How much is Ben Stiller worth?
| Net Worth: | $200 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actor |
| Date of Birth: | November 30, 1965 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.7 m |
About Ben Stiller
You’ve seen him perfecting blue steel in Zoolander before he got to Meet the Parents and spend a Night at the Museum. He’s fought crime, had sperm hanging from his ear, been terrorized by museum exhibits (including a spunky T-Rex) and showed us that there’s “more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good-looking” (usually with his BFF Owen Wilson at his side).
With the massive amount of comedic roles that Ben Stiller has on his résumé, he still manages to surprise audiences with new ways to shock, offend and, most of all, make them bust out laughing.
Given his upbringing, Ben seemed destined to become a star. Born in the Upper East Side of New York, his parents were the famous comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. At the age of 10, he was already shooting his own comic shorts and made his acting debut with an appearance on his mother’s show Kate McShane. After graduating from the Calhoun School in 1983, he enrolled in UCLA to study film, but he left after nine months and headed back to the Big Apple determined to break into acting.
How Did He Find Fame?
Ben found moderate success while interning at the prestigious Actors Studio, making his film debut in Empire of the Sun in 1987 and directing a comedy short “The Hustler of Money,” which aired on Saturday Night Live. That short eventually led to his big break. His infamous Tom Cruise impression in the Color of Money spoof won him a spot on SNL as a featured star and writer. His stink on the show only lasted a year, but opened the door to his own show, The Ben Stiller Show, on MTV, which moved to FOX two years later. The sketch comedy show was soon cancelled due to low ratings, but as a testament to Ben’s talent, he and his team won a writing Emmy for the show in 1993.
The Director’s Seat
Hot off the heels of his show, Ben released his directorial debut Reality Bites in 1994, which he also starred in alongside Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke. The positive reviews prompted him to direct 1996’s The Cable Guy starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. Although the film was a dud, it developed a cult following, and Ben followed it up with Flirting with Disaster and a small, but memorable, cameo in Happy Gilmore.
There’s Something About Ben
In 1998, Ben solidified himself as a serious star with a three-part punch to the public. The first was hysterical Farrelly brothers’ comedy There’s Something about Mary as a dorky sweetheart in love with Cameron Diaz. Long after the movie was released, people would still approached him to ask about the wellbeing of his crotch. The second hit was his role as a flirty theater instructor in Your Friends and Neighbors and the drama Permanent Midnight.
Ben was praised for his role as a heroin-addicted writer, proving that, while comedy was his forte, it wasn’t the only hat he could wear.
A whole slew of blockbuster films followed.In the new millennium, Ben starred in wildly successful movies like Meet the Parents, which expanded into a franchise, Zoolander, which he wrote, directed and released through his own production company Red Hour Productions, The Royal Tenenbaums, a critic’s favorite, and Along Came Polly with Jennifer Aniston.
His 2008 film (which he also wrote and directed), Tropic Thunder, was a critical and commercial success and arguably responsible for revamping Tom Cruise’s image post-Oprah-couch-jumping fiasco.
Some of his other work during the time included acting in the off-Broadway show This is How It Goes and writing a book called Feel this Book. Ben’s was also been featured in the TIME 100 for his charity, StillerStrong, for disadvantaged schools in Haiti.
Ladies’ Man
While building this incredible list of achievements, Ben also has had a successful run in the romance department. Following a six-year relationship with Jeanne Tripplehorn that ended in 1996, Ben dated sexy stars like Amanda Peet and Claire Forlani. But he became a one-woman man in 1999, when he met Christine Taylor on the set of Heat, Vision and Jack. The couple married a year later and had a daughter, Ella, in 2002 and a son, Quinlin, in 2005.
Comedic superstar, director, writer, family man, really, really ridiculously good-looking—whatever Ben Stiller decides to be, he’s one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood.
Summing-Up
Ben Stiller was destined to be in showbusiness, having been born to showbiz parents. Though he started out as an actor, primarily, it wasn’t long before his comedic short films caught the attention of several TV networks, leading to various — but short-lived — sketch comedy projects. In the ’90s, Stiller came into his own as both a leading man and as a director, which paved the way for his massive box office success in the 2000s, when he became one of the biggest movie stars in the world.
Though he has branched out into indie and dramatic films, Stiller has never forgotten his comedy roots, and continues to pursue his own projects while still starring in major tentpole Hollywood releases. He has never lost his sketch comedy mentality.
Quick Facts:
- Ben Stiller was born was born and raised in New York City to famous showbusiness parents: Jerry Stiller and Ann Meara, a famous comedy duo performing under the name Stiller and Meara.
- He began performing comedy in the mid-’80s, but his first love remained filmmaking and sketch comedy.
- He made his film debut in Steven Spielberg’s 1987 film Empire of the Sun.
- He was a writer and featured performer on Saturday Night Live during the 1989 season, but left the show after just five episodes.
- In 1992, Stiller got his own sketch comedy series, The Ben Stiller Show, on Fox. It lasted less than one season, but won an Emmy award a year after being canceled.
- In the 1990s, he became a star both in front of and behind the camera, directing movies like Reality Bites and The Cable Guy and starring in box office hits like There’s Something About Mary.
- Stiller became one of the biggest box office stars of the 2000s, thanks to a string of hits including both the Night at the Museum and Meet the Parents franchises. His films have grossed over $2 billion worldwide.
The Early Years
From a very young age, Ben Stiller demonstrated an interest in filmmaking. He attended film school at the University of California, but dropped out after nine months. In the late ’80s, Stiller began getting regular movie roles (always in supporting parts), but continued to pursue his own projects. A 1987 short film he made, The Hustler of Money (a parody of The Color of Money in which Stiller played Tom Cruise for the first of many times) attracted the attention of Saturday Night Live, which aired the film and hired Stiller as a writer and featured performer in 1989. His time there was unhappy, and he left after five episodes. From there, he moved to MTV, where he made several short films and eventually got a deal to produce and star in his very own sketch show.
The Ben Stiller Show
Stiller’s relationship with MTV led to the network greenlighting The Ben Stiller Show, consisting of comedy sketches and pop culture parodies. It was canceled after just one season, but led to another incarnation of The Ben Stiller Show on Fox in 1992. The critically acclaimed sketch comedy starred Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick and Bob Odenkirk and featured Judd Apatow as a writer and producer. The show’s time slot was changed several times and was canceled after only 12 episodes on the air (13 were made). Ironically, the show won the Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program in 1993, after it had already been canceled and taken off the air.
Ben Stiller Filmography
- Next of Kin (1989)
- Reality Bites (1994)
- Flirting with Disaster (1996)
- There’s Something About Mary (1998)
- Mystery Men (1999)
- Meet the Parents (2000)
- Zoolander (2001)
- The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
- Starsky & Hutch (2004)
- Meet the Fockers (2004)
- Night at the Museum (2006)
- Tropic Thunder (2008)
- Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
- Little Fockers (2010)
- Tower Heist (2011)
Ben Stiller, Director
In addition to being one of the most successful comedian movie stars of the 2000s, Stiller has developed quite a career as a director as well. His first Hollywood feature behind the camera was 1994’s hipster comedy Reality Bites, in which he also co-starred. After that was 1996’s The Cable Guy, which quickly gained notoriety for star Jim Carrey‘s $20 million payday (he was the first star to command such a fee), then disappointed at the box office thanks to its too-dark tone. It wasn’t until 2001’s Zoolander that Stiller scored his first bona fide hit as a director — a success he would repeat seven years later with Tropic Thunder, in which he also starred.
Additional Facts
- In addition to his many starring film roles, Stiller has made cameo and bit appearances in a number of films, including Happy Gilmore (starring Adam Sandler), Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Orange County and more.
- Stiller is married to actress Christine Taylor, best known for playing Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie and his co-star in 2001’s Zoolander.
- Stiller was awarded the MTV Generation Award at the 2009 Movie Awards.
- A talented mimic, Stiller is known for his impressions of Bono, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Cruise, all characters he played repeatedly on The Ben Stiller Show.
Quote “I just studied Tom Cruise running in all the Mission: Impossibles. I think he’s one of the best screen runners and I just wanted to emulate that.”
