Bill Maher

Bill Maher is an American comedian, television host, actor, political commentator, and Broadway performer born in New York City on January 20, 1956. His father, William Aloysius Maher Jr., worked as a network news editor and radio announcer, while his mother, Julie Maher (née Berman), was a nurse. Raised in his Irish-American father's Roman Catholic faith, Maher did not learn until his early teens that his mother's family, originally from Hungary, was Jewish. His father stopped bringing Maher and his sister to Catholic Mass when Maher was thirteen, a decision rooted in disagreement with the Church's doctrine on birth control. Maher grew up in River Vale, New Jersey, graduating from Pascack Hills High School in Montvale in 1974 before enrolling at Cornell University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1978 with a double major in English literature and history.

Maher launched his entertainment career as a comedian, serving as host of the New York City comedy club Catch a Rising Star in 1979. By 1982 he was making regular appearances on the programs of Johnny Carson and David Letterman. His feature film debut came in D.C. Cab in 1983, and he went on to appear in Ratboy (1986), House II: The Second Story (1987), Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1988), and Pizza Man (1991). His television appearances during this period included Sara (1985), Max Headroom (1987), Murder, She Wrote (1989 and 1990), Charlie Hoover (1991), and Newhart (1988). He also hosted the CBS talk show Midnight Hour in 1990.

Maher rose to national prominence as the host of Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, a late-night political talk show that aired on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997 and subsequently on ABC from 1997 to 2002. The program featured a topical opening monologue followed by roundtable discussions among four guests drawn from entertainment, politics, journalism, and popular culture. Politically Incorrect earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Direction, two CableACE awards for Best Talk Show Series, and a Genesis Award for Best Television Talk Show. Maher received ten Emmy nominations, two TV Guide nominations, and two Writers Guild nominations for his work on the show as producer, writer, and host. ABC chose not to renew his contract in 2002 following controversy over remarks he made on air six days after the September 11 attacks, in which he agreed with guest Dinesh D'Souza that the hijackers had not acted cowardly. FedEx and Sears subsequently withdrew their advertising from the program. The show was canceled on June 16, 2002. Six days later, Maher received the Los Angeles Press Club president's award for championing free speech. He also served on the board of judges for the 2002 PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award.

In 2003, Maher became the host, co-producer, and co-writer of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, a weekly hour-long political comedy talk show that has continued through the present. That same year, he made his Broadway appearance in Bill Maher: Victory Begins At Home, for which he also served as book writer. Real Time has earned more than ten Primetime Emmy Award nominations and six Writers Guild Award nominations. In 2007, Maher and his co-producers received the Television Producer of the Year Award in Variety Television from the Producers Guild of America. Maher has also hosted the podcast Club Random since 2022.

Across his career, Maher has accumulated 41 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won once as executive producer of Vice in 2014. He has also received nominations for two Grammy Awards and a Tony Award. In 2005, Comedy Central ranked him No. 38 on its list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time, and in 2010 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His 2008 documentary film Religulous examined religion through the lens of his critical views on the subject. Maher has served on the board of PETA since 1997 in support of animal rights and sits on the advisory board of NORML, which advocates for the legalization of cannabis.