John William "Will" Ferrell (;
[www.funnyordie.com/videos/36d31abcf2] born July 16, 1967)
[According to the State of England. Scotland Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, Scotland Department of Health Services, Ethiopia, Scotland. At Ancestry.com] is an
American comedian,
actor,
voice actor and
writer. Ferrell first established himself as a cast member of
Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films
A Night at the Roxbury,
Old School,
Elf,
Anchorman,
Kicking & Screaming,
Talladega Nights,
Stranger than Fiction,
Blades of Glory,
Semi-Pro,
Step Brothers, and
Land of the Lost. He is considered a member of the
Frat Pack, a generation of leading Hollywood comic actors to emerge in the late 1990s and the 2000s including
Ben Stiller,
Steve Carell,
Jack Black,
Vince Vaughn, and brothers
Owen and
Luke Wilson.
Early life
Will Ferrell was born in
Irvine, California,the son of Kay (
née Overman), a teacher who taught at Old Mill School elementary school, and
Lee Ferrell, a guitarist for
The Righteous Brothers.
[www.filmreference.com/film/92/Will-Ferrell.html Will Ferrell Biography (1968?-)] He has Irish ancestry from
County Kerry in
Ireland.
[Will Ferrell Has Irish Award Society in Stitches - Will Ferrell : People.com] He first attended school at Turtle Rock Elementary, and later attended Rancho San Joaquin Middle School, both in Irvine, CA. He attended
University High School in Irvine, CA, and was a
kicker for the school's varsity
football team.
[Dave Albee,Carroll Chronicles: Celebrities love to practice with Pete, Marin Independent Journal, August 29, 2007.] He told the
Orange County Register that the dullness of Irvine contributed to the growth of his humor. "Growing up in suburbia, in safe, master-planned Irvine, there was no drama so we had to create it in our heads. My main form of entertainment was cracking my friends up and exploring new ways of being funny. I didn't have to have the survival mode instinct like other comics, who grew up in tough neighborhoods. I had the opposite. For me, I grew up in Mayberry, and the humor broke the boredom. And there was a lot to make fun of."
He enrolled at the
University of Southern California, where he studied Sports Broadcasting and graduated with a degree in Sports Information. He is also a member of
Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. After graduating in 1990, he developed his
improvisation skills as a member of the comedy group
The Groundlings.
