Jordan Peele

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jordan Peele

• Does Jordan Peele smoke?: Not Known

• Does Jordan Peele drink alcohol?: Not Known

• He was raised by his single mother, Lucinda Williams, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in New York City.

• His father is black, while his mother is white.

• Since his childhood, Peele developed an interest in horror films, and by the age of 13, he had decided to become a horror film director.

• With the intention of studying puppeteering, Peele attended the liberal arts college Sarah Lawrence in New York.

• He dropped out of his college after two years to form a comedy duo with Rebecca Drysdale, his college roommate, and future Key & Peele comedy writer.

• In Amsterdam and The Second City in Chicago, Jordan regularly performed at Boom Chicago.

• In 2002, Peele hosted MTV’s Comedy Weekend. 

• In 2003, he joined Mad TV for its 9th season.

• In 2008, Peele was nominated for an Emmy Award for his song “Sad Fitty Cent.”

• Peele also appeared in a viral video titled “Hillary vs Obama.” In the video, Peele and a Hillary Clinton supporter argued over whether Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would make a better President.

• After five seasons, Peele left the cast of the Mad TV at the end of its 13th season.

• From 2012 to 2015, Peele, along with his friend Keegan-Michael Key, appeared in their own Comedy Central sketch series Key & Peele. The series was a success and the videos went viral online.

• In 2016, Peele, along with Key, starred in and produced their first feature film Keanu. Critics gave favorable reviews to the film.

• In February 2017, Peele’s 1st film as a solo Director, Get Out was released. The film received critical acclaim. The film also went on to become one of the most profitable films of all time; grossing $250 with a budget of $4.5 million.

• During an interview in 2018, he announced his intention to retire from acting.

• Peele is also associated with HBO to produce the HBO series Lovecraft Country.

• In 2018, Jordan Peele became the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for “Get Out.”