Jordan Peele

In the early 2000s Peele began his career in improv comedy and performed with Boom Chicago and The Second City. His breakout role came in 2003 when he was hired as a cast member on the Fox sketch comedy series Mad TV, where he spent five seasons, leaving the show in 2008. In the following years Peele and his frequent Mad TV collaborator, Keegan-Michael Key, created and starred in their own Comedy Central sketch comedy series Key & Peele (2012–2015). The series was critically acclaimed, winning two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award. The two wrote, produced, and starred in the comedy film Keanu (2016) and have appeared in various projects since. His 2017 directorial debut, the horror film Get Out, was a critical and box office success for which he received numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, along with nominations for Best Picture and Best Director. He received another Academy Award nomination for Best Picture for producing Spike Lee's comedy-drama BlacKkKlansman (2018). He directed, wrote, and produced the films Us (2019) and Nope (2022). Critics have since frequently named Us, Nope, and in particular Get Out as among the best films of the 21st century. He founded the film and television production company Monkeypaw Productions in 2012. He co-wrote and produced Candyman (2021) and Wendell and Wild (2022), co-starring in the latter. Peele has also voice-acted in the animated films Storks (2016), Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017), and Toy Story 4 (2019), as well as in the adult animated sitcom Big Mouth (2017–2025). He co-created the TBS comedy series The Last O.G. (2018–2022) and the YouTube Premium comedy series Weird City (2019). He also served as the host and producer of the Paramount+ revival of the anthology series The Twilight Zone (2019–2020).

Jordan Peele studied at Sarah Lawrence College and Calhoun School. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is acting, film screenwriting and film production. Keenen Ivory Wayans, Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor are recorded as an influence. Works named in the authority record are Get Out. Distinctions recorded are Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, British Fantasy Award for Best Anthology, Locus Award for Best Anthology and Bram Stoker Award for Best Anthology.

• Birth Name — Jordan Haworth Peele • Born — 21 February 1979 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Occupation — * Actor • comedian • filmmaker • Years Active — 2002–present • Works — Full list • Awards — Full list • Children — 1

Peele was born in New York City on February 21, 1979. His mother, Lucinda Williams, is white, from Maryland. His father, Hayward Peele, Jr. (died 1999), was African American, originally from North Carolina. Peele last saw his father when he was seven years old and was raised by his single mother on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Peele had been a cinephile ever since he was a young child and decided at 12 that he wanted to be a film director. Peele states that the moment he knew he had a gift of some sort occurred at a camp where he told a scary campfire story and noticed his own fear had disappeared. With a new sense of power, he realized that if he created the horror, there was no reason to be scared of it—something he took with him when he decided to direct film. In addition he states that Glory, Edward Scissorhands, Thelma & Louise, and Aliens were films that had a strong effect on him. He attended the Computer School in Manhattan, graduated from The Calhoun School on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 1997 after securing a scholarship to attend the private school, and went on to Sarah Lawrence College, where he declared a major in puppetry. After two years Peele dropped out to form a comedy duo with Sarah Lawrence classmate and future Key & Peele writer Rebecca Drysdale.

Peele regularly performed at Boom Chicago, an English language improv troupe based in Amsterdam and The Second City in Chicago where he trained with Keegan-Michael Key.

In 2003, Peele joined the cast of Mad TV for its ninth season. Around the time Keegan-Michael Key joined the cast as a featured performer, it was assumed that Key would be chosen over Peele. The two of them ultimately were cast together after showing great comedic chemistry. Peele performed celebrity impersonations, which included favorites Ja Rule, Flavor Flav, Montel Williams, Morgan Freeman, Seal, Timbaland, will.i.am, and Forest Whitaker. Peele was absent from the first four episodes of his second season on Mad TV. He made a cameo in "Weird Al" Yankovic's video "White & Nerdy" with Mad TV co-star Keegan-Michael Key. After five seasons on Mad TV, Peele left the cast at the end of the 13th season. • Illustration — Peele performing in 2012 Peele was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award for his song "Sad Fitty Cent", a music video parody about 50 Cent lamenting over his rivalry with Kanye West. The lyrics were, according to the music video, written by Peele, and he was involved in arranging its music. In 2009, he appeared in Little Fockers. He appeared in a viral video titled "Hillary vs Obama" (which was shown as a Mad TV sketch) where he and a Hillary Clinton supporter (played by short-term cast member Lisa Donovan) argue over whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama would make a better president, only to get upstaged by a Rudy Giuliani supporter (played by Donovan's brother, Ben). Peele auditioned to be a cast member for Saturday Night Live when SNL producers were looking for someone to play Barack Obama (around the time when SNL and Mad TV — and other scripted shows — were put on hiatus due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike). In 2010, Peele co-starred in the Fox comedy pilot The Station, and appeared with a recurring role in the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital. He had a supporting role in the David Wain-directed comedy Wanderlust, which was released in 2012. Peele and his former Mad TV castmate and friend Keegan-Michael Key starred in their own Comedy Central sketch series Key & Peele, from 2012 to 2015. The series was a success with viewers, and spawned several skits and videos that went viral online. In 2014, Peele played an FBI agent in the first season of the FX anthology series Fargo, inspired by the 1996 film of the same name. In 2016, Peele starred in and produced, with Key, the first feature film in which the two both had leading roles, Keanu (they had previously both appeared in Wanderlust). The film received generally favorable reviews from critics.

There have been several films floated based on Peele's sketch comedy series Key & Peele. In March 2015, it was announced that Key would reprise the role of Mr. Garvey in a feature-length film Substitute Teacher with Peele portraying a rival teacher. In March 2017 in a Reddit AMA, Peele expressed interest in developing a film around his Key & Peele character Wendell Sanders based on the music video "The Power of Wings". The film, titled Wendell Meets Middle-Earth, would follow Wendell's existence in the fantasy world that he likes to see his life in. In October 2020, Rosenfeld and Peele signed on to produce the remake of Wes Craven's 1991 comedy horror film The People Under the Stairs. It was reported in September 2021 that his Monkeypaw Productions company had struck a deal with Universal Television. Peele approached Walt Disney Pictures with a proposal for a live-action remake of their cult favorite animated property, Gargoyles, but was declined. At the Game Awards 2023, Peele announced his collaboration with video game designer Hideo Kojima on his next game, OD, an experimental horror title. Peele's next directorial effort was set to be released on December 25, 2024, before being quietly pulled from Universal's release schedule following the impact of the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes. Universal later reinstated the film with a new release date of October 23, 2026, which would mark the longest gap between Peele's films to date. In September 2025, the movie was removed from Universal's release schedule again, with no new announced release date.

In October 2023, Peele signed an open letter calling for then-President Joe Biden to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas during the Gaza war and the Artists4Ceasefire letter calling for a ceasefire in the war.

Through his mother, Lucinda Williams, Peele is descended from the colonial Woodhull family, whose members include Brigadier General Nathaniel Woodhull and Culper Ring Spy Abraham Woodhull (the latter of whom is his first cousin, eight times removed). Peele began dating Chelsea Peretti in 2013. They became engaged in November 2015, and Peretti announced in April 2016 that she and Peele had eloped. They have a son (b. 2017).

Peele showcases many political issues through his main "Looking Trilogy" of work such as racism, politics and history. The three main pieces Peele produced, wrote and directed on his own account are Get Out, Nope, and Us, all grouped together now as a trilogy of work that through modern horror, allows Peele to address social issues. In 2017, Peele was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people. As filmmaker • Year — Title — Director — Writer — Producer — Distribution — Note • 2016 — Keanu — Warner Bros. Pictures — Also acted in a starring role • 2017 — Get Out — Universal Pictures — Also made a cameo (voice) appearance • 2018 — BlacKkKlansman — Focus Features • 2019 — Us — Universal Pictures — Also made a cameo (voice) appearance • 2021 — Candyman • 2022 — Nope • Wendell & Wild — Netflix — Also voiced a leading role • 2024 — Monkey Man — Universal Pictures • 2025 — Him