Steve Martin

Steve Martin was married to actress Victoria Tennant from 1986 to 1994. The two appeared together in All of Me and L.A. Story, with Tennant playing the female lead in the latter film.

Martin married writer Anne Stringfield in 2007. They have one daughter, born in December 2012. Martin has also been an avid art collector since 1968 and served as a trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from 1984 to 2004.

Martin has tinnitus, which he later attributed to years of loud music and performing before noisy crowds.

Martin began developing his comedy while studying in California and performing at local clubs. He first gained national attention as a writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, earning an Emmy Award in 1969. He later wrote for The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.

His first appearance as a guest host on Saturday Night Live came in 1976, followed by numerous appearances that helped make him a major comedy star. His offbeat routines produced catchphrases including “Well, excuuuuse me!” and “I am a wild and crazy guy!” He released the comedy albums Let's Get Small in 1977 and A Wild and Crazy Guy in 1978, and both won Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Recording.

Martin's novelty song “King Tut,” performed with members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, became a hit in 1978. He stopped performing regular stand-up comedy in 1981, returning to live comedy in 2016 when he opened for Jerry Seinfeld and later toured with Martin Short.

Martin wrote and starred in the seven-minute short film The Absent-Minded Waiter in 1977, which received an Academy Award nomination. His first full-length feature success came with The Jerk in 1979, directed by Carl Reiner. Martin and Reiner subsequently collaborated on Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, The Man with Two Brains, and All of Me.

He took on more dramatic material in Pennies from Heaven, Grand Canyon, Leap of Faith, and David Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner. His other major films included Little Shop of Horrors, ¡Three Amigos!, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Parenthood, and Father of the Bride.

Martin wrote and starred in Roxanne, a modern adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, and won a Writers Guild of America Award for its screenplay. He later wrote and starred in L.A. Story and Bowfinger, and portrayed Inspector Jacques Clouseau in The Pink Panther and The Pink Panther 2.

Martin's books include the comic collection Pure Drivel, the novellas Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company, the memoir Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, and the novel An Object of Beauty. Shopgirl was adapted into a 2005 film in which Martin starred with Claire Danes. He also contributed satirical writing to The New Yorker.

His play Picasso at the Lapin Agile premiered at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre in 1993 and later received productions in several cities. His comedy Meteor Shower opened on Broadway in 2017, with a cast that included Amy Schumer.

Martin collaborated with Edie Brickell on the music and book for the Broadway musical Bright Star. The production received five Tony Award nominations, and Martin received nominations for its book and original score.

Martin began playing the banjo at about 17 and incorporated the instrument into his comedy routines. His first all-music album, The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, was released in 2009 and won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. He also won a Grammy for playing on Earl Scruggs's recording of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.”

He recorded Rare Bird Alert with the Steep Canyon Rangers in 2011 and collaborated with Edie Brickell on Love Has Come for You in 2013. The title song from the latter album won the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song, and the collaboration inspired Bright Star. Martin and Brickell released the follow-up album So Familiar in 2015.

Martin created the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass in 2010. He has performed at venues and events including Carnegie Hall, the Royal Festival Hall in London, and the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

Martin co-created the Hulu comedy series Only Murders in the Building with John Hoffman and stars in it alongside Martin Short and Selena Gomez. The series marked his return to a central television role and earned him multiple award nominations.

His honors include an Emmy Award, five Grammy Awards, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the Kennedy Center Honors, an honorary Academy Award, and the AFI Life Achievement Award. He hosted the Academy Awards in 2001 and 2003 and co-hosted the ceremony with Alec Baldwin in 2010.

Martin received the Mark Twain Prize in 2005 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with an honorary Oscar in 2013.