Jack Black

Black was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of two satellite engineers, Judith and Thomas William Black. His mother worked on the Hubble Space Telescope. Jack Black's mother is Jewish and his father converted to Judaism; Black was thus raised Jewish.

His surname may come from the Scottish occupational name Blacksmith. His parents divorced when he was 10. Jack Black had a Bull Mastiff-Rottweiler mix named Chico. Chico died of parvovirus soon after Jack's parents divorced.

Black moved to Culver City with his father and frequently visited his mother’s home until the end of his first year of college at UCLA when his father’s family moved to France. As a child, Black appeared in an early Activision Pitfall! for the Atari 2600 commercial in 1982, which was later shown during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and again on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

When he entered high school, his parents suggested that he should transfer to the Poseidon School, a private secondary school engineered specifically for students struggling in the traditional school system. Black eagerly accepted the proposition, afraid that he would only be bullied if he remained in public school. He also attended the Crossroads School, where he excelled in drama. Black later attended UCLA but dropped out during his sophomore year to pursue a career in the entertainment business, at which point his father discontinued his financial support. Fellow UCLA veteran Tim Robbins later cast Black in Bob Roberts. He also had recurring roles on the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show.

Black's acting career began with primetime TV. He played roles on several shows such as: The Golden Palace, Life Goes On, Northern Exposure, HBO's Mr. Show, and Picket Fences. His career soon led to leading roles in films such as Shallow Hal, Orange County, School of Rock, Envy, Be Kind Rewind, King Kong, and Kung Fu Panda. Black has also voice acted for The Simpsons episode "Husbands and Knives", voicing the friendly owner of the rival comic book store, Milo. He will be voicing the main character, roadie Eddie Riggs, in the upcoming rock-themed action-adventure video game, Brütal Legend. Black also appeared in a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire celebrity edition along with Denis Leary, Jimmy Kimmel and others and walked away with $125,000.

Black is the lead singer for the rock comedy band Tenacious D. They have released two albums, a self-titled debut, and the follow up, The Pick of Destiny, from which one of their songs "The Metal" was used in the music video game "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" and "Master Exploder" also went on to be used in music video game Rock Band 2 along with their album 'Tribute'. These two songs feature in the film Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny. The film, directed by Tenacious D veteran Liam Lynch, features recurring characters such as Lee the superfan and Sasquatch. Tim Robbins cameos, as does Dave Grohl as Satan. Ben Stiller also makes an appearance as a worker at Guitar Center, and also another appearance in the music video for Tribute.

Regarding exercise, Black has been quoted as saying that Ultimate is the only form of exercise that he doesn't hate. Black dated actress and comedian Laura Kightlinger from 1997 until 2005. In January 2006, he became engaged to Tanya Haden (daughter of the jazz double bassist Charlie Haden, and sister of violinist and singer Petra Haden). Haden herself is an accomplished cellist. Both attended Crossroads school, but met again 15 years after graduating, at a friend's birthday party. Black proposed marriage around Christmas 2005 with a $250,000 Neil Lane ring. They married on March 14, 2006, in Big Sur, California. Their son, Samuel "Sammy" Jason Black, was born on June 10, 2006, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. On May 23, 2008, Black and his wife welcomed their second child, another boy, whom they named Thomas David Black.

Black's comedic style combines many key elements from both sides of the traditional double act. Black typically begins a skit in which he presents an earnest introduction to a premise or subject that quickly reveals itself to be flawed or fundamentally ludicrous. Black then switches completely to a far-extreme caricature of human emotion.

In December 2008, Black appeared in a video on funnyordie.com as Jesus in a musical on Prop 8 titled "Prop 8 The Musical". The video was shot in Santa Monica, CA, at Santa Monica Community College and was the brainchild of five time Oscar nominee Marc Shaiman and directed by Adam Shankman. The video features a host of other celebrities including Neil Patrick Harris, John C. Reilly, Allison Janney, Kathy Najimy, Craig Robinson, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, Rashida Jones, Lake Bell, Sarah Chalke, Margaret Cho, Jenifer Lewis, and Nicole Parker.