David Cross

Biography

David Cross was born on April 4, 1964, in Roswell, Georgia, to Jewish parents Barry and Susi Cross. His family moved frequently during his childhood, settling in Roswell where he remained for nearly a decade. He is the oldest of three children with two younger sisters. The family had little money, and Cross recalled living in motels and friends' homes as a youth. His father left the family when Cross was 10 years old; they have not spoken since. Cross began performing stand-up comedy at age 17. He relocated to New York City after graduating from high school and enrolled at Emerson College in Boston before dropping out. During his time there, he joined This is Pathetic, a college sketch group where he met John Ennis. Cross formed the sketch comedy group "Cross Comedy" with other performers and appeared regularly at Catch a Rising Star. Cross's stand-up comedy blends political commentary and satire. He performed on HBO in 1999 with his one-hour special The Pride Is Back. His first tour film, Let America Laugh, was released in 2003, and he was named No. 85 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time. Cross won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for his work on The Ben Stiller Show in 1993. He created, wrote, executive produced, and starred in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (2010–2016); developed and had a prominent role in Freak Show (2006); appeared on Modern Family (2011–2012); and portrayed Ian Hawke in Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011).