Seinfeld

Background:

Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award winning comedian Jerry Seinfeld first enjoyed the spotlight in the early 1980s when he had a successful spot on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” which he followed up with appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman" and "The Merv Griffin Show.”

In the late 1980s, Seinfeld struck gold when he and one-time colleague Larry David were invited to co-create a sitcom for NBC called “Seinfeld,” in which Seinfeld also starred as a semi-fictional version of himself. The successful sitcom ran from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, and received awards and nominations in various categories throughout the mid-90s. Seinfeld also released the book "SeinLanguage" (1993) and “Halloween” (2003, also by James Bennett).

In 2007, Seinfeld wrote, produced, and voiced the main character in the Golden Globe nominated CGI animated film "Bee Movie," which featured the voices of Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Megan Mullally, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, and Patrick Warburton.

As for his private life, this 5' 11" comic with impeccable neatness, unflappable confidence, and observational humor has been married to Jessica Sklar since 1999 and has three kids with her. He was previously linked to Shoshanna Lonstein, a then-seventeen year old high school student whom he dated when he was in his late thirties, comedian Carol Leifer, and TV writer Jennifer Crittenden.

“Men want the same thing from women that they want from their underwear... a little support, comfort, and freedom.” Jerry Seinfeld

Little Jerry

Childhood and Family:

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 29, 1954, Jerome A. Seinfeld, nicknamed “Little Jerry,” grew up in nearby Massapequa, Long Island, New York. Son of a Hungarian-Jewish father named Kálmán Seinfeld (died in 1985), a commercial sign maker with a terrific sense of humor, and a Syrian-Jewish mother named Betty Seinfeld (born in 1915), Jerry has one older sister, Carolyn Liebling (born in 1952), who would later work as his manager.

After graduating from Massapequa High School, Jerry attended State University of New York, in Oswego, New York, but transferred out after a few semesters to study theater and communications at Queens College in Flushing, New York, where he received a BA degree in 1976.

“Dating is pressure and tension. What is a date, really, but a job interview that lasts all night? The only difference between a date and a job interview is that in not many job interviews is there a chance you'll end up naked at the end of it.” Jerry Seinfeld

When he was in his late thirties, Jerry began a romantic relationship with then-seventeen year old high school student Shoshanna Lonstein (born in 1975). They were engaged by the time he was in his early forties, but the engagement ended in 1997 when Shoshanna graduated from the University of California. He then briefly dated comedian Carol Leifer, who was reportedly the model for Elaine's character on “Seinfeld.” He also reportedly dated Jennifer Crittenden, who wrote for his show "Seinfeld" for a brief time after she had separated from her husband. Jerry then began dating Jessica Sklar (born Nina Sklar on September 12, 1971), a public relations executive for Tommy Hilfiger and a book author whom he met at the Reebok Sports Club in 1998. Sklar, who had just returned from a three-week honeymoon in Italy with Eric Nederlander, divorced Nederlander and married Jerry on December 25, 1999. Comedian George Wallace was the best man at the wedding. After the nuptials, Jerry bought Billy Joel's house in the Hamptons, New York.

Jerry and Jessica have three children, a daughter named Sascha (born on November 7, 2000) and two sons, Shepherd (born on August 22, 2005) and Julian (born on March 1, 2003), whose birth was announced on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee." Jerry, a New York Mets fan, now lives with his family in his hometown of New York City.

Jerry, who had a habit of throwing out the clothes he traveled with after each road trip, has a collection of over 500 sneakers and they are all white. As shown in many episodes of his TV show, Jerry is a fan of the comic book character “Superman.” In June 2004, he did an American Express commercial titled "The Adventures of Seinfeld and Superman."

An avid automobile enthusiast and collector, Jerry, who was listed at #42 in Forbes magazine's “Celebrity 100 of 2007,” is a fan of Porsche and is rumored to own one of the largest Porsche collections in the world.

Bee Movie

Career:

After playing Sampson in a Massapequa High School production of William Shakespeare's tragic romance "Romeo and Juliet" and Martini in a Queens College production of Ken Kesey's1962 bestselling novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Jerry Seinfeld developed an interest in stand-up comedy.

He first performed stand-up comedy in 1976 at Good Times in NYC and later became a regular at the Improv and the Comic Strip, where he became a MC. He went straight from his college graduation to an amateur night try-out at New York’s “Catch a Rising Star.” He continued to perform in local clubs while playing the recurring role of Frankie on the ABC sitcom "Benson."

Seinfeld was abruptly fired from "Benson" after several episodes, but his career took off following his appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in May 1981. He followed it up with appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman" (1982) and "The Merv Griffin Show.” During this time, he also appeared on his first television special, "Jerry Seinfeld's Stand-Up Confidential," which aired on HBO in 1987.

In 1989, Seinfeld was invited to create a sitcom for NBC and teamed up with Larry David. The result of their work was the comedy series "Seinfeld," in which Seinfeld also starred as a semi-fictional version of himself, a neurotic New York stand-up comedian trying to cope with his equally neurotic New York friends. The show was a hit and ran from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998. It was awarded the Emmy for "Outstanding Comedy series" in 1993, a Golden Globe Award for "Best TV-Series (Comedy)" in 1994 and a Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" in 1995, 1997 and 1998. The sitcom was also nominated for an Emmy award from 1992 to 1998 for "Outstanding Comedy series," a Golden Globe award from 1994 to 1998 for "Best TV-Series (Comedy)," and Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" from 1995 to 1998.

Meanwhile, along with Jamie Lee Curtis and Dennis Miller, Seinfeld co-hosted the telecast of "The 43rd Annual Emmy Awards" (1991) and NBC’s special "Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld" (1994). He also toured with his stand-up act, "I'm Telling You for the Last Time" (1998), which aired as a 60-minute HBO comedy special and was released as a CD that same year. During this time, Seinfeld also released the book "SeinLanguage" (1993), for which he received $1.5 million. He also did interviews and appeared on the front cover with eight Playmates for Playboy Magazine in October 1993 and in TV commercials for American Express.

Since the show “Seinfeld,” Jerry has been performing stand-up across the country and can be seen at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas on a regular basis. He played a small role in the film starring Larry Miller and Tommy Davidson, "Pros & Cons" (1999), and was heard in a February 2000 episode of UPN's animated television series spin-off of the comic strip, "Dilbert." He also appeared in the Raymond De Felitta directed comedy film "The Thing About My Folks" (2005), alongside Peter Falk, Paul Reiser, and Olympia Dukakis.

Seinfeld published “Letters From a Nut” (1999) by Ted L Nancy and "More Letters From a Nut" (2000). The TV rights of the books were purchased by ABC in 2002 with Seinfeld hired as executive producer. He will team up with Barry Marder to create a comedy series based on the book "Sincerely, Ted L. Nancy." He also released the book "Seinfeld: The Making of An American Icon" (2002) by Jerry Oppenheimer and penned a best-selling children’s book titled “Halloween” (2003).

“A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.” Jerry Seinfeld

In 2002, Seinfeld also profiled a documentary titled "Comedian" (2002) and appeared in two 2004 commercials promoting American Express He also provided his voice in a radio commercial for “Comedian” (2002) and appeared in TV commercials for Nike (2003) and Television PSA.

Seinfeld, who has made more than 50 appearances on NBC's "The Tonight Show" and "Late Night with David Letterman," recently made a brief return to NBC guest-starring in the second season premiere (2007) of the critically acclaimed sitcom "30 Rock." That same year, he also wrote, produced, and voiced the main character of Barry B. Benson, a bee who has just graduated college and is disillusioned at making honey, in the CGI animated film "Bee Movie," which features the voices of Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Megan Mullally, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, and Patrick Warburton. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 65th Golden Globe Awards, Favorite Animated Movie at 2008 Kids Choice Awards, and Jerry was nominated for Favorite Voice Actor in a Movie.

Awards:

• Aftonbladet TV Prize, Sweden: Best Foreign TV Personality – Male, 2000

• Aftonbladet TV Prize, Sweden: Best Foreign TV Personality – Male, 1999

• U.S. Comedy Arts Festival: AFI Star Award, 1999

• Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, “Seinfeld,” 1998

• Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, “Seinfeld,” 1997

• Golden Globes: Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical, “Seinfeld,” 1994

• PGA Golden Laurel Awards: Most Promising Producer in Television, “Seinfeld,” 1994

• American Comedy Awards: Funniest Male Performer in a TV Series (Leading Role) Network, Cable or Syndication, “Seinfeld,” 1993

• Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series, “Seinfeld,” 1993

• Viewers for Quality Television Awards: Best Actor in a Quality Comedy Series, “Seinfeld,” 1993

• American Comedy Awards: Funniest Male Performer in a TV Series (Leading Role) Network, Cable or Syndication, “Seinfeld,” 1992

• American Comedy Awards: Comedy Club Stand-Up Comic – Male, 1988