John Mulaney facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Mulaney
Mulaney in 2014
Born	(1982-08-26) August 26, 1982 (age 42) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up television film
Education	Georgetown University (BA)
Genres	Observational comedy sketch comedy surreal humor black comedy satire
Subject(s)	American culture everyday life social awkwardness pop culture
Spouse	Annamarie Tendler ​ ​ (m. 2014; div. 2022)​ Olivia Munn ​ (m. 2024)​
Children	2

John Edmund Mulaney (born August 26, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois. Mulaney became well-known for his writing work on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 2008 to 2013. He helped create many funny sketches and characters, including Stefon, a popular character he made with Bill Hader.

After leaving Saturday Night Live, Mulaney has hosted the show six times. This made him a member of the SNL Five Timers Club in 2022.

Mulaney has released several stand-up comedy specials, including The Top Part (2009), New in Town (2012), The Comeback Kid (2015), Kid Gorgeous (2018), and Baby J (2023). He won two Primetime Emmy Awards for writing Kid Gorgeous and Baby J. He also created a children's musical comedy special for Netflix called John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch (2019).

Mulaney created and starred in the TV show Mulaney (2014–2015). He also performs as George St. Geegland in a comedy team with Nick Kroll. They performed together on television and on Broadway in a show called Oh, Hello on Broadway (2016–2017). Mulaney also works as a writer and actor for the IFC show Documentary Now! (2015–2022). In 2024, he hosted and created the Netflix talk show Everybody's in LA.

Mulaney has appeared in other TV shows like Dickinson (2019), The Bear (2023–), and Poker Face (2025). He has also voiced characters in animated shows and movies. These include Andrew Glouberman in Big Mouth (2017–2025), Peter Porker / Spider-Ham in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Chip in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022), and Big Jack Horner in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).

Early Life and Education

John Mulaney was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 26, 1982. Both of his parents are lawyers. His mother, Ellen Mulaney, is a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. His father, Charles "Chip" Mulaney Jr., is a partner at a law firm. His family has Irish Catholic roots.

Mulaney's parents both went to Georgetown University and Yale Law School. They were at Georgetown and Yale at the same time as future president Bill Clinton. Mulaney has said he met Clinton in 1992. John is the third of five children in his family.

When he was five years old, Mulaney knew he wanted to work in show business after watching the character Ricky Ricardo on the show I Love Lucy. At age seven, he was part of a children's sketch group in Chicago called "The Rugrats". This group gave him a chance to audition for the role of Kevin in the movie Home Alone, but his parents decided against it.

For junior high, he went to St. Clement School. There, instead of writing reports, he and his best friend would perform what they learned as skits. When he was 14, Mulaney acted in a play called Our Town. He also often visited the Museum of Broadcast Communications to watch old episodes of shows like I Love Lucy and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

He graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in 2000. Then, Mulaney went to Georgetown University, where his parents had also studied. He studied English and also took classes in theology. At Georgetown, he joined the school's improv group. There, he met Nick Kroll and Mike Birbiglia. He later joined Birbiglia on his stand-up comedy tour. Mulaney said this helped him get over his stage fright.

Comedy Career Beginnings

The main stage for Saturday Night Live

After finishing college in 2004, Mulaney moved to New York City to start a career in comedy. He got a job as an office assistant at Comedy Central. After a year, he suggested an idea for a funny show called I Love the '30s, which was a parody of I Love the '80s. He developed this idea with fellow comedian Nick Kroll.

Mulaney later auditioned for Saturday Night Live in August 2008. He performed stand-up comedy with funny characters. Mulaney earned a spot on the writing team for Saturday Night Live. He worked there for four seasons, writing jokes for the hosts. He also sometimes appeared on the show's Weekend Update segment. He and SNL actor Bill Hader created the popular SNL character Stefon. Mulaney was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series with the SNL writing team from 2009 to 2012. He won an Emmy in 2011 for writing a song with Justin Timberlake and Seth Meyers.

Mulaney performing in 2009

While working on SNL, Mulaney also performed as a stand-up comedian. He has been a main performer since 2008. He performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2008. He has appeared on many late-night talk shows, including Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Mulaney released his first comedy album, The Top Part, in 2009. His stand-up comedy special New in Town came out in 2012. Both were made with Comedy Central.

In 2013, Mulaney created a TV show pilot for NBC called Mulaney. It was based on his own life. NBC did not pick up the show at first, but Fox later ordered a season of six episodes. The show starred Mulaney, Nasim Pedrad, Martin Short, and Elliott Gould. The series was canceled in May 2015. Mulaney said he wanted to make the kind of live-audience sitcoms he watched growing up.

Rising to Stardom

Mulaney in 2013

Mulaney's third comedy special, The Comeback Kid, was released on Netflix on November 13, 2015. Critics really liked The Comeback Kid. David Sims of The Atlantic magazine said it showed everything that makes Mulaney special, like his great storytelling. During this time, Mulaney also wrote for other TV projects, including Maya & Marty and Documentary Now!. He also acted in supporting roles on shows like Crashing and Portlandia. In 2016, Mulaney was nominated for an Emmy for The Comeback Kid.

In 2015, Mulaney became a writer for the IFC show Documentary Now!. This show makes fun of famous documentary films. Mulaney has written five episodes for the series. His first acting role on the show was in the 2019 episode "Original Cast Album: Co-Op". In this episode, Mulaney played a character based on the famous composer Stephen Sondheim. The episode was very popular and received great reviews.

Mulaney collaborated with Nick Kroll on Oh, Hello sketch, tour and Broadway show

Mulaney has played the character George St. Geegland, an older man from New York, since the early 2000s. St. Geegland hosts a prank show with his friend Gil Faizon (played by comedian Nick Kroll). The characters became very popular on Kroll's show Kroll Show. Mulaney and Kroll toured the U.S. with a show called Oh, Hello, playing their characters. The show opened on Broadway in September 2016 and finished in January 2017. The Broadway show was filmed and released on Netflix in June 2017.

Mulaney's fourth stand-up comedy tour was called Kid Gorgeous. It started in May 2017 and ended in April 2018. The tour included seven shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in February 2018. One of these shows was filmed for another Netflix special. Kid Gorgeous was highly praised by critics. Steve Greene of IndieWire called it "one of the year's best pieces of writing". At the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, Mulaney won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for Kid Gorgeous.

In 2017, Mulaney was invited to honor David Letterman at The Kennedy Center. Letterman was receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Letterman said, "John Mulaney—this is the future of comedy, ladies and gentlemen." Mulaney also performed stand-up at charity events like Night of Too Many Stars (2017) and Hilarity for Charity (2018).

Mulaney voices a main character, Andrew Glouberman, on the animated Netflix series Big Mouth (2017–2025). His writing partner Nick Kroll co-created the show. Mulaney and Kroll also co-hosted the Independent Spirit Awards in 2017 and 2018. In 2018, Mulaney voiced Spider-Ham in the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Mulaney returned to SNL as a host in 2018, ending up hosting six times

Mulaney has returned to host Saturday Night Live six times. He hosted on April 14, 2018; March 2, 2019; February 29, 2020; October 31, 2020; February 26, 2022; and November 2, 2024. This made him the fourth SNL writer to host the show. As a host, he performed in funny musical sketches like "Diner Lobster" and "Airport Sushi". Mulaney joined Saturday Night Live's Five-Timers Club on February 26, 2022. Other famous comedians like Candice Bergen, Tina Fey, and Steve Martin welcomed him to the club.

In January 2019, Mulaney announced he would tour with Pete Davidson for a series of comedy shows called "Sundays with Pete & John". Mulaney and Davidson became good friends and appeared together on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live. In December 2019, Mulaney released a children's musical comedy special, John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch, on Netflix. The special was inspired by classic children's shows like Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. It features Mulaney and 15 child actors and singers. Famous guests included David Byrne and Jake Gyllenhaal. Critics loved the special, saying it was a great parody and also an excellent children's show. Mulaney was nominated for two Emmy Awards for the special.

Recent Projects

Mulaney returned to Broadway acting in the Simon Rich show All In: Comedy About Love (2024) at the Hudson Theatre.

In May 2021, Mulaney returned to stand-up comedy with new material called John Mulaney: From Scratch. He performed many sold-out shows. Parts of this routine were later used in his 2023 special Baby J. Mulaney honored Robin Williams in the Netflix special The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up. He appeared in this special with other comedians like Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle.

In March 2023, a new Netflix special from Mulaney, titled Baby J, was released on April 25, 2023. The special was filmed in Boston.

In 2023, he appeared as himself in the episode "Borgnine" of the Pete Davidson series Bupkis on Peacock. He also guest starred in the episode "Fishes" in the Hulu series The Bear as Stevie. In April 2024, he announced a six-part series called John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA, which was streamed live on Netflix. The series was well-received, with critics calling it a fun talk show. On September 9, 2024, it was announced that Mulaney would return to Broadway in the play All In: Comedy About Love. He acted alongside Fred Armisen and Richard Kind. In 2025, Mulaney worked as a writer on the NBC television special, Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special, where he also co-hosted and performed in sketches.

Comedy Influences

When asked about the comedians who influenced him, John Mulaney said he "always loved stand-up albums." He grew up listening to comedy albums. He collects stand-up albums. He has mentioned loving albums by Chris Rock, Woody Allen, Nichols and May, and Albert Brooks. He also listened to a lot of Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Conan O'Brien, and Bob Newhart. For his top four comedy albums, Mulaney mentioned Rock's Bring the Pain, Mitch Hedberg's Strategic Grill Locations, Eddie Izzard's Dress to Kill, and Dave Atell's Skanks for the Memories... (2003).

Personal Life

Family and Relationships

On July 5, 2014, John Mulaney married multimedia artist Annamarie Tendler. They separated in May 2021 and divorced in January 2022.

In September 2021, Mulaney announced that he and actress Olivia Munn were expecting a child. Their first child, a son, was born on November 24, 2021. Mulaney and Munn married in July 2024 in New York. Their second child, a daughter, was born on September 14, 2024.

Public Appearances

Mulaney performing at a Joining Forces event at Joint Base Andrews in 2016

In 2016, Mulaney performed stand-up comedy at an event honoring the Armed Forces at Joint Base Andrews. This event was called "A Celebration of Service" and was organized by the USO. Other comedians like Jon Stewart and David Letterman also performed. The event was attended by then-President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2018	Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse	Peter Porker / Spider-Ham	Voice, film debut
2019	Spider-Ham: Caught in a Ham		Voice; short film
2020	Spider-Ham: Back on the Air
2022	Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers	Chip	Voice
	Puss in Boots: The Last Wish	"Big" Jack Horner	Voice
2023	Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse	Peter Porker / Spider-Ham	Voice, archival audio
2027	Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse	Peter Porker / Spider-Ham	Voice; In production
TBA	Madden	Trip Hawkins	Filming

Television

Specials

Theatre

Video games

Discography

Standup specials

• The Top Part (Comedy Central Records, 2009)
• New in Town (Comedy Central Records, 2012)
• The Comeback Kid (Drag City, 2017)
• John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City (Drag City, 2018)
• John Mulaney: "Baby J" (Drag City, 2023)

Musical

• Original Cast Album: Co-Op (Lakeshore Records, 2019)
• John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch (Drag City, 2019)

Touring

• John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous (2017–2018)
• Sundays with Pete and John (2019)
• John Mulaney: From Scratch (2021–2023)
• John Mulaney: In Concert (2024)

Awards and Nominations

John Mulaney has received many awards and nominations for his work in television. In 2009, Mulaney won a Peabody Award with the writers of Saturday Night Live. This was for their funny work on the 2008 United States presidential election. He has been nominated for many Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on Saturday Night Live and Documentary Now!. He won his first Emmy Award in 2011 for co-writing the song "Justin Timberlake Monologue" with Seth Meyers and Justin Timberlake for Saturday Night Live. He won his second Emmy in 2018 for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for his stand-up special John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City.

Images for kids

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  Mulaney in 2014

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  The main stage for Saturday Night Live

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  Mulaney performing in 2009

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  Mulaney in 2013

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  Mulaney collaborated with Nick Kroll on Oh, Hello sketch, tour and Broadway show

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  Mulaney returned to SNL as a host in 2018, ending up hosting six times

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  Mulaney returned to Broadway acting in the Simon Rich show All In: Comedy About Love (2024) at the Hudson Theatre.

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  Mulaney performing at a Joining Forces event at Joint Base Andrews in 2016

See also

In Spanish: John Mulaney para niños