Jordan Haworth Peele is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Peele started his career in sketch comedy before transitioning to writing and directing psychological horror with comedic elements. In 2017, Peele was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.
Jordan Haworth Peele was born in New York City on February 21, 1979. His mother, Lucinda Williams, is white, from Maryland. His father, Hayward Peele, Jr. (died 1999), was African American, and originally from North Carolina. Peele last saw his father when he was seven years old, and was raised by his single mother on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
Peele had been a cinephile ever since he was a young child and decided at 12 that he wanted to be a film director, citing Glory, Edward Scissorhands, Thelma & Louise, and Aliens as films that had a strong effect on him.
He attended the Computer School in Manhattan, graduated from The Calhoun School on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 1997 after securing a scholarship to attend the private school, and went on to Sarah Lawrence College, where he majored in Theatre. After two years, Peele dropped out to form a comedy duo with Sarah Lawrence classmate and future Key & Peele writer Rebecca Drysdale.
