Steve Martin Bio
Stephen Glenn Martin, known professionally as Steve Martin, is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. Born on August 14, 1945, in Waco, Texas, he rose to fame in the 1970s with a unique brand of offbeat, absurdist stand-up comedy before building a successful career in film, television, writing, and music. Over the decades, he has earned widespread recognition for his versatility across comedy, drama, Broadway, and literary work, becoming one of the most influential entertainers of his generation.
Throughout his career, Steve Martin has received five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, along with nominations for eight Golden Globe Awards and two Tony Awards. His major honors include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2005, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007, an Honorary Academy Award in 2013, and an AFI Life Achievement Award in 2015.
Early Life and Background
Steve Martin was born on August 14, 1945, in Waco, Texas, the son of Glenn Vernon Martin and Mary Lee. He grew up in Inglewood and later Garden Grove, California, where he attended Garden Grove High School. From a young age, Martin showed a strong interest in entertainment and performance, drawn to comedy and music in particular. He later studied at Santa Ana College and California State University, Long Beach, although he did not complete a four-year degree, instead choosing to pursue his creative ambitions.
As a teenager, Martin developed a love for the banjo, an instrument that would later become central to his artistic identity. He was influenced early on by classic comedians and entertainers, including Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, and Woody Allen. These influences helped shape his whimsical, ironic comedic style. He also became an avid art collector, purchasing his first print by Ed Ruscha in 1968, a hobby he has maintained throughout his life.
During his early years in California, Martin worked at Disneyland, selling guidebooks and performing magic tricks, an experience that helped sharpen his performance skills. This period of working in local entertainment laid the foundation for his later success in stand-up comedy and television writing.
Path to Acting
Steve Martin’s professional path into acting and comedy began in television writing. In 1967, his former girlfriend Nina Goldblatt helped him secure a writing position on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. In 1969, at just twenty-three years old, Martin won a Primetime Emmy Award for his writing on the show, marking his first major industry recognition.
Following his success as a writer, Martin transitioned to performing. His first national television appearance came in 1968 on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and he soon became a frequent guest on programs like The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Saturday Night Live. His appearances on Saturday Night Live boosted the show’s audience by a million viewers, and he became one of its most popular hosts, appearing on twenty-seven shows and guest-hosting sixteen times. On the program, he popularized the iconic air quotes gesture.
By the mid-1970s, Martin’s stand-up career had taken off. He performed in sold-out theaters across the country, eventually filling large arenas. His comedy albums, including Let’s Get Small (1977) and A Wild and Crazy Guy (1978), both won Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Recording. The success of these albums, combined with his catchphrases like “Excuse Me” and “Just a wild and crazy guy,” made him a household name and paved the way for his move into film.
Steve Martin Career
Early Career (1966–1978)
Steve Martin began his entertainment career in 1966 as a writer, but it was his work on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour that brought him to national attention. His writing earned him a Primetime Emmy Award in 1969. As his confidence grew, he started performing stand-up comedy, appearing on shows like The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, and various variety programs.
During the 1970s, Martin’s stand-up act became a sensation. His comedy albums Let’s Get Small and A Wild and Crazy Guy were both critical and commercial successes, each earning Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Recording. His signature white suit, catchphrases, and banjo playing made him a recognizable figure in American entertainment. He also made his first film appearance in a short titled The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film, Live Action.
Breakthrough (1979–1995)
Steve Martin’s film career took off with The Jerk (1979), a comedy directed by Carl Reiner and co-written by Martin. The film was a massive success, grossing over $100 million on a budget of approximately $4 million, and established Martin as a major movie star. He followed this with a string of successful comedies directed by Carl Reiner, including Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982), The Man with Two Brains (1983), and All of Me (1984), the last of which earned his strongest critical reviews to date.
In 1986, Martin starred alongside Martin Short and Chevy Chase in ¡Three Amigos!, a comedy he co-wrote with Lorne Michaels and Randy Newman. That same year, he played the sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello in the film adaptation of Little Shop of Horrors. In 1987, he starred in the John Hughes comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles with John Candy, and in Roxanne, a film adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac that he wrote himself. Roxanne won him a Writers Guild of America Award and proved he was more than just a comedian.
Martin continued to deliver hits throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. He starred in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) with Michael Caine, the Ron Howard film Parenthood (1989), and L.A. Story (1991), a romantic comedy he wrote and starred in alongside his then-wife Victoria Tennant. He also starred in the family comedy Father of the Bride (1991) and its sequel in 1995, cementing his role as a beloved Hollywood leading man.
Notable Works and Milestones
Steve Martin’s career is filled with signature works and milestones. His performance in All of Me (1984) was hailed as his most critically acclaimed up to that point, while his role in Roxanne (1987) earned him a Writers Guild of America Award and proved his talent as a screenwriter. His portrayal of Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther (2006) and its 2009 sequel grossed over $230 million combined at the box office. In 2013, he received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of his contributions to film and comedy. He has also authored several books, including the novels Shopgirl (2000) and The Pleasure of My Company (2003), as well as his memoir Born Standing Up (2007), which Time magazine named one of the Top 10 Nonfiction Books of 2007.
Steve Martin Award Nominations
Steve Martin has received numerous award nominations across his career in film, television, music, and theater. He has earned eight Golden Globe Award nominations and two Tony Award nominations, including nods for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score for Bright Star in 2016. His Netflix comedy special with Martin Short, An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life (2018), received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and his Hulu series Only Murders in the Building has earned him three Primetime Emmy Award nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and a Golden Globe Award nomination.
Steve Martin Awards Won
Steve Martin has won a wide range of major awards throughout his career. In 2013, he received an Academy Honorary Award. He won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1969 for his writing on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2006. He has also won five Grammy Awards, including Best Comedy Recording for Let’s Get Small (1977) and A Wild and Crazy Guy (1978), Best Bluegrass Album for The Crow (2010), Best Country Instrumental Performance for “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” (2002), and Best Musical Theater Album for Bright Star (2016). His additional honors include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2005, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007, and an AFI Life Achievement Award in 2015.
Steve Martin Family
Steve Martin is the son of Glenn Vernon Martin and Mary Lee. He grew up in California with his family and developed his love for performance at a young age. Martin has been married twice: first to actress Victoria Tennant from 1986 until their divorce in 1994, and later to writer and former New Yorker staff member Anne Stringfield, whom he married on July 28, 2007. In December 2012, Martin became a father when Stringfield gave birth to their daughter.
Personal Life
Steve Martin has had a varied personal life marked by high-profile relationships. He dated writer and artist Eve Babitz early in his career, and was in a relationship with actress Bernadette Peters from 1977 to 1980. He has also been linked to Karen Carpenter, Mary Tyler Moore, and Anne Heche. His marriage to Victoria Tennant, with whom he co-starred in All of Me and L.A. Story, lasted from 1986 to 1994. Martin married Anne Stringfield in a surprise ceremony at his Los Angeles home in 2007, with Bob Kerrey presiding and Lorne Michaels serving as best man.
Beyond his entertainment career, Martin is known for his passion for art and music. He has been an avid art collector since 1968 and has served on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art board of trustees. He plays the banjo and has collaborated with bluegrass acts, including the Steep Canyon Rangers. In 2010, he created the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass to support performers in the genre.
