If you are a fan of blockbuster movies, then the name Judd Apatow ought to ring a bell. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, a movie and television production company through which he has been able to mastermind the production of many projects.
One of Hollywood’s prominent movie producers and screenwriters, Apatow is best known for the production of mega-hit movies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Bridesmaid, for which he won an AFI Award. The Primetime Emmy Award winner also has a career as a comedian and director, as he has directed a good number of some of the blockbuster movies he produced like the aforementioned The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. More so, the filmmaker has written and authored numerous books, such as I Found This Funny: My Favorite Piece of Humor and Some That May Not Be Funny at All.
Judd Apatow was Obsessed with Comedy as a Child
As a child, it was obvious that all Judd Apatow wanted was to do comedy. He spent a lot of his time growing up all by himself watching some of the best comedy available, ranging from Dinah Shore to Merv Griffin, The Tonight Show, and Late Night with David Letterman.
By the time the young man was in his senior year of high school, he started trying his hands at standup comedy and soon moved to Los Angeles where he enrolled at the University of Southern California to study screenwriting. While on campus, he started organizing comedy nights.
Soon after that, in 1991, Judd Apatow was handed an opportunity to display his innate abilities as he was given the job of a writer for the 1991 Grammy Awards by Garry Shandling. A few years down the line from that, he landed another job where he co-wrote the script of the movie, Heavyweights, and also produced it. By 1999, he had started making giant strides as he was made the executive producer of the award-winning teen comedy-drama television series, Freaks and Geeks.
He Has Since Become One of Hollywood’s Finest Comedy Film Producers
Some of the greatest comedy films of the last 25 years have Judd Apatow’s insignia on them; mostly as a Producer. One of his earliest works was the 1996 black comedy film, The Cable Guy, which centers around a socially awkward TV technician who starts stalking the first guy who’s nice to him. The film, which stars Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick, was a box office success.
In 2004, he produced Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. His ability to perfectly shoehorn some of the biggest names in comedy into one project without creating chaos is a testament to his management acumen. The Anchorman film starred Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, and Fred Willard. It was directed by Adam McKay.
The film was a huge commercial success and it led him to follow it up with more films in the Anchorman film series, including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Wake Up Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Cumulatively they grossed over $264.2 million at the box office.
His 2008 film, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, was one of the stand-out comedy films of the year. It starred Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, and Russell Brand. Alongside Barry Mendel and Clayton Townsend, Judd Apatow co-produced the film The Bridesmaids which starred Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper, and Wendi McLendon-Covey. The film raked in $26 million in its opening weekend and went on to gross over $288 million worldwide.
Other hits to have been produced by Apatow include Superbad, The Five-Year Engagement, Begin Again, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, Popstar: Never Stop Never, Stopping, The Big Sick, Juliet, Naked.
Apatow Began Working as a Director in 2005
Judd Apatow has further had the chance to work with many notable actors in Hollywood as a director. Steve Carell was actually the first big actor he worked with as he made his directorial debut in 2005 with the comedy film, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which Carell starred in and co-wrote.
He directed his second movie in 2007, the romantic comedy film Knocked Up which he also wrote and co-produced. It starred Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann.
The Hollywood filmmaker’s all-round ability as a producer, writer, and director has earned him wide acclaim. He has received multiple award nominations from the Golden Globe Awards, Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards, and Academy Awards.
Apatow’s Acclaimed Work Has Made Him One of the Wealthiest Producers in Hollywood
It goes without saying that Judd Apatow’s major source of wealth comes from his film and television production company, Apatow Productions, which he founded in 1999. Via his company, he has produced some very successful films like The Bridesmaids which grossed $288.4 million on a budget of $32 million.
In total, Apatow Productions has invested about $773.5 million in movie productions since its inception and has impressively realized $2.4 billion cumulatively at the box office. He is estimated to have a net worth of about $90 million.
As a result of his hard work, Judd Apatow has been able to live a lavish lifestyle. He once owned a 6,018-square-foot house, with a private oceanview balcony in Pacific Palisades, on the Westside of Los Angeles, California. He bought the house in 2003 for $4.474 million but put it up for sale seven years later for $6.495 million.
Other notable properties he owns include a Beverly Hills home that is worth about $1.656 million, a $4.9 million property on an island of Hawaii, and an 8,000-square-foot penthouse in Santa Monica which he bought for $14.5 million in 2018.
Judd Apatow is Married to Actress Leslie Mann
Judd Apatow got acquainted with actress Leslie Mann in 1996 on the set of the movie Cable Guy, which he produced. Soon after they met, they began dating and later solemnized their union in Los Angeles, on the 9th of June 1997. They have since welcomed two daughters; Maude and Iris.
Interestingly, Leslie has since starred in several of her husband’s movie projects like This is 40, Knocked up, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Their daughters have also featured alongside their mom in multiple movies produced by their dad like Knocked up. For her performance in This Is 40, Maude received a nomination for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young actress at the 34th Young Artist Awards.
