Michael Showalter (born June 17, 1970) is an American comedian, actor,
director, writer, and producer. A member of the sketch comedy trio
Stella, he first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's The
State, which aired from 1993 to 1995. He and David Wain created the
Wet Hot American Summer franchise, with Showalter co-writing and
starring in Wet Hot American Summer (2001), and the Netflix series.
Showalter wrote and directed The Baxter (2005), in which he starred
with Michelle Williams, Justin Theroux, and Elizabeth Banks. Both
films featured many of his co-stars from The State, and so do several
of his other projects. Showalter is also a co-creator, co-producer,
actor, and writer for the TV series Search Party. He directed the 2017
critically acclaimed feature film The Big Sick.Showalter was born in
Princeton, New Jersey, the son of Elaine Showalter (née Cottler), an
author, literary critic, and professor of English, and English
Showalter, a Yale-educated professor of 18th century French
literature. His father is Episcopalian and his mother is Jewish. He
has one older sister, Vinca Showalter LaFleur, a professional
speechwriter. He attended Princeton High School. For five years,
Showalter shared an apartment with his friend, comedian and actress
Andrea Rosen.Showalter began his undergraduate studies at New York
University, where he joined the sketch comedy group The New Group. He
transferred to and graduated from Brown University. After he completed
college, The New Group changed its name to The State and began
creating video shorts for an MTV show called You Wrote It, You Watch
It, hosted by Jon Stewart. The comedy troupe then got its own sketch
comedy TV series, The State , which aired for two years on MTV.
director, writer, and producer. A member of the sketch comedy trio
Stella, he first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's The
State, which aired from 1993 to 1995. He and David Wain created the
Wet Hot American Summer franchise, with Showalter co-writing and
starring in Wet Hot American Summer (2001), and the Netflix series.
Showalter wrote and directed The Baxter (2005), in which he starred
with Michelle Williams, Justin Theroux, and Elizabeth Banks. Both
films featured many of his co-stars from The State, and so do several
of his other projects. Showalter is also a co-creator, co-producer,
actor, and writer for the TV series Search Party. He directed the 2017
critically acclaimed feature film The Big Sick.Showalter was born in
Princeton, New Jersey, the son of Elaine Showalter (née Cottler), an
author, literary critic, and professor of English, and English
Showalter, a Yale-educated professor of 18th century French
literature. His father is Episcopalian and his mother is Jewish. He
has one older sister, Vinca Showalter LaFleur, a professional
speechwriter. He attended Princeton High School. For five years,
Showalter shared an apartment with his friend, comedian and actress
Andrea Rosen.Showalter began his undergraduate studies at New York
University, where he joined the sketch comedy group The New Group. He
transferred to and graduated from Brown University. After he completed
college, The New Group changed its name to The State and began
creating video shorts for an MTV show called You Wrote It, You Watch
It, hosted by Jon Stewart. The comedy troupe then got its own sketch
comedy TV series, The State , which aired for two years on MTV.
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