality Bites, and has since written, starred in, directed, and/or produced over fifty films and television shows. His films have grossed more than $2.1 billion, with an average of $78 million per film. In 2008, he starred in the film Tropic Thunder, which he also co-wrote, co-produced, and directed. Stiller is a member of the comedic acting brotherhood colloquially known as the Frat Pack. With multiple cameos in music videos, television shows, and films, he may be best known for his roles in There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Tropic Thunder and Night at the Museum. Throughout his career, he has received several awards and honors including an Emmy Award, several MTV Movie Awards, and a Teen Choice Award.
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer.
Ben Stiller dated several actresses during his early television and film career including Jeanne Tripplehorn, Calista Flockhart, and Amanda Peet. In May 2000, Stiller married Christine Taylor, whom he met while filming a never-broadcast television pilot for the Fox Broadcasting network called Heat Vision and Jack, which starred Jack Black.The couple appeared onscreen together in Zoolander, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and Tropic Thunder. He and Taylor reside in Hollywood Hills and have a daughter, Ella Olivia, born April 10, 2002, and a son, Quinlin Dempsey, born July 10, 2005.
In a 1999 interview with GQ and later in a 2001 interview with Hollywood.com, Stiller stated that he has bipolar disorder, an illness he said that ran in his family. Ben himself states, "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. Our family has publicly gone into therapy, so that's out in the open."
Although Ben's mother, who was originally Catholic, converted to Judaism and Ben was purportedly raised in a Jewish home, there is no indication that he has maintained a connection with his Jewish roots. Indeed, I could not find anything on what Ben Stiller believes today. Please pray with me this week that Ben Stiller will meet the Lord in a new way!