Who are John Mulaney’s parents? – John Edmund Mulaney, born August 26, 1982, is an American comedian, actor, writer and producer from Chicago, Illinois.
He first rose to prominence through his work as a writer on Saturday Night Live (SNL) from 2008 to 2013, where he created the popular recurring character Stefon alongside Bill Hader. Although he has since left SNL, he has returned several times as host.
In addition to his work on SNL, Mulaney is also highly regarded for his stand-up. He has released several stand-up specials, including “The Top Part” (2009), “New in Town” (2012), “The Comeback Kid” (2015), and “Kid Wonderful” (2018), for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing was awarded to Variety Special. He recently released “Baby J (2023),” which is about his time in rehab.
John Mulaney is also known for his children’s musical special John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch (2019), available on Netflix.
John Mulaney created and starred in the short-lived semi-autobiographical sitcom Mulaney (2014–2015). He is also known for his comedy duo with Nick Kroll, in which they played the characters George St. Geegland and Gil Faizon. They appeared together on television and on Broadway in a show called Oh, Hello on Broadway (2016).
Additionally, John Mulaney serves as co-executive producer, writer and occasional actor on the mockumentary series IFC Documentary Now! (2015–present) and voice actor for Andrew Glouberman in the Netflix animated series Big Mouth. In 2018, Mulaney made his film debut as the voice of Peter Porker/Spider-Ham in the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
John Mulaney was inspired to go into show business after watching the character Ricky Ricardo on the TV show “I Love Lucy” at the age of five. At age seven, he was part of a children’s drawing group in Chicago called The Rugrats.
Although she was offered the chance to audition for a role in the film Home Alone, her parents turned down the opportunity. In middle school, Mulaney attended St. Clement School, where he and his friend John O’Brien performed skits instead of writing reports. He also appeared in a production of Our Town when he was 14.
John Mulaney often visited the Museum of Broadcast Communications to view archived episodes of television shows such as “I Love Lucy” and “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” After graduating from St. Ignatius College Prep in 2000, he attended Georgetown University, where he majored in English and theology.
There, he joined the school’s improv group and met Nick Kroll and Mike Birbiglia. Mulaney later joined Birbiglia on his stand-up tour, which helped him overcome his stage fright.
On stage, John Mulaney has spoken openly about his past struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, revealing in a 2014 interview that he had been sober since 2005. However, in December 2020, Mulaney checked himself into a drug rehab center for drug addicts in Pennsylvania to receive treatment for addiction to alcohol, cocaine and prescription drugs.
He then underwent outpatient treatment in February 2021, and during his first television appearance this year, Mulaney said he initially checked into rehab in September 2020, but relapsed after his appearance on Saturday Night Live in October, and then an intervention was performed. Friends, including Seth Meyers and Bill Hader, nursed him back to health before seeking further treatment.
John Mulaney has also participated in several philanthropic efforts, including at a USO event honoring the armed forces in 2016, where he shared the stage with other comedians and public figures, including Jon Stewart, David Letterman and the President Barack Obama.
Additionally, Mulaney has publicly supported political candidates including Bernie Sanders during the 2016 presidential campaign, and was seen with his then-wife at a Black Lives Matter protest in Washington DC in June 2020.
However, Mulaney was criticized for a joke he made during his Saturday Night Live opening monologue just before the 2020 United States presidential election, in which he suggested that regardless of the outcome, “nothing great will not change.
Some viewers found the joke insensitive and irresponsible, while others praised Mulaney for his comments on issues such as wealth inequality and mental illness. Mulaney later reflected on the backlash during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, admitting that he “forgot to make the joke good.”
In June 2021, Mulaney appeared alongside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to open a concert with the Strokes to raise money for New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley.
Who are John Mulaney’s parents?
Mulaney was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Ellen Mulaney and Charles “Chip” Mulaney Jr. Ellen is a professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law and Charles is an attorney and partner at Skadden Arps.
Both of Mulaney’s parents are of Irish Catholic descent. Mulaney’s maternal great-grandparents were George J. Bates, Republican mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, who also served as a member of that state’s Congress, and Nora Jennings, who moved to the United States from Ballyhaunis, County Mayo .
Mulaney’s maternal great-uncle is William H. Bates, who also served as a U.S. Congressman. Mulaney’s parents attended Georgetown University and Yale Law School, where they attended at the same time as future President Bill Clinton.
Mulaney has an older sister, an older brother, a younger sister, and a younger brother who died at birth. His confirmation name is Martin, after St. Martin de Porres, in honor of his late brother Peter Martin, who died in infancy when Mulaney was four. Growing up, Mulaney was an altar boy.