Jerome Allen Seinfeld (/ˈsaɪnfÉ›ld/ SYNE-feld; born April 29, 1954)[1] is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director. He is known for playing himself in the sitcom Seinfeld, which he created and wrote with Larry David. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy; in 2005, Comedy Central named Seinfeld the “12th Greatest Stand-up Comedian of All Time.”[2]

Seinfeld produced, co-wrote and starred in the 2007 film Bee Movie. In 2010, he premiered a reality series called The Marriage Ref, which aired for two seasons on NBC. He is the creator and host of the web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

Seinfeld was born in Brooklyn, New York City.[3] His father, Kálmán Seinfeld (1918–1985)[4][5] was of Hungarian Jewish descent, and collected jokes that he heard while serving in World War II.[3] His mother, Betty (née Hosni;[6] 1915–2014),[7][8][9] was of Mizrahi Jewish descent; her parents, Selim and Salha Hosni,[10] were from Aleppo.[11] His second cousin is musician and actor Evan Seinfeld.[12] Seinfeld grew up in Massapequa, New York, and attended Massapequa High School on Long Island.[13][14] At the age of 16, he spent time volunteering in Kibbutz Sa’ar in Israel.[15]

He attended State University of New York at Oswego, transferring after his second year to Queens College, City University of New York, graduating with a degree in communications and theater.[16][17]