Paul Giamatti

Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti was born June 6, 1967, in New Haven, Connecticut, the youngest of three children. His father, Angelo Bartlett Giamatti, was a Yale University professor who later became president of the university and later commissioner of Major League Baseball. His mother, Toni Marilyn Giamatti (née Smith), was a homemaker and English teacher who taught at the Hopkins School and had also previously acted. His paternal grandfather's family were Italian emigrants from Telese Terme; the family surname was originally spelled "Giammattei" (Italian pronunciation: [dʒammatˈtɛi]) before immigrating to the United States. His paternal grandmother had deep roots in New England, dating back to the colonial era. Giamatti's brother, Marcus, is also an actor, and his sister, Elena, was a jewelry designer. Giamatti attended Yale, where he was active in the undergraduate theater scene and worked with fellow actors and Yale students Ron Livingston and Edward Norton. He graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in English and went on to earn a master of fine arts degree from the Yale School of Drama, where he studied with Earle R. Gister. He performed in numerous theatrical productions, including on Broadway and a stint from 1989 to 1992 with Seattle's Annex Theater, before appearing in some small television and film roles in the early 1990s. In 2023, Giamatti was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Yale.