John Mulaney

John Edmund Mulaney is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer born on August 26, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents, Ellen Mulaney and Charles "Chip" Mulaney Jr., are both lawyers of Irish Catholic heritage; his mother is a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and his father is a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. The third of five children, Mulaney grew up as an altar boy and attended St. Ignatius College Prep, graduating in 2000. His maternal great-grandparents include George J. Bates, a Republican mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, who served as a U.S. congressman, and Nora Jennings, who emigrated from Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, Ireland. His maternal great-uncle, William H. Bates, also served as a U.S. congressman.

At age seven, Mulaney was a member of a Chicago-based children's sketch group called The Rugrats, and at fourteen he played Wally Webb in a production of Our Town. He enrolled at Georgetown University, where his parents had also studied, majoring in English and minoring in theology. There he joined the school's improv group and met Nick Kroll and Mike Birbiglia, later joining Birbiglia on a stand-up tour. After graduating in 2004, Mulaney moved to New York City and was hired as an office assistant at Comedy Central, where he developed a parody concept called I Love the '30s alongside Kroll before leaving to pursue stand-up full time.

Following a performance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Mulaney auditioned for Saturday Night Live in August 2008 alongside Donald Glover, Ellie Kemper, Bobby Moynihan, and others. He joined the SNL writing staff, where he remained for four seasons, writing host monologues and occasionally appearing on the Weekend Update segment. With SNL cast member Bill Hader, he co-created the recurring character Stefon. Mulaney received Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series with the SNL writing staff from 2009 to 2012, and won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics at the 2011 ceremony alongside Justin Timberlake, Seth Meyers, and Katreese Barnes. He departed SNL in 2013 and has since hosted the program six times, becoming a member of the SNL Five Timers Club in 2022. He also won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for the SNL 50 special.

Mulaney's stand-up specials include The Top Part (2009), New in Town (2012), The Comeback Kid (2015), Kid Gorgeous (2018), and Baby J (2023). He won Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for both Kid Gorgeous and Baby J. In 2014, Fox ordered his semi-autobiographical sitcom Mulaney, which starred Mulaney alongside Nasim Pedrad, Martin Short, and Elliott Gould; the series was cancelled after one season in 2015. In 2019, he released the children's musical comedy special John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch on Netflix.

On Broadway, Mulaney performed as George St. Geegland in the comedic duo he formed with Nick Kroll, appearing in Oh, Hello on Broadway during the 2016–2017 season. He also appeared in the revue Hello, Broadway! and in All In: Comedy About Love, with his Broadway credits spanning 2016 to 2024. He is additionally credited as a book writer for Broadway productions.

Beyond stand-up and the stage, Mulaney has been a co-executive producer, writer, and occasional actor on the IFC mockumentary series Documentary Now! from 2015 to 2022. He hosted, created, and executive produced the Netflix talk show Everybody's in LA in 2024 and its spinoff Everybody's Live with John Mulaney, which launched in 2025. His voice acting credits include Andrew Glouberman in the Netflix animated series Big Mouth from 2017 to 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). He has also taken guest roles in the Apple TV+ series Dickinson, the FX series The Bear, and the Peacock series Poker Face.