Anne Meara

Anne Meara is an actress, writer, and comedienne who has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in theater, film, and television. She is known for her double act with husband Jerry Stiller, and also as the mother of actors Ben Stiller and Amy Stiller.

Anne Meara was born on September 20, 1929, to an Irish Catholic family living in Brooklyn. Her mother committed suicide when she was eleven, throwing the family into crisis, and Anne eventually ended up in therapy. She began working as a comedy actress in her early twenties, and it was at a theatrical audition that she met her future husband Jerry Stiller. Both became members of the Compass Players, performing alongside the likes of Bill Cosby and Joan Rivers, and they went on to develop their own nightclub double-act, based around affectionate stereotypes of the Irish Catholic wife and Jewish husband. This was so successful that they kept it up even after Meara herself converted to Judaism, a choice which she insists was entirely personal and not a reaction to her husband's faith. The couple starred in several variety shows, such as The Ed Sullivan Show, as well as in theaters. They also appeared together in several movies, including Nasty Habits, with Glenda Jackson and Melina Mercouri; and That's Adequate, with Tony Randall and Robert Downey Jr. Unfortunately, their attempt to launch The Stiller and Meara Show was unsuccessful.

Meara and Stiller have two children. Ben Stiller is well known for his comedic performances in films such as Starsky and Hutch and Meet the Fockers, which also featured Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, and Barbra Streisand. He has starred alongside his mother in Reality Bites, with Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke; and Zoolander, with Owen Wilson and Milla Jovovich. Amy Stiller is best known for her appearance as Matthew Broderick's secretary in The Cable Guy and she also appeared with Meara in The Daytrippers with Stanley Tucci and Liev Schreiber.

Working independently of her family, Meara has had roles in several major films, including The Boys from Brazil, with Gregory Peck and Sir Laurence Olivier; Fame, with Irene Cara; and Awakenings, with Robin Williams and Penelope Ann Miller.

Meara first appeared on television in an episode of soap opera The Greatest Gift, at the age of twenty-five. Her highly successful television career has included regular roles in ALF, for which she also wrote several episodes; Carroll O'Connor hit Archie Bunker's Place; Sarah Jessica Parker's Sex and the City; and The King of Queens. She played the lead in legal drama Kate McShane, played a maid in soap opera All My Children, and made notable appearances in shows including Rhoda, with Valeria Harper; The Tonight Show, with Johnny Carson; The Sonny and Cher Show; and The Rosie O'Donnell Show.

Meara's writing career extended beyond stand-up comedy and television into theater proper. She has written three plays, Victims: Blood from a Stone, After-Play, and Down the Garden Path, though only the latter two have been performed. She also wrote a series of commercials as part of a production team formed with her husband. Her theater acting career reached its peak in 1993 when she was nominated for a Tony award for her performance in Anna Christie.

At the age of seventy-seven, Meara is working as hard as ever. Her next film, The Mirror, also starring her husband and son, will be out later this year.

YUDDY