Leslie Jean Mann (born March 26, 1972) is an American actress. She has appeared in numerous films, including ''
The Cable Guy
''The Cable Guy'' is a 1996 American black comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, written by Lou Holtz Jr. and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. It was released in the United States on June 14, 1996. The film co-stars Leslie Mann, Jack B ...
'' (1996), ''
George of the Jungle
''George of the Jungle'' is an American animated television series produced and created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who also created '' The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show''. The character George was inspired by the story of Tarzan and a cartoon ch ...
'' (1997), ''
Big Daddy'' (1999), ''
Knocked Up'' (2007), ''
17 Again'' (2009), ''
Funny People'' (2009), ''
This Is 40'' (2012), ''
Blockers'' (2018) and ''
Croods: A New Age'' (2020).
Early life
Mann was born in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, California, and grew up in
Newport Beach
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws ...
.
She was raised by her mother, Janet, who led design and quality programs for eight years at Ayres Hotel group.
Mann has stated of her father, "My dad is...I don't really have one. I mean, he does exist, but I have zero relationship with him."
She has two siblings and three older step-brothers.
Her maternal grandmother, Sadie Viola Heljä Räsänen, was the daughter of
Finnish immigrants.
Mann has said that she was "very shy, kind of pent-up" during her youth.
She graduated from
Corona del Mar High School,
and studied acting at the
Joanne Baron / D.W. Brown Acting Studio and alongside comedy improv troupe
The Groundlings
The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniq ...
.
She attended college and studied communications, but dropped out before graduating.
Career
Mann began her career at 18, appearing in a number of television commercials. In 1996, she appeared in ''
The Cable Guy
''The Cable Guy'' is a 1996 American black comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, written by Lou Holtz Jr. and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. It was released in the United States on June 14, 1996. The film co-stars Leslie Mann, Jack B ...
'', followed with performances in ''
Freaks & Geeks'',
Sam Weisman's ''
George of The Jungle
''George of the Jungle'' is an American animated television series produced and created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who also created '' The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show''. The character George was inspired by the story of Tarzan and a cartoon ch ...
'' alongside
Brendan Fraser, ''
Big Daddy'' with
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...
, ''
Orange County'' opposite
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), '' Shallow Hal'' (2001), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ' ...
, and ''
The 40-Year-Old Virgin'' with
Steve Carell
Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in ''The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Ca ...
.
In 2007, Mann starred alongside
Seth Rogen
Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series '' Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part o ...
and
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...
in
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films ' ...
's comedy ''
Knocked Up'', which grossed more than $218 million worldwide. Her performance brought rave reviews and a "Best Supporting Actress" nomination from the Chicago Film Critics Association. The film won the People's Choice Award for "Favorite Movie Comedy", was named one of AFI's "Top Ten Films of the Year", and received a "Best Comedy" nomination from the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
In 2009, Mann reunited with her ''Big Daddy'' co-star Adam Sandler and ''Knocked Up'' co-star Seth Rogen for Apatow's ''
Funny People''. This film was named to many of the year's top ten lists, including ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' and ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.
[New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...]
owns the second half of 2009's ''Funny People'', where her character does the most unlikely thing a woman can do in a major studio picture: has an affair with an ex-boyfriend on a whim."