Pete Davidson

Davidson is the son of Amy Waters Davidson and Scott Matthew Davidson, a New York City firefighter who died while responding to the September 11, 2001, attacks. He has a younger sister, Casey Davidson, and was raised Catholic. The loss of his father became a recurring subject in his comedy and later influenced The King of Staten Island.

Davidson was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at 17 or 18 and has received intravenous treatment. He has also spoken publicly about being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and undergoing therapy and medication. In 2017, he announced that he had stopped using drugs and was sober for the first time in eight years, later clarifying that marijuana had been the only drug he used and that he resumed drinking and recreational marijuana use after treatment for borderline personality disorder.

Davidson was engaged to Ariana Grande in 2018, but the engagement ended that October. He dated Kim Kardashian from November 2021 until August 2022, after meeting her when she hosted Saturday Night Live. He later dated Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, and Elsie Hewitt. Davidson and Hewitt had a daughter in December 2025, and their relationship ended in May 2026.

Davidson first performed stand-up at a Staten Island bowling alley when he was 16. He began opening for touring comedians, including Nick Cannon, at 15, and later appeared on MTV and MTV2 programs including Failosophy, Guy Code, and Wild 'N Out. His early screen work also included guest roles on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Friends of the People.

While filming a small role in Amy Schumer's Trainwreck, Davidson met Bill Hader, who recommended him to Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. Davidson joined the show for its 40th-season premiere in 2014 at age 20, becoming the first cast member born in the 1990s and one of the youngest performers in the program's history.

His recurring SNL character Chad, an apathetic and easily distracted young man, became one of his best-known creations. He also became a regular presence on the show's Weekend Update, where he discussed personal experiences and current events. Davidson left Saturday Night Live in 2022 after eight seasons and returned as host in 2023.

Davidson expanded into film during and after his SNL tenure. He appeared in Set It Up and had roles in What Men Want, The Dirt, The Angry Birds Movie 2, and The Jesus Rolls. He starred in and executive produced Big Time Adolescence in 2019, playing a college dropout who befriends a younger teenager.

In 2020, Davidson co-wrote, starred in, and executive produced The King of Staten Island, directed by Judd Apatow and co-written with Apatow and Dave Sirus. Davidson played Scott Carlin, a fictionalized version of himself who lives with his mother and struggles with the death of his firefighter father. The film also featured Marisa Tomei and Bill Burr.

His later film roles included Blackguard in The Suicide Squad, David in Bodies Bodies Bodies, Gary in Meet Cute, Kevin Gill in Dumb Money, and voice roles in Marmaduke, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and Dog Man. He was also cast as Joey Ramone in the planned Netflix biopic I Slept With Joey Ramone, for which he was set to serve as a co-writer and executive producer.

Davidson's stand-up draws heavily on grief, mental health, relationships, sexuality, drug use, and awkward personal experiences. His first televised stand-up special, Pete Davidson: SMD, was released in 2016. He followed it with the Netflix special Pete Davidson: Alive from New York in 2020 and Pete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli in 2024.

In 2019, Davidson toured with John Mulaney in a limited series of shows called Sundays with Pete & John. The two had become close after appearing together on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live.

Davidson created, co-wrote, executive produced, and starred in the Peacock series Bupkis, which premiered in 2023. The partly autobiographical comedy presented a fictionalized version of Davidson navigating his career and celebrity life, with Edie Falco and Joe Pesci playing his mother and grandfather. He and SNL colleague Colin Jost also purchased a decommissioned Staten Island Ferry in 2023, which was later used in the film Screamboat.