Leslie Mann (born March 26, 1972) is an American actress and comedian. She has appeared in numerous films, including The Cable Guy (1996), She's the One (1996), George of the Jungle (1997), Big Daddy (1999), Orange County (2002), The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007), Drillbit Taylor (2008), I Love You Phillip Morris (2009), 17 Again (2009), Funny People (2009), Rio (2011), The Change-Up (2011), This Is 40 (2012), The Bling Ring (2013), The Other Woman (2014), Rio 2 (2014), and Blockers (2018).
Early life Leslie Mann was born on March 26, 1972, in San Francisco, and grew up in Newport Beach. She was raised by her mother, Janet Ayres,Multiple sources:
who led design and quality programs for eight years at Ayres Hotel group. Mann has stated of her father, "My dad is...I don't really have one. I mean, he does exist, but I have zero relationship with him." She has two siblings and three older step-brothers. Her maternal grandmother, Sadie Viola Heljä Räsänen, was the daughter of Finnish immigrants.Multiple sources:
YLE TV 1, 20:30 TV-news, April 25, 2014. "Leslie also has Finnish roots from the mother's side. The family was called Räsänen in surname."
Mann has said that she was "very shy, kind of pent-up" during her youth. She graduated from Corona del Mar High School, and studied acting at the Baron/Brown Acting Studio and alongside comedy improv troupe The Groundlings. She attended college and studied communications, but dropped out before graduating.
Career
Mann began her career at 18, appearing in a number of television commercials. In 1996, she appeared in The Cable Guy, followed with performances in Freaks and Geeks, Sam Weisman's 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 alongside Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, and Paul Rudd in Judd Apatow's comedy Knocked Up. Her performance brought rave reviews and a "Best Supporting Actress" nomination from the Chicago Film Critics Association. The film won the People's Choice Award for "Favorite Movie Comedy", was named one of AFI's "Top Ten Films of the Year", and received a "Best Comedy" nomination from the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
In 2009, Mann reunited with her Big Daddy co-star Adam Sandler and Knocked Up co-star Seth Rogen for Apatow's Funny People. This film was named to many of the year's top ten lists, including The New Yorker and The New York Times. Elle writer Mickey Rapkin said that "[Mann] owns the second half of 2009's Funny People, where her character does the most unlikely thing a woman can do in a major studio picture: has an affair with an ex-boyfriend on a whim." That same year, Mann also starred in Burr Steers' successful comedy 17 Again opposite Zac Efron and Matthew Perry, which grossed over $136 million worldwide.17 Again on Box Office Mojo
She was also seen in the indie hit I Love You Phillip Morris alongside Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. It premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and, on release, received critical acclaim, including a "Best Comedy" nomination for a 2011 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award. Mann also starred alongside Elizabeth Banks in the film What Was I Thinking?, based on the book by Barbara Davilman and Liz Dubelman, which was filmed in 2009 but never released.
In 2011, Mann starred opposite Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman in David Dobkin's comedy The Change-Up. She also lent her voice to "Linda", the main human character in Carlos Saldanha's animated film Rio, which earned over $484 million worldwide and also featured vocal performances by Jamie Foxx and Anne Hathaway; as well as to Jonah Hill's animated FOX television series Allen Gregory, as the title character's second-grade teacher.
Mann continued her voice performance work in 2012 with her role in ParaNorman, an animated 3D stop-motion film from Chris Butler and Sam Fell.
In December 2012, she appeared opposite Paul Rudd in Apatow's This Is 40, the sequel to Knocked Up. The movie reunited the trio from the first film, with Mann and Rudd reprising their characters. The sequel was written and directed by Judd Apatow, and included the couple's two daughters in the cast. In contrast to Knocked Up, This Is 40 centered squarely on Mann's character and her family. An early response to Mann's performance from Elle Magazine states that "[she] doesn't just walk off with scenes—she steals the show". Mann was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy by the Broadcast Film Critics Association for This Is 40.
In 2013, Mann appeared in Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring, with Emma Watson. Inspired by actual events, the film follows a group of fame-obsessed L.A. teenagers who burgled celebrity homes by tracking their whereabouts on the internet. In 2014, she narrated "Women in Comedy", an episode of Season 2 of Makers: Women Who Make America. In 2015, Mann was nominated at the MTV Movie Awards for Best Kiss with Chris Hemsworth, from the film Vacation. In 2018, she starred as a single mother in the sex comedy Blockers and reunited with Steve Carell in Welcome to Marwen.
Personal life
On June 9, 1997, Mann married director and producer Judd Apatow, whom she met while auditioning for The Cable Guy. Apatow, one of the film's producers, read the lines to auditioning actresses as a stand-in for Jim Carrey. Mann and Apatow have two daughters, Maude and Iris, who both appeared in the films Knocked Up, Funny People, and This Is 40 as the children of Mann's characters.
Mann and Apatow are both longtime supporters of the nonprofit organization 826LA, which focuses on encouraging and developing the writing skills of disadvantaged youth. They are also involved with the University of California, Los Angeles Rape Treatment Center's Stuart House, which serves sexually abused children and their families. Mann and Apatow's philanthropic contributions were honored in 2012 by the Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research Program, which awarded them the 2012 "Children's Choice Award" for their work with children and families dealing with pediatric cancer. In 2009, they were also recognized by The Fulfillment Fund, which honored them at its annual benefit gala. Mann is Catholic.
Filmography
Film + Title Role Notes 1991 Virgin High Extra Ryan, Kyle. (September 28, 2007) Random Roles: Leslie Mann "My friend was in some commercial workshop when we were living in Newport Beach going to high school. She had a number to call for extra work. We were just extras. And for some reason, they put that on my IMDB thing." The A.V. Club Retrieved December 10, 2012. 1996 Bottle Rocket Sorority Girl Deleted scene Cosas que nunca te dije Laurie She's the One Connie Last Man Standing Wanda Robin Harris 1997 George of the Jungle Ursula Stanhope 1999 Big Daddy Corinne Maloney 2000 Timecode Cherine 2001 Perfume Camille 2002 Orange County Krista Brumder Stealing Harvard Elaine Warner 2005 Nicky 2007 Knocked Up Debbie 2008 Drillbit Taylor Lisa Zachey Beverly Hills Chihuahua Bimini Uncredited 2009 17 Again Scarlett O'Donnell Funny People Laura Shorts Mom Thompson I Love You Phillip Morris Debbie Russell 2011 Rio Linda Gunderson Voice role Little Birds Margaret Hobart Jamie Lockwood 2012 ParaNorman Sandra Babcock Voice role This Is 40 Debbie 2013 Laurie Moore 2014 Mr. Peabody & Sherman Patty Peterson Voice role Rio 2 Linda Gunderson Voice role The Other Woman Kate King 2015 Vacation Audrey Griswold-Crandall 2016 How to Be Single Meg Kepley The Comedian Harmony Schiltz 2018 Blockers Lisa Decker Welcome to Marwen Nicol 2019 Motherless Brooklyn Julia Minna 2020 Blithe Spirit Elvira Condomine The Croods: A New Age Hope Betterman Voice role 2022 Cha Cha Real Smooth Lisa The Bubble Lauren Van Chance 2025 Poetic License Liz Cassidy 2026 Spa Weekend Jane
Television + Year Title Role Notes 1994 Birdland Nurse Mary Episode: "Grand Delusion" 1995 The Wright Verdicts Erica Mercer Episode: "Pilot" 1998 Hercules Amphitrite Voice role; 2 episodes 1999 Freaks and Geeks Ms. Foote Episode: "Chokin and Tokin" 2011 Modern Family Katie Episode: "Treehouse" Allen Gregory Gina Winthrop 7 episodes 2014 The Simpsons Herself Voice role; Episode: "Steal This Episode" Makers: Women Who Make America Narrator Episode: "Women in Comedy"
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult2007Chicago Film Critics Association AwardsBest Supporting ActressKnocked Up2013Critics' Choice Movie AwardsBest Actress in a ComedyThis Is 402014Teen Choice AwardsChoice Movie Chemistry The Other Woman2016MTV Movie & TV AwardsBest Kiss Vacation
References
External links
2019 interview with Backstage