Steve Carell biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Actor and comedian Steven John Carell was born on August 16, 1962, in Concord, Massachusetts. Carell was the youngest of Edwin and Harriet Carell's four sons. Steve's father, whose family traces its routes back to Italy, changed his last name from Caroselli before Steven's birth.

As a student, Carell attended The Fenn School, a private school for boys in Concord, Massachusetts, then Middlesex School, also in his hometown, before heading out to Ohio to attend college at Dennison University. For Carell the plan, initially at least, was never the bright lights of show business. Instead he set his sights on a legal career, taking classes at Dennison as a pre-law student. He spent his off-time doing sketch comedy, becoming a member of the country's oldest colegiate improv group, Burpee's Seedy Theatrical Company.

"I was actually filling out my law school applications," Carell later recalled. "And I got to the essay question, which was, 'Why do you want to be an attorney?' And I couldn't answer it. I really didn't know. And I went in and talked to my parents and they asked me, like, 'What do you enjoy doing?' 'What have you always liked to do?' And I said, 'Well, I've always liked to act. I mean, it's always been fun.' And they're the ones who said, 'Well, then do it.'"

Turn to Comedy

What that meant, however, was anything but instant stardom. Carell, who graduated from Dennison in 1984, patched together a living, eventually making his way out to Chicago. By 1991, he'd put together a strong enough resume to become a cast member of the well-regarded Second City comedy troupe. His career there would span almost a decade, as Carell performed with and taught for the troupe.

While in Second City, Carell's work and life took dramatic leaps forward. He started to make television and movie appearances, including a minor role in the 1991 John Hughes film, Curly Sue. He also started to earn more name recognition as a writer and performer on The Dana Carvey Show.

Carell was also experiencing success in his romantic life; while teaching a course at Second City, he met student Nancy Walls, a comedy writer and actress. The two began dating, and were married in 1995.

'The Daily Show'

In 1999, Carell and Walls moved to New York City along with another Second City alumnus, Stephen Colbert, to join the cast of the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Comedy Central's fake news program. Over the next five years, Carell, who played one of the show's correspondents, filed some of the program's more memorable field reports.