Jack Black facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jack Black
Black in 2023
Born	Thomas Jacob Black (1969-08-28) August 28, 1969 (age 56) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Other names	JB Jables Jablinski Jackalous McBlackelby
Occupation	Actor comedian musician songwriter
Years active	1982–present
Works	Filmography
Spouse(s)	Tanya Haden ​ (m. 2006)​
Partner(s)	Laura Kightlinger (1996–2005)
Children	2
Parent(s)	Judith Love Cohen (mother)
Relatives	Neil Siegel (half-brother)
Musical career
Genres	Comedy rock acoustic rock hard rock heavy metal
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Jack Black Subscriber and view counts updated as of January 2, 2025.
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Jack Black, whose full name is Thomas Jacob Black, was born on August 28, 1969. He is a famous American actor, comedian, and musician. He has starred in many popular family and comedy movies. He also lends his voice to animated films. Jack Black has received an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award. In 2018, he received a special star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Jack Black started acting when he was 13 years old. Some of his early films include Dead Man Walking (1995) and Mars Attacks! (1996). He became well-known for his role in High Fidelity (2000). This led to bigger parts in movies like Shallow Hal (2001). He became a leading actor after starring in the musical comedy School of Rock (2003). For this role, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

He also starred in King Kong (2005), The Holiday (2006), and Nacho Libre (2006). In 2008, he began voicing Po in the popular Kung Fu Panda movies. Later, he appeared in Goosebumps (2016) and the Jumanji films (2017, 2019). He also voiced Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023). He played Steve in A Minecraft Movie (2025).

Outside of acting, Jack Black is the lead singer and guitarist for the comedy music duo Tenacious D. He formed this band with his friend Kyle Gass in 1994. They have won a Grammy Award for their music. Since 2018, he has also run a fun YouTube channel called Jablinski Games.

Early life and education

Thomas Jacob Black was born in Santa Monica, California, on August 28, 1969. His parents, Thomas William Black and Judith Love Cohen, were satellite engineers. He grew up in Hermosa Beach, California. His mother worked on important projects like the Apollo lunar module guidance system. She also worked on the science ground station for the Hubble Space Telescope. Jack Black has three older half-siblings: scientist Neil Siegel, Howard Siegel, and Rachel Siegel. His mother's family was Jewish, from Poland and Russia. His father converted to Judaism and had German, English, Irish, and Scottish roots. Jack Black was raised in the Jewish faith. He attended Hebrew school and had a bar mitzvah.

Jack Black's parents divorced when he was 10. He moved to Culver City with his father. He often visited his mother's home. For high school, Jack Black attended the Poseidon School. This was a private school designed for students who learned in different ways. He also went to the Crossroads School, where he was very good at drama. Later, he attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He left during his second year to become an entertainer. While at UCLA, he met Tim Robbins, who later cast him in a film. In 1995 and 1996, he had roles in the HBO comedy series Mr. Show.

Jack Black's Acting Journey

Early roles and breakthrough

Jack Black's first acting job was in a television commercial for the video game Pitfall! in 1982, when he was 13. In 1987, he joined the Actors' Gang, a theater group started by UCLA students. He performed in many stage plays. Jack Black's adult career began with small parts on TV shows. These included Life Goes On and The X-Files.

After Tim Robbins cast him in Bob Roberts (1992), Jack Black started getting small film roles. These included Airborne (1993) and Waterworld (1995). He also appeared in Dead Man Walking (1995) and Mars Attacks! (1996).

In 2000, Jack Black co-starred in High Fidelity. He played an energetic employee in a record store. He considers this role his big break in Hollywood. He soon got leading roles in movies like Shallow Hal (2001) and Orange County (2002). He earned great praise for his starring role in the popular musical comedy School of Rock (2003). This role earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. He also voiced characters in animated films, such as Zeke in Ice Age (2002) and Lenny in Shark Tale (2004).

Becoming a leading star

Black and Tom Howard on the set of Nacho Libre in 2006

In 2005, Jack Black took on a dramatic role as filmmaker Carl Denham in Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong. In 2006, he starred as the romantic lead opposite Kate Winslet in the comedy The Holiday. That same year, he starred in and produced the comedy film Nacho Libre. He also wrote and produced Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny.

Jack Black has also done voice acting for TV shows. He voiced Milo in an episode of The Simpsons in 2007. In 2008, he starred in the comedy Be Kind Rewind and the war satire Tropic Thunder. He also hosted the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards. Jack Black has hosted the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.

Black at a Kung Fu Panda 2 premiere in June 2011

He voiced the main character in Kung Fu Panda (2008). This movie was a huge success. He continued to voice Po in Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3. He has said this is his favorite role. He also voiced the character Eddie Riggs in the video game Brütal Legend (2009). For this, he won the Best Voice award at the Spike Video Game Awards.

In 2009, he appeared in an episode of The Office. He also starred in the adventure comedy Year One with Michael Cera. Jack Black voiced Darth Vader in some funny Star Wars parodies on YouTube.

Recent films and voice roles

In 2010, Jack Black made guest appearances on Community and Nickelodeon's iCarly. His film The Big Year, a comedy about birdwatching, was released in 2011. He received another Golden Globe nomination for his role in the comedy Bernie (2011). He played real-life funeral director Bernie Tiede. Critics praised his performance, especially his singing of gospel hymns.

In 2015, Jack Black played a fictional version of author R. L. Stine in Goosebumps. He also voiced two of Stine's creations, Slappy the Dummy and The Invisible Boy. He returned as Stine in the sequel, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018). In 2017, he played a teenage girl's personality inside Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. He starred with Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan. The film was very popular.

Awkwafina, Black and Karen Gillan in 2019

In 2018, Jack Black appeared in the music video for the Gorillaz song "Humility". He returned for Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), which was also a big success. That year, he also starred in the fantasy film The House with a Clock in Its Walls with Cate Blanchett.

In 2022, he lent his voice to the animated film Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood. He also played disc jockey Wolfman Jack in the film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. From 2022 to 2023, he voiced Po again in the Netflix animated series Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. He also made guest appearances on the series Big Nate and Rick and Morty.

In 2023, Jack Black voiced Bowser in Illumination's animated movie The Super Mario Bros. Movie. This film was a huge international success. That same year, he had roles in the comedy series History of the World, Part II and the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. Jack Black reprised his role as Po in Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). He voiced Claptrap in Borderlands (2024). He also played Steve in A Minecraft Movie (2025).

Music and Bands

Tenacious D, the comedy rock duo

Tenacious D performing in 2016

Jack Black is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the comedy rock and hard rock duo Tenacious D. His bandmate is his friend Kyle Gass. They have released five albums, including their first, Tenacious D, and The Pick of Destiny. Some of their songs, like "The Metal" and "Master Exploder", have been featured in video games such as Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Brütal Legend. Their film, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, also featured many famous actors.

In October 2010, Tenacious D performed at BlizzCon 2010, a convention for game designers. In 2012, Jack Black joined other celebrities to record "Book People Unite". This song was sponsored by the Library of Congress.

Solo music projects

Black performing in 2006

Jack Black has also worked on music by himself and with other artists. In 2000, he provided backing vocals for the band The Vandals. He also sang on Dave Grohl's Probot album. Jack Black performed a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" in the movie High Fidelity. He contributed to the Queens of the Stone Age song "Burn the Witch". He also provided vocals for two songs on the 2006 album by Eagles of Death Metal.

Jack Black has appeared in many music videos. These include videos for Beck's "Sexx Laws" and Foo Fighters' "Learn to Fly". He also appeared in videos for Weezer's "Photograph" and "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Tacky".

As a member of Tenacious D, Jack Black won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2015. This was for their cover of "The Last in Line" by Dio.

In 2025, Jack Black's song "Steve's Lava Chicken" from A Minecraft Movie made history. It became the shortest song ever to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is 34 seconds long.

Other Activities

Helping others and the planet

Tenacious D has helped the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. They raised awareness and funds for this organization. In the 1990s film Bio-Dome, Tenacious D performed their song "The Five Needs" at an environmental party. In 2016, Jack Black joined the climate change documentary show Years of Living Dangerously. He was one of the celebrity reporters.

In 2015, he visited Kampala for Comic Relief USA's Red Nose Day. Before the 2022 election, Jack Black hosted an event to help VoteRiders volunteers. These volunteers educate voters about ID requirements.

Producing films and shows

In August 2006, Jack Black started his own production company, Electric Dynamite Productions, Inc. The company's first project was the 2009 mockumentary Branson. In 2013, the company produced the TV series Ghost Ghirls. They also helped produce films like The D Train (2015) and The Polka King (2017), both starring Jack Black. The company also produced The Aquabats! RadVentures! in 2018 and the film Happily in 2021.

Jablinski Games YouTube channel

On December 21, 2018, Jack Black created a YouTube channel called Jablinski Games. Within one week, it gained over 1 million subscribers. The videos on the channel are usually vlogs with Jack Black and his two sons. They also feature gaming content. Jack Black started the channel to spend more time with his son, who helps film and edit the videos. On July 21, 2019, Jack Black participated in a Minecraft live stream with popular YouTuber PewDiePie. They raised money for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). As of June 2025, Jablinski Games has 5.14 million subscribers and 239 million video views.

Personal life

Jack Black dated actress Laura Kightlinger between 1996 and 2005. In January 2006, he became engaged to singer Tanya Haden. Tanya is the daughter of jazz bassist Charlie Haden. They had both attended Crossroads School and met again years later at a friend's party. They married on March 14, 2006, in Big Sur, California. Their sons were born in 2006 and 2008.

Jack Black was raised in the Jewish faith. As a father, he decided to raise his own children with Jewish traditions.

Filmography

Discography

With Tenacious D

• Tenacious D (2001)
• The Pick of Destiny (2006)
• Rize of the Fenix (2012)
• Post-Apocalypto (2018)

Soundtrack albums

Charted songs

Awards and nominations

On September 18, 2018, Black was inducted into Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

See also

In Spanish: Jack Black para niños