One of the most popular comic actors of his generation, Will Ferrell rose from the cast of Saturday Night Live to become a successful and respected actor, writer, and producer. Famous for his ability to inhabit characters whose enthusiasm is exceeded only by their cluelessness -- such the title characters in Elf, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby -- Ferrell's output as an actor was prolific after making his debut on SNL in 1995, and he had a knack for adding a musical side to his performances, whether adding more cowbell at a Blue Oyster Cult recording session, dueting with Zooey Deschanel on a memorable version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside," or playing a hopeful competitor at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Will Ferrell was born in Irvine, California, on July 19, 1967. His father was a professional musician who played in the Righteous Brothers' road band, and his dad's inconsistent pay and frequent time away on the road soured young Will on the notion of show business. In high school, however, he discovered how much he enjoyed making his friends laugh, and was soon doing comedy skits in his school's talent show as well as funny bits during morning announcements. After college, Ferrell washed out of a number of jobs before he joined the improvisational comedy team the Groundlings, where he sharpened his talents for impersonations and creating characters. He advanced into the Groundlings' top team, and began landing small parts on TV and in movies before he and fellow Groundlings performers Cheri Oteri and Chris Kattan were invited to join the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1995. Ferrell went on to a seven-season run on SNL, where his recurring characters included Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, Inside the Actor's Studio interviewer James Lipton, cheerleader Craig Buchanan, music instructor Marty Culp, dance club habitué Steve Butabi, and singing stars Neil Diamond and Robert Goulet.

It wasn't long before Ferrell established himself as a memorable comic talent, and he moved into major motion pictures with 1997's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and 1998's A Night at the Roxbury. With Old School and Elf in 2003 and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy in 2004, Ferrell demonstrated he was a bankable star and became a frequent presence in film and television, and even made it to Broadway with his 2009 one-man show You're Welcome America: A Final Night With George W. Bush.

As a recording artist, Ferrell served as the in-character host of the soundtrack album to Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, as well as lending his vocals to a version of "Afternoon Delight," and bits of his dialogue from the film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and the TV show Eastbound and Down ended up on their respective LPs. His songs from the 2004 film version of the Broadway hit The Producers appeared in the soundtrack album, he sang the '70s R&B parody "Love Me Sexy" for 2008's Semi-Pro, and his vocals appeared on two tracks of the original soundtrack to 2012's Casa Di Mi Padre. Ferrell also did guest spots on Norm MacDonald's 2006 comedy album Ridiculous, and he made a brief appearance on Twisted Mister, a 2004 album by rapper Mr. Complex.

In 2020, Ferrell starred as Lars Erickssong, an inept Icelandic would-be pop star in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. As it happened, one of the songs he sang with co-star Rachel McAdams, "Husavik," made him a pop star for real when it rose to number 16 on the Hot Digital Tracks chart. (While McAdams was seen singing the number onscreen with Ferrell, Molly Sandén provided the vocals heard in the movie and on the soundtrack album.) ~ Mark Deming, Rovi