Judd Apatow Biography

Judd Apatow was born on 6 December 1967, in Flushing, New York City, USA. His mother Tami Apatow used to manage record labels, while his father Maury Apatow was a real estate developer. He has two siblings, a brother Robert and a sister Mia.

His parents divorced when he was just 12. He lived with his grandparents for some time and later with his father. On weekends, he used to visit his mother who worked at a comedy club for some time. It was during this time that Judd was exposed to live stand-up comedy. Subsequently, he developed an interest in stand-up comedy.

Inspired by renowned comedians like Steve Martin, Bill Cosby, and the Marx Brothers, he made up his mind to become a comedian. He attended ‘Syosset High School,’ where he hosted a program called ‘Comedy Club’ on the school’s radio station.

Judd Apatow’s career as a stand-up comedian began when he was only 17. After completing his graduation, he moved to Los Angeles. He enrolled at the ‘University of Southern California’ to study screenwriting. During his time at the university, he used to organize on-campus ‘Comedy Night’ events. He dropped out after two years.

Soon, he was introduced to comedian and producer Garry Shandling, after which he was hired as a writer for that year's ‘Grammy Awards,’ which was hosted by Shandling.

Shortly after, Apatow and Ben Stiller co-created the show 'The Ben Stiller Show,' which aired on Fox network. His writing for the show earned him his first award. However, the show was canceled after airing for a brief period of time.

Apatow then started working as a writer and executive producer for Garry Shandling's 'The Larry Sanders Show.' He was part of the show for several seasons and his performance won him multiple nominations for ‘Emmy Awards.’

In 1995, he became a co-writer for the film 'Heavyweights.' He also helped in rewriting the script for the film 'The Cable Guy,' though his work was uncredited.

A few years later, he worked in two acclaimed television series, 'Freaks and Geeks,' which started airing in 1999, and 'Undeclared,' which aired from 2001.

In 2004, he produced the American comedy 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.' The film was a commercial success and was also loved by the critics.

The following year, he made his directorial debut with ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin,’ which he also produced and wrote. The film was a commercial success, and also received appreciation from the critics. It earned Apatow a nomination for ‘Best Original Screenplay’ by the ‘Writers Guild of America.’

In 2007, he produced the teen comedy film ‘Superbad,’ which was a huge commercial success. He also wrote, directed, and produced the American romantic comedy ‘Knocked Up.’ The film did quite well commercially and won several awards. However, it courted controversy and was accused of sexism.

The same year, he also produced and wrote the comedy film ‘Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.’ The film was a commercial failure.

In 2009, he earned appreciation for the comedy film ‘Funny People’ for which he was the writer, director, and producer. The film, however, was a commercial failure.

In 2011, he produced the comedy film ‘Bridesmaids,’ which was a huge hit. Not only did it do well commercially, but also received an ‘Oscar’ nomination. The following year, he produced the comedy film ‘Wanderlust.’ It was a commercial failure.

Meanwhile, he worked on several TV series as well. He was the producer and writer for the TV series ‘Girls,’ which aired on HBO from 2012.

His next film as a director was the 2015 film ‘Trainwreck,’ which he co-produced with Barry Mendel. The film was a commercial success.

In 2016, he co-created the romantic comedy web series ‘Love’ for Netflix. The series ran for three seasons. The following year, he directed, produced, and wrote the HBO comedy ‘Crashing.’

Apatow then directed and produced two documentaries, namely ‘May It Last: A Portrait Of The Avett Brothers’ (2017) and ‘The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling’ (2018.)

He produced ‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping’ (2016) and ‘Juliet, Naked’ (2018) which were failures at the box-office. His 2017 produced movie ‘The Big Sick’ was nominated at the ‘Oscars’ for ‘Best Original Screenplay.’

Judd Apatow directed the 2020 comedy-drama movie ‘The King of Staten Island’ which he also co-wrote and co-produced. It released on June 12, 2020 and received generally positive reviews.

‘The Larry Sanders Show’ was an American comedy TV series which aired on HBO. Judd Apatow was a writer and consulting producer for the show. It was a huge success, and ranked at number 38 on TV Guide’s ‘50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.’ The show won several significant awards, including three ‘Emmys.’

The film ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’ is one of Apatow’s most significant works. The film also marked his directorial debut. He co-produced the film along with Clayton Townsend and Shauna Robertson, and co-wrote it with Steve Carell. The story revolves around a middle-aged man who is yet to lose his virginity. The film starred actors like Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, and Seth Rogen. It was a commercial success, grossing more than $177 million against a budget of $26 million. It received positive reviews.

‘Trainwreck’ is an American comedy film, which was directed and co-produced by Apatow. The film is one of his most popular works. Starring Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, and Colin Quinn, the film revolves around a promiscuous and commitment-phobic writer who eventually gets into a serious relationship. The movie was commercially successful and grossed more than $140 million against a budget of $35 million. It was also met with positive reviews.

Judd Apatow has received several awards and nominations throughout his career. He received a ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ for his writing in ‘The Ben Stiller Show.’ He also received an ‘Emmy’ for ‘Outstanding Documentary’ for ‘The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling.’ He also received multiple nominations for the ‘Emmy Award’ for his work in ‘Larry Sanders Show.’

He received an ‘American Film Institute Award’ for the film ‘Bridesmaids’ in 2011.

�He is also known for his philanthropic work.