Judd Apatow Biography

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JUDD APATOW (Director / Writer / Producer) makes his feature directorial debut on The 40 Year-Old Virgin. He most recently executive produced the Universal summer comedy Kicking & Screaming, starring Will Ferrell, and produced the hit DreamWorks comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, also starring Ferrell, Christina Applegate and Paul Rudd.

Considered one of the most sought after comedy punch-up writers in the business, Apatow recently co-wrote the screenplay for the remake of Fun with Dick and Jane, starring Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni. He made his feature film debut as a co-writer and executive producer on the comedy Heavyweights. He also served as a producer on the dark comedy The Cable Guy, directed by Ben Stiller and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick.

Apatow is perhaps best recognized for his work as a producer and a writer on some of the most acclaimed television shows in recent years. He served as an executive producer of the critically praised, award-winning series Freaks and Geeks, which debuted in the 1999-2000 season. He also wrote and directed several episodes of the series, which, while no longer on the air, still maintains a following and was recently released on DVD. He also created and executive-produced the series Undeclared, which will be released on video August 16th. Undeclared, about college freshmen, was named one of Time magazine's Ten Best Shows of 2001.

Apatow previously worked as a writer, director and producer on the award-winning and widely acclaimed series The Larry Sanders Show, starring Garry Shandling. For his work on the show, he earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and received five consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. In addition, The Larry Sanders Show brought Apatow two Cable ACE Awards for Best Comedy Series and a Writers Guild of America Award nomination.

Born in Syosset, New York, Apatow aspired to become a professional comedian at an early age. While still in high school, he created a radio show and began interviewing comedy personalities he admired, including Steve Allen, Howard Stern and John Candy. Some of his interviewees also included such then-unknowns as Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld and Garry Shandling. Inspired, he began performing his own standup routines by the end of his senior year.

Following an appearance on HBO's Young Comedians special, Apatow eventually stopped performing in favor of writing. He wrote for the Grammy Awards, as well as cable specials for Roseanne and Jim Carrey, before going on to co-create and executive-produce The Ben Stiller Show. Although the critically acclaimed show was canceled after only 12 episodes, it brought Apatow an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program. Fresh from his Emmy win, Apatow joined The Larry Sanders Show in 1993 as a writer and consulting producer, and would later serve as a co-executive producer for the show's final season.

Apatow's television credits also include working as a consulting producer on the animated series The Critic.