Scott Adams facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Scott Adams
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Adams in 2017
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Scott Raymond Adams
June 8, 1957 Windham, New York, U.S.
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| Died | January 13, 2026 (aged 68) Pleasanton, California, U.S.
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| Years active | 1989–2026 |
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| Years active | 2018–2026 |
| Subscribers | 202,000 |
| Views | 77.9 million |
| Last updated: December 28, 2025 | |
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Scott Raymond Adams (June 8, 1957 – January 13, 2026) was an American writer and cartoonist. He was best known for creating the popular comic strip Dilbert. This comic strip made fun of office life and the world of business. Adams also wrote many books, including ones about business and other topics.
Before becoming a full-time cartoonist in 1995, Adams worked in different company jobs. His Dilbert comic strip, which started in 1989, became very famous in the United States and around the world. It stayed popular for many years.
In 2023, Adams made comments on his online show that many people found offensive. Because of these comments, many newspapers stopped publishing Dilbert. Adams then relaunched his comic as a webcomic on his own website. He passed away in January 2026 at the age of 68 after battling cancer.
Contents
About Scott Adams
His Early Life and School
Scott Raymond Adams was born on June 8, 1957, in Windham, New York. His parents were Paul and Virginia Adams. He enjoyed Peanuts comics as a child. He started drawing his own comics when he was just 6 years old. At age 11, he even won a drawing competition.
Adams finished high school in 1975 as the top student in his class. He then went to Hartwick College and earned a degree in economics in 1979. Later, in 1986, he earned a business degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Adams also took a special training course that he said changed his life.
His Career Journey
Working in Offices
From 1979 to 1986, Adams worked at Crocker National Bank in San Francisco. He started as a bank teller. After a few months, he joined a management training program. He held various jobs, including computer programmer and product manager.
Later, he worked at Pacific Bell. To pursue new interests, he would wake up very early every day. He spent time on different projects, and drawing comics turned out to be the most successful. During this time, Adams created Dilbert. The name Dilbert was suggested by his former boss. The character Dogbert was inspired by his family's pet beagle.
Adams tried to get Dilbert and other comics published, but they were not accepted at first. However, an encouraging letter from a fan made him keep trying. He continued working at Pacific Bell until 1995. The people he met there gave him ideas for many of his Dilbert characters. In 1989, while still working at Pacific Bell, Dilbert began to be published. He drew his cartoons in the early mornings to keep his job. His first payment for Dilbert was a small monthly check.
Dilbert slowly became more popular. By 1991, it was in 100 newspapers, and by 1994, it was in 400. Adams believed his success came from including his email address in the comics. This allowed readers to send him feedback and suggestions.
Becoming a Full-Time Cartoonist
Adams's success grew, and he became a full-time cartoonist in 1995. By then, Dilbert was in 800 newspapers. In 1996, his first business book, The Dilbert Principle, was released. It explained his ideas about how workplaces sometimes operate.
In 1997, Adams won the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award. This award is for outstanding cartoonists and best newspaper comic strips. He once pretended to be a management consultant to play a trick on some managers. He convinced them to adopt a very confusing company goal. By 2000, the comic was in 2,000 newspapers in 57 countries.
His comic strips were also made into a Dilbert TV series. It started in January 1999 and ran for two seasons. Adams was an executive producer for the show. He later said the show was canceled due to changes in the network's focus.
Besides his cartoon work, Adams wrote other kinds of books. These included books on self-improvement and religion. In 2001, he wrote God's Debris, which shared a unique theory about the universe. He also wrote The Religion War in 2004.
In February 2023, during an online show called Real Coffee with Scott Adams, he made comments that many people found offensive and inappropriate. As a result, many newspapers across the country stopped publishing the Dilbert comic strip. His book publisher also decided not to release his upcoming book. Adams defended his remarks, saying they were exaggerated and taken out of context. On March 13, Adams relaunched Dilbert as a webcomic on his subscription website, Locals.
In November 2025, Adams announced that he would no longer draw his comic strip. This was because of a hand condition called focal dystonia. His art director took over as the artist, but Adams continued to be the writer for Dilbert.
His Online Show: Real Coffee
In 2015, Adams started writing blog posts about politics. He predicted that Donald Trump had a high chance of winning the presidency. He focused on Trump's skills in persuading people. These posts became very popular.
Adams then turned this into a daily video show called Real Coffee with Scott Adams. He shared these videos on platforms like YouTube. On his show, Adams discussed current events and persuasion techniques.
Many guests appeared on Real Coffee with Scott Adams. In 2018, Kanye West shared clips from one of Adams's episodes on Twitter. In 2020, President Trump also shared an episode where Adams made fun of Joe Biden. Adams offered paid subscriptions for extra content on his website, Locals. He mentioned that newspaper closures were affecting his income.
Other Projects and Ideas
In 1999, Adams started a company called Scott Adams Foods, Inc. This company made a vegetarian microwave burrito called the Dilberito. It came in different flavors like Mexican and Indian. Adams wanted to create a healthy food product that many people would enjoy. He hoped to help with health problems caused by diet. However, the Dilberito did not become popular. Adams later said that the healthy ingredients sometimes caused digestive issues. He sold off his part of the business in 2003.
Adams also helped start a service called WhenHub. This service allowed people to have live chats with experts. In 2019, Adams posted a tweet during a sad event, suggesting people use the WhenHub app. He later apologized, saying the message was insensitive. The WhenHub website is no longer active.
He made a small appearance in an episode of the TV series NewsRadio. Adams was also a guest on many podcasts and TV shows.
His Personal Life
Adams married Shelly Miles in 2006. They met at a gym in Pleasanton, California. Adams was a stepfather to Miles' two children. Adams and Miles divorced in 2014 but remained friends.
In 2019, Adams announced his engagement to Kristina Basham. They married in 2020. Basham, a model and baker, also had two daughters. In March 2022, Adams announced that he and Basham were getting divorced.
Adams said he was trained as a hypnotist. He believed that using affirmations helped him achieve many things. He described a method where he would picture what he wanted and write it down many times a day. This technique helped him focus on his goals. Adams lived in Pleasanton, California.
His Health and Passing
In the early 1990s, Adams developed a condition called focal dystonia. This made his right little finger spasm when he tried to draw. He was able to overcome this with exercises. However, the condition returned in 2004, making it hard for him to draw for long periods. Since 2014, he had been drawing on a graphics tablet, sometimes using his left hand. He also had spasmodic dysphonia, which affected his vocal cords. In 2008, he had surgery that improved his voice.
On May 19, 2025, Adams shared on his podcast that he had prostate cancer. The cancer had spread to his bones. He mentioned that he had a short time left to live. Later, he found that taking certain pills unexpectedly reduced his pain. His cancer markers also dropped significantly, giving him more time.
By the end of 2025, the cancer had spread to his spine. This caused him great pain and made him use a walker. In November 2025, his health began to decline rapidly again. The following month, he said he was paralyzed below the waist and was receiving radiation therapy. He also had ongoing heart failure.
On January 1, 2026, Adams said on his podcast that his health situation was very serious. He told viewers to prepare for a "month of transition." On January 12, his first ex-wife, Shelly Miles, confirmed that Adams was in hospice care. He passed away the next day, January 13, 2026, in Pleasanton, at the age of 68.
Awards and Achievements
Adams received several awards for his work. He won the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award and Newspaper Comic Strip Award in 1997 for Dilbert. He was also listed among the 50 most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50 several times. In 1998, he received the Orwell Award for an article he wrote.
See also
In Spanish: Scott Adams para niños
