Jordan Peele Biography
Date of Birth: February 21, 1979
Born to a biracial couple in New York City, Jordan Peele attended Sarah Lawrence College as part of the class of 2001.
Although he got his official start on screen in 2003, the 5'7" actor first appeared on television at age 15 on a March 1994 ABC News special called President Clinton Answering Children's Questions. Inspired by his own family's situation, young Jordan asked President Clinton how he planned to help households where the father was unwilling or unable to financially assist the mother.
Jordan launched his comedic career onscreen during MADtv's ninth season. He and fellow comedic actor (and friend) Keegan-Michael Key were cast opposite each other so FOX could pick one additional black actor, but the studio was so impressed with the great chemistry between them that they opted to hire both.
In 2008, Jordan was nominated for an Emmy for his song "Sad Fitty Cent," a music video parody about 50 Cent's rivalry with Kanye West. Jordan wrote the lyrics and assisted in arranging the music. The video aired during a MADtv broadcast.
Having brilliantly portrayed Barack Obama on MADtv during a sketch that went viral, Jordan auditioned for Saturday Night Live, which was looking for an actor who could play Obama in their skits. However, the Writer's Strike interfered and shut down production of the sketch show. Later, in a 2013 interview, he called missing out on SNL "the biggest blow in my career."
As part of his MADtv run, Jordan impersonated other notable figures such as Ja Rule, James Brown, Montel Williams, Morgan Freeman and Forest Whitaker.
After five seasons with the program, Jordan left MADtv at the close of its 13th season and began work on the FOX TV comedy movie The Station in 2009. He also took a role in the television series Reno 911! that same year.
The following year, Jordan made his feature film debut in Little Fockers, starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller.
In Janurary 2012, Jordan and Keegan-Michael teamed up and starred in their own Comedy Central sketch series titled Key & Peele. Although the show won an American Comedy Award and earned several Emmy Award nominations, it wrapped in 2015.
While he was still working on Key and Peele, Jordan also had guest roles on television programs such as The Mindy Project (2013), Modern Family (2013), Fargo (2014) and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015).
After a role in 2012's Wanderlust opposite Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston, Jordan's film career began accelerating in 2016. He stars alongside his old friend Keegan-Michael in the action comedy Keanu, and has lent his voice to Storks and the upcoming animated movie Captain Underpants (2017).
Jordan made his directorial debut with the horror film Get Out (2017) starring Allison Williams, Catherine Keener and Daniel Kaluuya. The film was a huge hit with critics and audiences, and for his directorial work and original screenplay, Jordan received two Academy Award nominations, as well as a third nomination for Best Picture. He won in the original screenplay category.
During a 2012 interview with CNN, Jordan confessed that being biracial was the source of deep-seated issues as a child. Although race now plays a central role in his brand of comedy, it's only recently that he's been able to self-identify as biracial.
Along with his comedic partner Keegan-Michael, Jordan made the cut for Time Magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2014.
In the same year, Jordan revealed to Playboy that his ultimate dream is to write and direct a horror film.
He is married to fellow comedian Chelsea Peretti. The pair began dating in 2013.
Filmography (Actor):
Captain Underpants (2017)
Storks (2016)
Keanu (2016)
Wanderlust (2012)
Little Fockers (2010)
Filmography (Director):
Get Out (2017)