Leslie Mann

Leslie Mann is an American actress born on March 26, 1972. She is known for her roles in a wide range of feature films, including The Cable Guy, She's the One, George of the Jungle, Big Daddy, Orange County, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Drillbit Taylor, I Love You Phillip Morris, 17 Again, Funny People, This Is 40, The Bling Ring, The Other Woman, and Blockers.

Mann was born in San Francisco and grew up in Newport Beach. She was raised by her mother, Janet Ayres, who led design and quality programs for the Ayres Hotel group. Mann has two siblings and three older step-brothers. She graduated from Corona del Mar High School and studied acting at the Baron/Brown Acting Studio as well as with the comedy improv troupe The Groundlings. She also attended college to study communications, but dropped out before graduating.

Mann began her career at age 18 by appearing in television commercials. In 1996, she appeared in the feature film The Cable Guy, followed by performances in projects such as Freaks and Geeks, George of the Jungle alongside Brendan Fraser, Big Daddy with Adam Sandler, Orange County opposite Jack Black, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin with Steve Carell.

In 2007, Mann starred in Judd Apatow's comedy Knocked Up alongside Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, and Paul Rudd, earning a Best Supporting Actress nomination from the Chicago Film Critics Association. In 2009, she reunited with Sandler and Rogen for Apatow's Funny People. That same year, she starred in the comedy 17 Again opposite Zac Efron and Matthew Perry, which grossed over $136 million worldwide, and appeared in the indie film I Love You Phillip Morris alongside Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor.

Mann expanded into voice acting, playing Linda in the 2011 animated film Rio, which grossed over $484 million worldwide, and voicing a teacher in the animated television series Allen Gregory. She continued her voice work in the 2012 animated stop-motion film ParaNorman. Mann also appeared in the 2011 comedy The Change-Up alongside Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman.

In December 2012, Mann reprised her Knocked Up role opposite Paul Rudd in Judd Apatow's sequel This Is 40, which centered on her character and family. For this performance, she was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy by the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Her subsequent projects included Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring in 2013, the comedy Blockers in 2018, and Welcome to Marwen in 2018. She also narrated an episode of Makers: Women Who Make America in 2014.

Mann married director and producer Judd Apatow on June 9, 1997, after meeting him during her audition for The Cable Guy. The couple has two daughters, Maude and Iris, both of whom appeared alongside Mann in Knocked Up, Funny People, and This Is 40. Mann and Apatow support several non-profit organizations, including 826LA, Stuart House, The Fulfillment Fund, and the Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research Program, which honored them with the Children's Choice Award in 2012.