John William "Will" Ferrell (;
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 [[United States|American]
comedian,
actor,
voice actor, and
writer who first established himself as a cast member of
Saturday Night Live, and has since gone on to a successful film career, starring in the comedies
A Night at the Roxbury (1998),
Old School,
Elf (both 2003),
Anchorman (2004),
Kicking & Screaming (2005),
Talladega Nights,
Stranger than Fiction (both 2006),
Blades of Glory (2007),
Semi-Pro and
Step Brothers (both 2008). 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
Jack Black,
Ben Stiller,
Steve Carell,
Vince Vaughn, and brothers
Owen and
Luke Wilson.
Biography
Early life
Will Ferrell was born and raised in
Irvine, California,
the son of Kay (
née Overman), a teacher, and
Lee Ferrell, a keyboardist for
The Righteous Brothers.
[Will Ferrell Biography (1968?-)] He has Irish ancestry.
[[http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173470,00.html?xid=rss-fullcontentcnn Will Ferrell Has Irish Award Society in Stitches - Will Ferrell : People.com] He first attended elementary school at Turtle Rock Elementary School, 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."
