Biography for
Jerry Seinfeld More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

29 April 1954, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Birth Name

Jerome Allen Seinfeld

Nickname

Little Jerry

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography

Born in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Kalman and Betty. Moved with family, including sister Carolyn, to suburban Massepequa, Long Island at young age. Dad, who had terrific sense of humor, was a commercial sign maker.

Attended Oswego College in upstate New York but transferred to Queens College back in New York City. Developed interest in stand-up comedy after brief stints in college productions. Went straight from college graduation to amateur night tryout at New York's Catch a Rising Star, 1976.

Continued to perform in local clubs and Catskill Mountain resorts until his career was boosted by an appearance on a Rodney Dangerfield HBO special, 1976. Career took off after first successful spot on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962), May 1981, at age 27. Appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman" (1982) and "The Merv Griffin Show" (1962) followed. Also appeared four times as Frankie on "Benson" (1979) sitcom. After he was abruptly fired from the show, he swore never to do another sitcom unless he had greater control. This opportunity emerged when he was invited to create a sitcom for NBC in 1989 and teamed with one-time stand-up colleague Larry David.

Progression of "The Seinfeld Chronicles" into the long-running "Seinfeld" (1990) series phenomenon was ended by its co-creator and co-executive producer, Larry David. Still unmarried, he moved back to New York City into a new multimillion-dollar, multilevel apartment on Central Park West just down the street from his original, small bachelor studio on West 81st.

IMDb Mini Biography By: mwprods@rcn.com

Spouse

Jessica Seinfeld

(25 December 1999 - present) 3 children

Trade Mark

Impeccable neatness, unflappable confidence.

Observational humour

Trivia

Raised in Massapequa (Long Island), New York.

Graduated from Queens College (New York).

George Wallace was the best man at his wedding.

His first child with wife Jessica, a daughter named Sascha, was born in New York City on November 7, 2000.

Announced signing of deal with Miramax in April 2002 to distribute documentary about his recent travels back on the comedy circuit doing stand-up. For more than a year, Seinfeld has been followed on cross-country gigs with production crew headed by Christian Charles and Gary Streiner, who worked on his American Express commercials.

Bought Billy Joel's house in Amagansett village in the Hamptons (Long Island, NY) for then record-setting price of $32 million in March, 2000.

Had a compulsive habit of throwing out the clothes he had traveled with after each road trip.

His sister, Carolyn Liebling, is his manager.

Announced his engagement to Jessica Sklar (born Nina Sklar on September 12, 1971 in Oyster Bay, New York). They began dating after they met at the Reebok Sport Club in 1998, even though she had just married Eric Nederlander, a scion of the Broadway theater-owning family. At one point, it was reported that Nederlander planned to sue Seinfeld for "alienation of affection" for contributing to the demise of his marriage. No legal action materialized. (10 November 1999)

He and his wife Jessica Sklar had a son, born March 1, 2003, named Julian Kal Seinfeld. Birth of their son was announced on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" (1989).

Has a collection of more than 500 sneakers. They are all white.

Is a Porsche collector. Paparazzi have seen him in at least 20 different ones.

Dated the much younger Shoshanna Lonstein for several years [1993-1997].

Dated comedian Carol Leifer, who is said to be the model for the character of Elaine on "Seinfeld" (1990).

Is a New York Mets fan.

Is a fan of the comic book character Superman, as was shown in many episodes of the "Seinfeld" (1990) TV series.

Bought the first Porsche 911 ever built. It was light blue and bought at Manhattan Motors.

Wife Jessica gave birth to son, Shepherd Kellen Seinfeld, on August 22, 2005.

A lover of breakfast cereal.

Is good friends with Chris Rock, Mario Joyner, and Colin Quinn.

Was a guest at Sarah Jessica Parker's 40th birthday.

Fellow actor/comedian Larry Miller is probably his best friend.

Used to appear frequently on "The Howard Stern Show" (1990), but had a falling out when Howard and his crew made fun of his relationship with Shoshanna Lonstein.

Headlining Colonials Weekend 2006 at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, where his former girlfriend Shoshanna Lonstein attended before transferring to UCLA in 1994.

In 2007, Forbes Magazine reported his earnings to be approximately $60 million.

Was the first recipient of the American Express Black Card.

Opened for Anne Murrary, when she went on tour for a period of 4 years. Murrary saw Seinfeld perform on the Tonight Show With Johnny Carson and said she had to have him as her opening act.

Personal Quotes

A recent survey stated that the average person's greatest fear is having to give a speech in public. Somehow this ranked even higher than death which was third on the list. So, you're telling me that at a funeral, most people would rather be the guy in the coffin than have to stand up and give a eulogy.

[about pregnancy and babies] It's like getting ready for your own birth. Nothing prepares you . . . When those eyes meet your eyes -- I was feeling things I never had feelings like before. I never loved anyone so much at first meeting. I love her so much! But! - Let's make no mistake why these babies come here: to replace us. Their first words are "Mama", "Dada" and "Bye-bye". We'll see who's wearing the diapers when this is all over.

[on whether family life produces better comedy than bachelorhood ]The truth is, the family is much more creatively nourishing because you're playing on a full keyboard. Whereas when you're single, you're just playing the upbeat jazzy tunes.

You can be passionate about anything. Pay attention, don't let life go by you. Fall in love with the back of your cereal box.

Salary

"Seinfeld" (1990)

$225,000,000 (from sale of syndication rights to the show)

Where Are They Now

(June 2004) Doing American Express commercials with his all time favorite comic book hero - Superman, on www.dccomics.com

(1993) Release of the book, "SeinLanguage".

(2002) Release of the book, "Seinfeld: The Making of An American Icon" by Jerry Oppenheimer.

(1998) Release of the book, "Jerry Seinfeld: The Entire Domain" by Kathleen Tracy.

(1993) Release of his CD: "I'm Telling You For the Last Time".

(September 1998) Release of his CD: "I'm Telling You For the Last Time".

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