Steve Martin was born on August 14, 1945 in Waco, Texas, USA as Stephen Glenn Martin to Mary Lee (née Stewart; 1913-2002) and Glenn Vernon Martin (1914-1997), a real estate salesman and aspiring actor. He was raised in Inglewood and Garden Grove in California. In 1960, he got a job at the Magic shop of Disney's Fantasyland, and while there he learned magic, juggling, and creating balloon animals. At Santa Ana College, he took classes in drama and English poetry. He also took part in comedies and other productions at the Bird Cage Theatre, and joined a comedy troupe at Knott's Berry Farm. He attended California State University as a philosophy major, but in 1967 transferred to UCLA as a theatre major.
His writing career began on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967), winning him an Emmy Award. Between 1967 and 1973, he also wrote for many other shows, including The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (1969) and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971). He also appeared on talk shows and comedy shows in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1972, he first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), doing stand-up several times each year, and even guest hosting a few years later. In 1976, he served for the first time as guest-host on Saturday Night Live (1975). By 2016, he has guest-hosted 15 times, which is one less than Alec Baldwin's record, and also appeared 12 other times on SNL.
In 1977, he released his first comedy album, a platinum selling "Let's Get Small". He followed it with "A Wild and Crazy Guy" (1978), which sold more than a million copies. Both albums went on to win Grammys for Best Comedy Recording. This is when he performed in arenas in front of tens of thousands of people, and begun his movie career, which was always his goal. His first major role was in the short film, Ein Kellner wie der Gast ihn liebt (1977), which he also wrote. His star value was established in Reichtum ist keine Schande (1979), which was co-written by Martin, and directed by Carl Reiner. The film earned more than $100 million on a $4 million budget. He also starred in Tote tragen keine Karos (1982), Der Mann mit zwei Gehirnen (1983), and Solo für 2 (1984), all directed by Reiner. To avoid being typecast as a comedian, he wanted do more dramatic roles, starring in Tanz in den Wolken (1981), a film remake of Dennis Potter's 1978 series. Unfortunately, it was a financial failure.
He also starred in John Landis's Drei Amigos! (1986), co-written by himself, opposite Martin Short and Chevy Chase. That year, he also appeared in the musical horror comedy, Der kleine Horrorladen (1986) opposite Rick Moranis. Next year, he starred in Roxanne (1987), co-written by himself, and in John Hughes' Ein Ticket für zwei (1987), opposite John Candy. His other films include Eine Wahnsinnsfamilie (1989) and Das Schlitzohr von der Mafia (1990), both opposite Moranis. In 1991, he wrote and starred in L.A. Story (1991), about a weatherman who searches meaning in his life and love in Los Angeles. It also starred his then-wife, Victoria Tennant. Same year, Vater der Braut (1991) was so successful that a 1995 sequel followed.
During the 1990s, he continued to play more dramatic roles, in Grand Canyon - Im Herzen der Stadt (1991), playing a traumatized movie producer, in Der Schein-Heilige (1992), playing a fake faith healer, in Der Zufalls-Dad (1994), playing a betrayed man adopting a baby, and in David Mamet's thriller Die unsichtbare Falle (1997). Other, more comedic roles include in Housesitter - Lügen haben schöne Beine (1992) and Schlaflos in New York (1999), opposite Goldie Hawn, in Nora Ephron's Lifesavers - Die Lebensretter (1994), and in Bowfingers große Nummer (1999), written by himself and co-starring Eddie Murphy. After Bowfinger, he starred in Haus über Kopf (2003) and Im Dutzend billiger (2003), both earning more than $130 million. He wrote and starred in Shopgirl (2005), and appeared in the sequel of Cheaper by the Dozen. After them, he appeared in Der rosarote Panther (2006) and Der rosarote Panther 2 (2009), which he both co-wrote, as Inspector Clouseau.
He continues to do movies, more recently appearing in Ein Jahr vogelfrei! (2011), Home - Ein smektakulärer Trip (2015), and Alle Jahre wieder - Weihnachten mit den Coopers (2015). Besides aforementioned, he has been an avid art collector since 1968, written plays, written for The New Yorker, written a well-received memoir (Born Standing Up), written a novel (An Object of Beauty; 2010), hosted the Academy Awards three times, released a Grammy award winning music album (The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo; 2009), and another album (Love Has Come For You; 2013) with Edie Brickell. Since 2007, he has been married to Anne Stringfield, with whom he has a daughter.
