Anne Meara Biography

Fast Facts

• Won a Writers Guild of America Award for co-writing the 1983 TV movie "The Other Woman․"
• Won an Obie Award for her performance in "Mädchen in Uniform" in 1955
• Both of her parents were Irish immigrants to the United States
• Wife of actor Jerry Stiller and mother of filmmaker and actor Ben Stiller and actress Amy Stiller
• Met Jerry Stiller when they were both members of the improv theater troupe the Compass Players and began performing with him in New York nightclubs in 1961
• Began her career in summer stock in 1948 after spending a year in a dramatic workshop at the New School in Manhattan
• Quote: "Comedy, drama, it's the same deal․ You don't really act differently; you just make adjustments․"
• In addition to her successful career in improv, she was also an actress on stage and in a wide range of films and TV series
• Formed a successful husband and wife comedy team with her husband, Jerry Stiller, around the continuing story of their characters Hershey Horowitz and Mary Elizabeth Doyle
• Was a frequent guest star on the sitcom "The King of Queens," on which her husband, Jerry Stiller, was a regular, culminating in their characters getting married in the 2007 series finale