Jerry Seinfeld
Born 1954 · Age 71
American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, filmmaker and producer best known as co-creator and star of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld; creator/host of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee; prolific stand-up performer and author.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Brooklyn, New York
Jerome Allen Seinfeld born to Betty and Kalmen Seinfeld into a Jewish family in Brooklyn, NY.
Volunteered at Kibbutz Sa'ar in Israel
At age 16 Seinfeld spent time volunteering on Kibbutz Sa'ar.
Graduated Queens College (BA Communications & Theater)
Transferred from SUNY Oswego and graduated from Queens College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and theater.
Stand-up debut at Catch a Rising Star (open mic)
After college graduation he tried out at an open-mic night at Catch a Rising Star in New York City, launching his stand-up career.
Appeared on Rodney Dangerfield HBO special
Tryout at Catch a Rising Star led to an appearance in a Rodney Dangerfield HBO special, giving early national exposure.
Recurring role on Benson (3 episodes)
Had a small recurring role as Frankie the mail-delivery boy on the sitcom Benson; was abruptly fired over creative differences.
Performed on An Evening at the Improv
Performed stand-up on the TV show An Evening at the Improv (Jan 1981).
Breakthrough Tonight Show appearance
Appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (May 1981), which led to frequent national bookings.
HBO special 'Stand-Up Confidential' aired
His first one-hour special, Stand-Up Confidential, aired live on HBO (Sep 5, 1987).
Created The Seinfeld Chronicles with Larry David
Conceived and co-created the pilot series 'The Seinfeld Chronicles' (later renamed Seinfeld) with Larry David for NBC.
Seinfeld series premiered on NBC
Seinfeld (originally The Seinfeld Chronicles) premiered; Seinfeld starred as a semi-fictionalized version of himself.
Seinfeld became most-watched sitcom by Season 3
By its third season, Seinfeld was the most-watched sitcom on American television.
Seinfeld won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
The show won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series (1993); Seinfeld, as co-creator/producer, shared in the honor.
Published SeinLanguage
Released SeinLanguage, a best-selling collection of his stand-up material and observations.
Met Shoshanna Lonstein in Central Park
Met 17-year-old Shoshanna Lonstein (May 1993); they dated for approximately four years (1993–1997).
Received Honorary Doctorate from Queens College
Queens College awarded Seinfeld an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
Won Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – TV Series (Musical or Comedy)
Seinfeld earned the Golden Globe Award for his role on Seinfeld.
Refused NBC's $110M offer to continue Seinfeld (declined $5M/episode)
NBC reportedly offered $110 million (about $5 million per episode) for a 10th season of Seinfeld; Seinfeld declined and the show ended in 1998.
Seinfeld series finale aired; show concluded (1998)
Final episode of Seinfeld aired in 1998; series began massive syndication success thereafter.
Recorded tour special 'I'm Telling You for the Last Time'
Went on tour and recorded the comedy special I'm Telling You for the Last Time (1998).
Auctioned Breitling Chronomat watch for charity
Auctioned a Breitling Chronomat as part of the 'Famous Faces, Watch Auction For Charity' event; watch sold for $11,000.
Bought New York brownstone / converted to garage (brownstone purchase)
Biography notes he bought a brownstone in NYC in 1999 and converted it into a multilevel garage to store cars.
Imported Porsche 959 made U.S. legal under 'Show or Display'
Seinfeld owned a Porsche 959 which was made street-legal in the U.S. in 1999 under special law permitting limited driving.
Married Jessica Sklar (Jessica Seinfeld)
Married public relations executive Jessica Sklar on December 25, 1999; later had three children.
Purchased Billy Joel's Amagansett house for $32M
After marriage the Seinfelds bought Billy Joel's house in Amagansett for roughly $32 million.
Founded Good+Foundation (formerly Baby Buggy)
Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld created Good+Foundation after the birth of their first child to support families in poverty.
Acquired Steve McQueen's Porsche 917 (Chassis 022)
Purchased the famous Porsche 917 (Chassis 022) which he later had restored to 1971-era Gulf livery.
Built Upper West Side two-story garage ($1.4M)
Purchased property and built a $1.4M two-story garage to house his Porsche collection.
Documentary 'Comedian' released; chronicled his world tour
Comedian (2002) documented Seinfeld's return to stand-up around the world.
Published children's book 'Halloween'
Released the children's book Halloween (illustrated by James Bennett).
Forbes reported cumulative Seinfeld earnings of $267M
As of 2004 Forbes listed Seinfeld's cumulative earnings from Seinfeld at $267 million; he also earned $100M from syndication/stand-up that year.
Ranked 12th-greatest stand-up by Comedy Central
Comedy Central named him the 12th-greatest stand-up comedian of all time in 2004.
Donated 'puffy shirt' to National Museum of American History
On November 18, 2004 he presented the 'puffy shirt' prop from Seinfeld to the National Museum of American History.
Reported earnings of $60M in 2006
Forbes reported Seinfeld earned $60 million in 2006.
Co-wrote, produced and voiced lead in 'Bee Movie'
Co-produced, co-wrote and voiced Barry B. Benson in DreamWorks' animated Bee Movie (2007).
Presented at the 79th Academy Awards
Appeared at the Oscars (Feb 25, 2007) as presenter for 'Best Documentary', performing a comedic monologue.
Microsoft Windows Vista ad campaign involvement (reported $300M campaign)
Associated Press reported Seinfeld would be a pitchman in a reported $300M Microsoft ad campaign; Seinfeld was paid (reported) $10M for the ads; TV spots were cut after initial installments and moved online.
Reunion of Seinfeld cast on Curb Your Enthusiasm
Announced and performed in a fictional Seinfeld reunion within Larry David's HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm (2009 finale arc).
Appeared as first guest on The Jay Leno Show
Was the first guest on The Jay Leno Show when it premiered on September 14, 2009.
Created and produced 'The Marriage Ref'
Launched and executive produced The Marriage Ref (2010–2011), appearing as a panelist and producer.
Appeared in HBO special 'Talking Funny'
Participated in HBO special Talking Funny with Chris Rock, Louis C.K., and Ricky Gervais (2011).
Launched JerrySeinfeld.com archives; U.S. tour and UK return
Launched a personal archives website and toured the U.S.; made his first stand-up appearance in the UK in 11 years.
Premiered 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee'
Started the web/streaming series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (2012), picking a different car/comedian each episode.
Speech at Clio Awards – received honorary Clio and provoked coverage
Received an honorary Clio Award in 2014 (speech widely covered for remarks about advertising and lying).
Appeared with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at David Lynch Foundation benefit (2009 recapped)
Participated in a 2009 David Lynch Foundation benefit (promoting TM) that featured Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr; Seinfeld continues to support TM charity efforts.
Testified/promoted Transcendental Meditation on Good Morning America
In December 2012/2013 promoted TM and its benefits alongside Bob Roth; stated he'd practiced TM for ~40 years (since ~1972).
Guest appearance on rapper Wale album 'The Gifted'
Appeared on Wale's album The Gifted on the song 'Outro About Nothing'.
Hosted 'Don Rickles: One Night Only'
Hosted the Don Rickles tribute / roast special at the Apollo Theatre which featured numerous high-profile comedians and actors.
Guest on David Letterman's final Late Show (May 20, 2015)
Appeared in the Top Ten segment with other stars on David Letterman's final Late Show.
Appeared on SNL 40th Anniversary Special
Hosted the 'Questions from the Audience' segment during Saturday Night Live's 40th Anniversary Special (Feb 15, 2015).
Participated in David Lynch Foundation Carnegie Hall benefit
Spoke at the 'Change Begins Within' benefit (Nov 5, 2015) promoting Transcendental Meditation; long-time TM practitioner (since ~1972).
Sold 15 Porsches at auction for $22M
Sold 15 classic Porsches at auction for a total of about $22 million; the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder fetched $5,335,000.
Hosted President Barack Obama on Comedians in Cars
Season seven of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee featured then-President Barack Obama in a high-profile episode (farewell-era episode).
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee won Webby Awards and Emmy nominations
The show earned three Webby Awards and was nominated for multiple Primetime Emmy Awards across its run (2012–2019).
Signed multi-partnership deal with Netflix (Comedians and specials)
Announced a deal with Netflix in January 2017 to place Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee on Netflix, produce two stand-up specials and develop new programming; various press reports cited a reported ~$100M valuation for content acquisition (figures vary by source).
Released Netflix special 'Jerry Before Seinfeld'
Netflix released the stand-up documentary Jerry Before Seinfeld (Sep 19, 2017) revisiting Comic Strip Live and his early career; later nominated for a Grammy for Best Comedy Album (2018).
Lawsuit filed over Comedians in Cars idea; later dismissed
Producer Christian Charles sued Seinfeld in 2018 claiming the idea for Comedians in Cars was his; a Manhattan judge ruled in favor of Seinfeld in Sept 2019 citing statute of limitations.
Released Netflix special '23 Hours to Kill'
Netflix premiered 23 Hours to Kill (May 5, 2020), his first original stand-up special of new material in 22 years; earned an Emmy nomination.
Published 'Is This Anything?' book
Released Is This Anything? (Oct 2020), a compilation of his best material spanning 45 years in comedy.
Settled legal dispute over authenticity of sold Porsche
Following litigation after a buyer claimed a sold 1958 Porsche 356 was not authentic, Seinfeld sued the dealer and both lawsuits were settled in June 2022.
Purchased a customized 1999 Porsche 911 Classic Club Coupe for $1.2M
Acquired a highly customized 1999 Porsche 911 Classic Club Coupe in June 2023 for about $1.2 million.
Heckled by protesters during Sydney and Melbourne shows (June 2024)
During his 2024 tour Seinfeld was heckled in Sydney and Melbourne over comments about Israel/Palestine; he responded onstage.
Embarked on new international tour (Singapore & Australia start)
Started a new stand-up tour in Singapore in June 2024 followed by dates in Australia and North America.
Bloomberg declared Seinfeld a billionaire (net worth >$1B)
Bloomberg reported Seinfeld's net worth exceeded US$1 billion in 2024, citing syndication and streaming deals that contributed about $465M.
Directed, co-wrote, produced and starred in Netflix film 'Unfrosted'
Made his feature film directorial debut with Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story (premiered May 3, 2024), also co-wrote, produced and starred in the satirical comedy.
Gave commencement address and received honorary degree at Duke University
Received an Honorary Doctor of Arts from Duke University and delivered the commencement address on May 12, 2024; some students booed and protested during speech.
Key Achievement Ages
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