Bill Maher was born on January 20, 1956, in New York City. He grew up in River Vale, New Jersey, where his father worked as a network news editor and radio announcer. He studied English and history at Cornell University, graduating in 1978. Maher began his career in stand-up comedy, hosting New York’s Catch a Rising Star club before landing his first national TV spots on The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman in the early 1980s.

In 1993, Maher launched Politically Incorrect, a late-night panel show that mixed comedians, politicians, and pundits around one table. The show moved from Comedy Central to ABC in 1997 and became known for Maher’s unscripted, often combative political humor. ABC pulled it in 2002 following comments Maher made about the 9/11 hijackers.

HBO picked Maher up the following year with Real Time with Bill Maher, giving him the same panel format without a network standards department to answer to. He has served as the show’s host since 2003, closing each week with his “New Rules” editorial segment. Now in his early seventies, Maher continues to host Real Time while touring as a stand-up comedian, a career he’s kept going for more than four decades.