Ben Stiller

WHY IS HE FAMOUS

To start with, his parents are accomplished comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, but to attribute his fame to mere favoritism would be wrong. Ben Stiller shot to major stardom with his performances in the hit films There's Something About Mary (1998) and Meet the Parents (2000), and continued his reign as Hollywood's funny man in Meet The Fockers (2004) and Tropic Thunder (2008).

Ben Stiller Quote

" I've never really felt like a funny, funny guy. I've never really felt like Mr. Life of the Party... I've realized in the last few years that my state of mind affects how I live my life."

80 MAGNETISM

Ben Stiller may even deserve a higher score, although, for now, we'll remain conservative. We love the man because he's a testament to the fact that you do not have to be an Adonis in order to have sex appeal. Sure, Ben Stiller is a far cry from George Clooney, Antonio Sabato, Jr. or even senior citizen Sean Connery in the beefcake department, but we would wager our beer money that he's more popular with the fairer sex than he's given credit for.

After all, what sustains the attention of a female more than a sense of humor and humble self-deprecation? Hey, Ben Stiller has it all and truth be told, he's not completely unattractive. His ears may stick out more than Will Smith's but all in all, he presents a decent package. He was linked at one time with screen beauty Jeanne Tripplehorn of The Firm and Waterworld, so Ben Stiller must be doing something right. Not to mention that he's presently married to Brady Bunch movie hottie Christine Taylor.

85 SUCCESS

It's astonishing how diverse a performer Ben Stiller is. Many of his fans forget, or would like to, that he directed The Cable Guy with Jim Carrey -- we loved the dark humor he infused in the film -- or the cult classic Flirting with Disaster, featuring a stellar ensemble cast that included Tea Leoni, Alan Alda and Mary Tyler Moore.

Ben Stiller made his screen-acting debut in the maligned Steven Spielberg epic Empire of the Sun, of all projects. In addition, he was a cast member for one season of Saturday Night Live, in 1989.

His sketch comedy show that was launched on FOX in 1992 was to be a vehicle for MTV, but was dropped -- a decision that would come back to haunt the cable network later. The show featured then unknown but talented performers Andy Dick and Janeane Garofalo. Many would be surprised to hear that Ben Stiller won an Emmy for the show, for writing no less, although it was canceled after one season.

All of this to illustrate that before his turn opposite Cameron Diaz in There's Something About Mary, his hilarious portrayal of the underdog boyfriend in Meet the Parents with Robert De Niro, or his role as White Goodman opposite Vince Vaughn in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Ben Stiller has crafted an impressive Hollywood resume.

In December of 2004, he proved that audiences couldn't get enough of Gaylord "Greg" Focker in the comedy sequel Meet the Fockers, which was a box-office hit.

Ben Stiller lent his voice to "Alex the Lion" in 2005's animated feature Madagascar and 2008's Madagascar 2: The Crate Escape. He also appeared in Night at the Museum (2006), The Heartbreak Kid (2007) and Tropic Thunder (2008).

BEN STILLER BIOGRAPHY

Born November 30, 1965, in New York City to comedic performers Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, Ben Stiller was destined for a career in entertainment. His parents were staples on The Ed Sullivan Show and Ben Stiller grew up in the glare of the Hollywood spotlight.

As a child, he reveled in putting on small productions and even made short films with a Super 8 camera. In 1983, the budding director entered film school at UCLA but soon grew tired of the college scene and flew back to the Big Apple after a mere nine months on campus.

Ben Stiller Mocks Tom Cruise On The Ben Stiller Show

After hustling for jobs following leads supplied to him by his father, Ben Stiller landed a role in an acclaimed Broadway play that featured John Mahoney (Martin Crane on Frasier). A short film shot by Ben Stiller parodying the Martin Scorsese film The Color of Money, with John Mahoney as the Paul Newman character and Ben Stiller as Tom Cruise, was a monster hit with the cast and was handed to a producer on Saturday Night Live.

Ben Stiller was given the opportunity to be a member of the cast as a result and although the union lasted one season, it thrust him into a national spotlight. Now seen as a master of sketch comedy, Ben Stiller was recruited by MTV to produce and star in a variety show. The result, The Ben Stiller Show, was not picked up by the cable network but found a home with FOX in 1992. One episode in particular that poked fun at Beverly Hills, 90210, raised the ire of producer Aaron Spelling and after one year, the show was cut.

Frustrated with television, Ben Stiller turned his attention to film and scored a major sleeper hit with 1994's Reality Bites, in which he portrayed a shameless yuppie working for an obnoxious MTV-like network. The movie, starring Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke, did well enough at the box office to turn heads in Hollywood.

Ben Stiller's A Star In Meet The Parents

The generated buzz led to a shot at directing Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy, a film that was blasted by critics after being released but has since garnered praise for being a bold departure from standard comedy films.

1996's Flirting with Disaster, a small independent film that saw Ben Stiller directing and starring in a twisted family caper, followed and has since become an underground classic. Although Ben Stiller has the uncanny ability to spoof others, his turn in the 1998 film Permanent Midnight proved he could also be a dramatic actor.

Yet Ben Stiller is best known for the films that he made since then, namely 1998's There's Something About Mary. And although he starred in the more serious Permanent Midnight alongside Elizabeth Hurley that same year, it was the comedy that garnered him the most praise.

After a handful of forgettable movies in 1999, including The Suburbans, Mystery Men and Black and White, Ben Stiller starred with Edward Norton in Keeping The Faith (2000), in which he played a rabbi. Then, Ben Stiller made another comedic mark in movies alongside Robert De Niro in 2000's Meet the Parents, a blockbuster box-office hit.

Ben Stiller In Dodgeball

2001 was another awesome year for Ben Stiller; after he cowrote and starred in Zoolander with his wife Christine Taylor, he went on to star in the Golden Globe nominated The Royal Tenenbaums.

In April 2002, Ben and his wife welcomed their daughter, Ella Olivia, into the world.

After a year away from film, Ben Stiller returned in 2003 with Duplex. After the film received reviews that were anything but stellar, he did his comedic duty in 2004 by starring in five more comedies: Along Came Polly with Jennifer Aniston, Starsky & Hutch with Owen Wilson, Envy with Jack Black, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, with his wife and Vince Vaughn, and of course, the sequel to Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, with Robert De Niro.

In 2005, Ben Stiller lent his voice to the animated film Madagascar, in which he played the lion.

Ben Stiller In Tropic Thunder And Madagascar 2

In 2006, Ben Stiller starred in Night at the Museum and In Search of Ted Demme and he had two cameos: one in Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny and School for Scoundrels.

In 2007, Ben Stiller worked on one main project, The Heartbreak Kid, costarring Malin Akerman and his dad, Jerry Stiller.

Then, in '08, Ben Stiller got involved with another handful of movies. His voice was used in Madagascar 2: The Crate Escape. He also had roles in Tropic Thunder, for which he was also the director, and The Marc Pease Experience. He was nominated for AM's Top 49 of 2008 too, so vote for Ben Stiller here.

His 2009 projects included Hardy Men and Night at the Museum 2: Escape from the Smithsonian.

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