Who Were Ben Stiller’s Parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara?

Ben Stiller His parents checked Jerry Stiller and Ann miraTheir lasting legacy — and the downside of their fame — is featured in the 2025 documentary Stiller and Meara: Nothing is lost.

Not only were Jerry and his wife partners in life, but they also formed a popular comedy duo that performed at major venues across the United States through Ben and his sister. Amy StillerChildhood in the sixties and seventies.

in Stiller and Meara: Nothing is lostBen admitted that his parents had a volatile relationship and that he remembers hearing “raised voices” a lot as a child.

“They were very close but also very different,” he explained.

Keep scrolling to learn more about Jerry and Mira’s lives and careers.

Who was Jerry Stiller?

Jerry served in the US Army in World War II and returned home to study at Syracuse University. He participated in several theater productions in New York in the early 1950s, before meeting Mira in 1953.

The two married the following year and soon began performing together as a comedy duo. Jerry and Myra were among the first members of the popular Chicago improv troupe Second City, which later launched a career Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and Amber Ruffinamong countless others.

Jerry and Myra became frequent guests The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s and hosted their own miniseries that aired afterwards Saturday Night Live In sharing.

Aside from his comedy team, Jerry played George Constanza’s curmudgeon father Frank Costanza in the classic TV sitcom. Seinfeldfor which it received an Emmy Award nomination. Other notable roles included starring opposite Kevin James As Arthur Spooner in King of Queens And doing voice-over work for Disney.

Jerry appeared frequently in his son Ben’s projects, with prominent roles in both Zoolander movies and Heavy weightsamong other things.

Ben announced his father’s death at the age of 92 from natural causes in May 2020 and paid tribute to his comedic legacy.

He said in a tweet on Twitter: “I am sorry to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, died of natural causes.” “He was a great father and grandfather, and the most devoted husband to Anne for nearly 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you, Dad.”

Who was Anne Meara?

The comedian had a very difficult childhood, like her mother Mary Dempsey She died by suicide when Mira was only 10 years old.

As a teenager, Mira studied under a famous acting teacher Uta Hagen At the prestigious New School in New York City. However, she credited her future husband Jerry with convincing her to try comedy.

“Jerry and I started out as a comedy team,” she revealed. “He always thought I would make a great comedy partner.”

Aside from her comedy team-up with her husband, Mira has been nominated for four Emmy awards throughout her life. She won a Writers Guild of America Award for co-writing the 1983 television movie The other woman.

Like her husband, Mira has worked extensively in television serials, including… Rhoda, Archie Bunker’s place and one thousand Throughout the seventies and eighties. She played Steve Brady’s mother, Mary, unforgettably Sex and the City She is joined by her husband, Jerry King of Queens.

Related to: Ben Stiller’s kids felt like he was never there when he was a dad growing up

Ben Stiller examines his role as a father in his new documentary about his parents, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost. Ben, 59, spends most of the documentary revisiting the ups and downs of his parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara throughout their 61-year marriage before Anne died at the age of 85 in 2015. […]

Mira faced many health issues throughout her life, with her son Ben later revealing that she struggled with alcoholism.

“My mother had issues her whole life with alcoholism,” Ben admitted in 2023. “She got sober and really explored those things…She went through a lot of trauma.” [in her life] And the thing that I’m so grateful for is that I think a lot of people who live with alcoholism in their family, it’s never been dealt with. It was never explored or even talked about.

He continued, “What I’m grateful for is that she really delved into that in her treatment. For someone who is an alcoholic, it’s basically you’re trying to get through that because it’s not dramatic.”

Mira died at the age of 85 in May 2015 after suffering multiple strokes.

What did Ben Stiller say about his parents?

Ben explored his complicated relationship with his parents in the 2025 Apple TV documentary Stiller and Meara: Nothing is lostWhich premiered at the New York Film Festival in October 2025.

In the film, Ben spoke openly about the resentment he felt towards his father Jerry because he did not directly deal with his mother’s alcoholism.

“when [my mom] “He was a drinker, and my father never knew how to handle it,” Stiller explained. “I think he loved it very much and was very committed to it. Also, the action and what they did together was so important, that he had to figure out how to handle it on his own. “But I think I resented him because he didn’t admit it to us.”

Ben said he and his sister Amy always knew their father “loved us more than anything,” even though it was always painful to see their mother suffer.

“I think he was just trying to figure out how to deal with it, and I got so mad at him for not being there for us, but I don’t even think I understood that for a while,” he recalls.

But Ben and his wife Christine Taylorwhich is also reflected in the way Mira was able to empathize with them and support them once she got sober.

“She would see me as a new mom, during those moments when it was crazy and hectic, and tell me what an amazing job I was doing,” Taylor said. “It was a way to make me feel good about what I was doing, but [also] “Her admission of what she couldn’t do.”

talking to time Regarding the documentary, Ben emphasized how important it was to show that his parents’ fame was a double-edged sword.

“When people watch the movie, you can see how natural it was for my sister and I to be part of this world,” Stiller noted. “It was our reality and it’s what we grew up with and loved as kids. The other side is that it took our parents away from us, which is what any creative endeavor does. You have a parent who is creative, and part of it will be devoted to their creativity, if they’re a true artist. They can’t deny that.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).