Adam Sandler is an American actor, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and film producer born on September 9, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York. The son of Judy, a nursery school teacher, and Stanley Sandler, an electric engineer, Adam Sandler grew up with a Jewish upbringing. His family moved to New Hampshire when he was five, where he attended Manchester Central High School. Adam Sandler discovered his natural comic talent when he was young, and decided to nurture it while studying at New York University by regularly performing in clubs and campuses. He earned his degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1991.
Sandler started performing in night clubs at the young age of 17. In 1987, he landed a role on The Cosby Show as Smitty, the friend of Theo Huxtable. He also became a performer for the MTV game show Remote Control. While performing on stage, Sandler was discovered by comedian Dennis Miller who immediately referred him to Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. In 1990, he was hired as a writer for SNL and in the following year, as a featured player. Sandler instantly made a name for himself by performing catchy and original songs on the show including “The Chanukah Song.”
In 1989, Sandler played his first starring role in the movie Going Overboard. In 1995, he starred in Billy Madison, where he played a carefree hotel heir who has to repeat elementary and high school to gain his father’s trust. He then followed this movie with the successful comedies Bulletproof (1996), Happy Gilmore (1996) and The Wedding Singer (1998). In 1999, Sandler played the loving father role in Big Daddy. Punch-Drunk Love (2002) received positive reviews, with critics further praising Sandler for having great acting talent which they believed was wasted on his early movies with poorly written scripts and no character development. He has also played serious roles in the films Spanglish (2004) and Reign Over Me (2007).
Sandler is also a good friend of actor/comedian Rob Schneider and both have made frequent cameos in each other’s movies including The Hot Chick, The Animal, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, The Longest Yard, Little Nicky, Big Daddy, Mr. Deeds, 50 First Days, The Waterboy, Eight Crazy Nights, Click, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and Don’t Mess with the Zohan.