See young pictures of Bill Hader as a teenager during high school in the ‘90s at Cascia Hall Preparatory School, plus get to know his educational background.
Full Name: William Thomas Hader Jr.
Known as: Actor, Comedian, Director, Writer
Birthdate: Jun 07, 1978 (Age 47)
High School: Cascia Hall Preparatory School, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Yearbooks: 1996
Who is Bill Hader?
Bill Hader is a world famous comedian and actor who broke into the mainstream as a recurring cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2013 and staple anchor of the popular SNL Weekend Update.
Steven Dahlman, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Post-SNL, Hader has gone on to star in dozens of notable films and TV Shows. But who was Bill Hader before the fame? And how did he rise into being a notable Hollywood actor and comedian?
What to Know About Bill Hader?
- The Class Clown of Tulsa: Before his fame, Bill Hader spent his childhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Known as a school prankster with a pitch-perfect Bart Simpson impression, he eventually traded sports for the stage after a life-changing performance in a high school production of The Glass Menagerie.
- Creative Education: Bill attended Cascia Hall Preparatory School, graduating in 1996, and briefly studied at the Art Institute of Phoenix and Scottsdale Community College, ultimately dropping out to move to L.A. to pursue a career in filmmaking.
- Family Roots: Bill is the oldest of three siblings, born to Sherri and William Hader. He is a devoted father to three daughters, Hannah, Hayley, and Harper.
- SNL Breakthrough: After a stint as a Hollywood production assistant, Bill’s career exploded when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (2005–2013). He became an icon for his impressions and his signature “Weekend Update” character, Stefon.
- Shift to Drama: Hader has transitioned from comedy to “dark prestige” TV by co-creating and starring in the HBO hit Barry. His performance as a hitman trying to find his soul through acting earned him back-to-back Emmy Awards for Lead Actor.
Bill Hader’s Education & Childhood
Bill Hader grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and attended schools throughout the area in his formative years.
Elementary & Middle School
Bill Hader went to elementary school at Patrick Henry Elementary in Tulsa. Even back then, he knew how to make his fellow schoolmates laugh, and was known as a class clown that would get in trouble with teachers, couldn’t focus, and had a killer Bart Simpson impersonation.
Hader attended middle school at Edison Junior High in midtown Tulsa. He continued to struggle to focus in school and saw film and reading books as an escape.
High School
Bill Hader attended high school at Cascia Hall Preparatory School, where he truly began to lean into filmmaking. In one interview about his younger days, Bill Hader explained when he got more interested in the arts:
“I started making little short films with friends and then I decided I wanted to get into the school play in high school. My dad wasn’t pressuring me, but he was a little like, ‘You don’t want to play sports? Really? We’ve put in all this work.’ And I was like, ‘No. I don’t want to play sports. I got cast in The Glass Menagerie as the gentleman caller.’ Maybe the best moment of my whole career ever.”
Luckily, after his Dad saw him perform, he fully believed in Bill and they never talked about sports again.
College Dropout
Bill briefly attended college in Arizona at the Art Institute of Phoenix, as well as Scottsdale Community College, before ultimately dropping out in the late-90s.
He stated, “I loved growing up in Tulsa. But…you just know: ‘I want to get out of here. I’m a movie fanatic. I just want to get into the movie industry.’ My parents totally got it. So the money they’d set aside for me to go to college I used to live on when I moved to L.A.”
Yet, Bill Hader still managed to get an (honorary) college degree. Chapman University gave him an honorary Degree of Arts after he gave the commencement speech in 2024.
Bill Hader’s Career
Early Days in Hollywood
Hader moved to L.A. to pursue a film career in 1999. He found a job as a production assistant to start, and wanted to work towards being an assistant director. He was quite lonely in those early times in California, and spent a lot of his free time watching movies. He was a PA on a wide-range of movies, from James Dean (2001) to Spider-Man (2002) before quitting after having a bad experience on set during production of The Scorpion King in 2002 and working a few miscellaneous jobs.
In 2003, after a bad breakup and a need for a change, he enrolled in classes at the Second City improv group, and found comedy to be his true calling and passion. He formed a comedy group with his friends called Animals From The Future and began performing regularly. When Nick Offerman told his wife, actress Megan Mullaly, about the group, she witnessed one of Bill Hader’s performances and told him he would be a good fit for Saturday Night Live.
SNL Stardom
With Mullally’s recommendation as his foot in the door, Hader nailed an audition with SNL’s producers, despite being unprepared and nervous, by imitating an Italian man he had once overheard speaking.
He debuted on Saturday Night Live in 2005, and famously did impersonations of plenty of notable celebrities, including Al Pacino, Charlie Sheen, Clint Eastwood, and multiple politicians. Additionally, he played his staple SNL character Stefon as a correspondent on Weekend Update.
NBC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Evolving Acting & Writing Career
Outside of SNL, Hader began acting and working as a writer on other programs. In 2006, he made his feature film debut in the comedy You, Me and Dupree, before having a notable role as a police officer in Seth Rogan’s Superbad in 2007.
Hader forged a friendship with South Park creator Matt Stone, and began to write for the show’s 12th season.
Writing & Starring in a Hit Show of His Own
In 2018, Bill Hader co-created the HBO dark comedy show Barry with Alec Berg. Hader plays the main, titular character, a hit-man who figures out he has a passion for acting and attends acting classes in Los Angeles.
The show is critically acclimated, and Hader walked away with the Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in both 2018 and 2019, and was a consecutive nominee for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for both seasons 1 and 2.
Bill Hader’s Family
Parents & Siblings
Bill’s parents are Sherri Renee, a dance teacher, and William Thomas Hader, an owner of an air cargo company, restaurant manager, and truck driver. His family tree is made up of Irish, Danish, German, and English roots.
He has two sisters, Kara and Katie, and is the oldest sibling.
Ex-Wife & Children
Bill Hader was married to Maggie Carrie, a movie director, writer, and actress, from 2006 until getting divorced in 2018. The two have three daughters: Hannah, Hayley, and Harper.
Dating
Since his divorce, Bill Hader has dated actresses Rachel Bilson and Anna Kendrick, as well as had an on and off again relationship with fellow comedian Ali Wong.
Cutemalec, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Greg Harries, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bill Hader Awards
Bill Hader has made quite an impression on the film world with his exceptional acting, writing, and producing.
Here are just some of the many awards won by Bill Hader:
- Critics’ Choice Awards
- Best Actor in a Comedy Series – 2018 & 2019 for Barry
- Emmy Awards
- Outstanding Animated Program – 2009 for South Park Season 13
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – 2018 for Barry, Season One, Episode 7
- Directors Guild of America Award
- Directing – Comedy Series – 2018, 2019, 2022 for Barry
- American Comedy Awards
- Funniest Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – 2014 for Saturday Night Live
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