Who Were Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, Parents of Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller took a look at the long-lasting impact of his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, as well as the disadvantages of their popularity, in the 2025 film Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost.

Jerry and his spouse were not only partners in their personal lives, but they also created a well-known comedy act that performed at well-known locations all over the U.S. during Ben and his sister Amy Stiller’s childhood in the ’60s and ’70s.

Ben shared in Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost that the relationship between his parents was unstable and that he recalled frequently hearing “loud voices” when he was a child.

“They were very close, but at the same time, they had many differences,” he said.

Continue scrolling for more information on Jerry and Meara’s lives and careers.

Who Was Jerry Stiller?

In World War II, Jerry was a member of the U.S. Army. After returning home, he attended Syracuse University. He participated in several New York theatrical productions in the early 1950s before meeting Meara in 1953.

The pair got married the following year and soon began performing together as a comedy act. Jerry and Meara were among the first performers at Chicago’s renowned Second City improv group, which later helped launch the careers of Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Amber Ruffin, among many others.

Jerry and Meara made frequent appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s, and they also presented their own short series that was broadcast in syndication following Saturday Night Live.

Apart from his work with his comedy partner, Jerry is best known for his role as George Constanza’s grumpy father, Frank Costanza, on the classic TV sitcom Seinfeld, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award. Other significant roles included playing Arthur Spooner with Kevin James in The King of Queens and contributing voice work for Disney.

Jerry often made appearances in his son Ben’s projects, with notable performances in the Zoolander films and Heavyweights.

Ben revealed in May 2020 that his father had passed away from natural causes at the age of 92, and he paid respect to his father’s comedic legacy.

He tweeted, “I’m sorry to announce that my father, Jerry Stiller, died of natural causes. He was a wonderful father and grandfather, and he was married to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. I love you, Dad.”

Who Was Anne Meara?

The comedian had a challenging upbringing; her mother, Mary Dempsey, committed suicide when Meara was only 10 years old.

Meara studied with renowned acting coach Uta Hagen at New York City’s esteemed New School as a teenager. She did, however, give credit to her future husband Jerry for encouraging her to pursue comedy.

“Jerry was the one who started us as a comedy duo,” she stated. “He always believed that I would make a great comedy partner.”

Meara received four Emmy Award nominations over the course of her career, in addition to her work with her husband in a comedy team. For co-writing the 1983 TV movie The Other Woman, she won a Writers Guild of America Award.

Meara, like her husband, worked extensively in television sitcoms such as Rhoda, Archie Bunker’s Place, and Alf throughout the 1970s and 1980s. She played Steve Brady’s mother, Mary, on Sex and the City, and she joined her husband Jerry on The King of Queens.

Throughout her life, Meara dealt with a number of health problems, and her son Ben later revealed that she had struggled with alcoholism.

“My mother had problems with alcohol all her life,” Ben admitted in 2023. “She became sober and really looked into that stuff. She experienced a great deal of trauma [in her life], and what I am really appreciative of is that I believe so many individuals who have alcoholism in their families never address it. It is never discussed, looked into, or even brought up.”

He continued, “I’m grateful that she really looked into it during her therapy because she was a high-functioning alcoholic. You’re basically attempting to manage it since it’s not dramatic.”

Meara passed away in May 2015 at the age of 85 as a result of several strokes.

What Did Ben Stiller Say About His Parents?

Ben explored his complex relationship with his parents in the Apple TV documentary Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, which debuted at the New York Film Festival in October 2025.

Ben discussed in the film the resentment he had for his father Jerry for not immediately addressing his mother’s alcoholism.

“When [my mother] was drinking, my dad never really knew what to do,” Stiller explained. “I believe he loved her so much and was so devoted to her. Also, the act and what they accomplished together were so crucial that he had to figure out how to handle it on his own. But I believe I resented him for not acknowledging it to us.”

Ben stated that he and his sister Amy always knew that their father “loved us more than anything,” but it was always upsetting to watch their mother struggle.

“I believe he was just trying to figure out how to navigate that, and I became so angry at him for not being there for us, but I don’t even believe I understood that for a while,” he said.

However, Ben and his wife, Christine Taylor, also discussed how Meara was able to sympathize with and encourage them once she stopped drinking.

“She would see me as a new mother, during those crazy and hectic moments, and tell me what a great job I was doing,” Taylor said. “It was a method to make me feel incredibly good about what I was doing, but it also served as her acknowledgment of what she was unable to accomplish.”

Ben emphasized to Time that it was crucial to demonstrate how his parents’ fame was a double-edged sword when discussing the documentary.

“You can see how natural it was for my sister and I to be a part of this world when people watch the movie,” Stiller remarked. “It was our reality, and we enjoyed it as kids. The downside was that it took our parents away from us, which any creative endeavor does. You have a creative parent, and if they are a genuine artist, a portion of them will be dedicated to their creativity. They cannot deny it.”

If you or someone you know is battling substance abuse, dial 1-800-662-HELP (4357) to reach the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline.