Will Ferrell (Actor)
Will Ferrell, who was born with the full name John William Ferrel, is a comedic actor who got his start in the entertainment industry through Saturday Night Live when he joined the television sketch show in 1995 after graduating from the University of Southern California, where he studied sports journalism. After he graduated USC in 1990, he worked as a sports broadcaster before starting his study of acting and comedy. He trained with the Groundlings comedy group ahead of his time on SNL, where he became known for his impersonations of the late Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek, sportscaster Harry Caray and former president George W. Bush.
He later went on to appear in comedic films like Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Dick (1999) and Zoolander (2001) in which he starred alongside Ben Stiller. He left SNL to work in films, and he often collaborated with Adam McKay, who he met through the sketch comedy series. His next big breakout role came about in the Christmas classic Elf (2003) directed by Jon Favreau, in which Ferrell played the titular character Buddy the Elf. The film has become a staple every year during the Christmas season. After that came Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), both of which he cowrote with McKay, followed by Blades of Glory (2007).
More recently, Ferrell has appeared in Apple’s The Shrink Next Door alongside Paul Rudd, Spirited (2022) — a musical parody of A Christmas Carol alongside Ryan Reynolds also for Apple, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023) and Prime Video’s rom com You’re Cordially Invited. 2024 also saw the release of a documentary starring Ferrel and his best friend Harper Steele, whose transgender journey is captured in the Netflix film titled Will & Harper. The pair met on SNL. Ferrell produced the film, and his name is also behind a lot of big series from Max’s Succession to Netflix’s Dead to Me.
Ferrell has been married to his wife Viveca Paulin since 2000, and they share two sons — Magnus and Mattias.
- First Name
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Will
- Last Name
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Ferrell
- Additional Name
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John William Ferrell
- Date of Birth
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July 16, 1967
- Place of Birth
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Irvine, California
- Notable Work
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Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Dick (1999), Zoolander (2001), Elf (2003), Old School (2003), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), The Producers (2005), Stranger Than Fiction (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Blades of Glory (2007), Step Brothers (2008), Semi-Pro (2008), Land of the Lost (2009), Megamind (2010), Everything Must Go (2010), The Other Guys (2010), Casa de mi padre (2012), The Campaign (2012), Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), Daddy’s Home (2015), Daddy’s Home 2 (2017), The House (2017), Holmes and Watson (2018), Downhill (2020), Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020), The Shrink Next Door (2021), Spirited (2022), Barbie (2023), Will & Harper (2024). You’re Cordially Invited (2025)
- Notable Awards
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Oscar nomination for Best Actor in Stranger Than Fiction (2007), producing Emmy Winner for Succession in 2022 and 2023, Quiz Lady (2024), Emmy Nominee for producing Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘The Facts of Life’ and ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ (2022) and for Dead to Me in 2020
