Fred Armisen is an American comedian, actor, musician, and writer born on December 4, 1966. You might know him as a funny guy on TV a musician or even a writer.
He’s best known for teaming up with Carrie Brownstein to make the hilarious show Portlandia where they play all sorts of quirky characters. They also made a fake documentary series called Documentary Now! and a comedy series called Moonbase 8.
If you watch Late Night with Seth Meyers you might recognize Fred as the leader of the house band The 8G Band where he sometimes plays the drums. He’s also been on Saturday Night Live making people laugh from 2002 to 2013 and even voiced Speedy Gonzales on The Looney Tunes Show.
Fred has appeared in a bunch of comedy movies like EuroTrip and The Dictator and he’s popped up on lots of TV shows too like 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation.
He’s been recognized for his talent getting nominated for a Grammy Award for his comedy album Standup for Drummers in 2019. He’s won two Peabody Awards one for his work on Saturday Night Live and another for Portlandia.
From 2019 to 2022 he was part of a Spanish-language show called Los Espookys where he acted wrote and helped produce.
| Full Name | Fereydun Robert Armisen |
| Date of Birth | December 4, 1966 |
| Place of Birth | Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA |
| Occupation | Actor, Comedian, Musician, Writer, Producer |
| Height | 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) |
| Spouse | Elisabeth Moss (m. 2009; div. 2011) |
| Children | None |
| Net Worth | $8 million |
Fred Armisen’s Early Life and Education
Fred Armisen was born in Hattiesburg Mississippi on December 4, 1966. His mom Hildegardt Mirabal Level was a schoolteacher and his dad Fereydun Herbert Armisen worked at IBM. When he was little his family moved to New York and he spent some time living in Brazil. He grew up in Valley Stream New York and went to school with Jim Breuer who also ended up on SNL.
Instead of finishing at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan Armisen decided to become a rock drummer. He got inspired to perform after watching bands like The Clash and Devo on TV when he was a kid.
Armisen’s family background is pretty interesting. His mom was from Venezuela and his dad’s side is a mix of German and Korean. Armisen thought his grandpa Ehara Masami was Japanese for a long time. But it turns out Masami was Korean and he adopted a Japanese identity because of some tough times for Koreans in the 1920s. Masami studied dance in Japan and then moved to Germany after World War II. He later came to the US and taught dance at Cal State Fullerton.
Masami’s family had a noble background in Korea and Armisen can trace his Korean roots back to the 1600s.
Fred Armisen Career
Drumming Through Decades with Bands and Icons
Back in 1984, Fred Armisen rocked out on drums with his high school buddies in Valley Stream New York. But the band didn’t last long. Then in 1988, he headed to Chicago to drum for a punk rock group called Trenchmouth. Later on in the 1990s he jammed on drums with the Blue Man Group.
Armisen also lent his drumming skills to some albums. He played on tracks for Les Savy Fav’s 2007 album Let’s Stay Friends Matthew Sweet’s 2011 album Modern Art and Wandering Lucy’s 1996 album Leap Year.
Since February 24, 2014, Fred Armisen has been the music director and drummer for the 8G Band the house band for Late Night with Seth Meyers.
In 2018, he played drums with Devo at John Waters’ Burger Boogaloo festival in Oakland California. And in July 2021 he took the stage at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island.
From Saturday Night Live to Emmy Nominations
Fred Armisen known for his roles in bands like Trenchmouth switched gears to acting. In a talk back in January 2006 he shared that he always had a thing for being on TV though he didn’t anticipate it’d be through comedy and Saturday Night Live.
His journey to TV started with quirky appearances on shows like Late Night with Conan O’Brien and projects for Crank Yankers and Adult Swim. Eventually, he landed a spot on Saturday Night Live’s cast in 2002 and was bumped up to a regular member by the 2004 season.
You might remember him from his offbeat roles in movies like Eurotrip Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Confessions of a Shopaholic. On TV he popped up in shows like Parks and Recreation and lent his voice to Speedy Gonzales in The Looney Tunes Show.
Fred Armisen’s big gig came with the sketch comedy Portlandia which he co-starred in with Carrie Brownstein. He’s also been making funny music as the music director and sometimes bandleader on Late Night with Seth Meyers since 2014.
His talent hasn’t gone unnoticed earning him Emmy nominations for Portlandia and his work on Late Night. Plus he’s flexed his skills as an executive producer for the documentary Charm Circle in 2021 and appeared in the 2022 film Wednesday as Uncle Fester.
From Prankster Journalist to Comedy Duo Star and Musician Extraordinaire
In 1998, Fred Armisen pretended to be a music journalist in a short film called “Fred Armisen’s Guide to Music and South by Southwest” which was filmed by his then-girlfriend Sally Timms. In the film, he pranked musicians and industry people during the South by Southwest festival in Austin Texas. He asked silly questions pretended to be German and even acted like he was blind. A year later he appeared in a video with Steve Albini for Chevelle’s Point No. 1 EPK.
Armisen is part of a comedy duo called ThunderAnt with Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney. They make funny skits about different jobs like one-person shows feminist bookstores and bike activists. Armisen also started a website called ThunderAnt.com where they share their comedy videos.
He has directed music videos for bands like The Helio Sequence and appeared in the Wilco documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. He’s also been in video segments for Blue Man Group and occasionally writes for Pitchfork Media. On Jimmy Kimmel Live! he promoted a DVD called “Fred Armisen Presents Jens Hannemann: COMPLICATED DRUMMING TECHNIQUE.”
Armisen often plays musical instruments on Saturday Night Live and has played characters like Mackey the drummer and Ferecito. He’s also impersonated famous musicians like Liberace Phil Spector Lou Reed and Prince.
He’s been in music videos for Man Man and Red Fang and in 2021 he starred in the music video for the 2020 mix of George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.”
Armisen has voiced characters in video games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption and he was featured on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld in 2014.
He’s a big fan of punk rock music and has appeared in documentaries like Salad Days and The Damned: Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead.
In 2015, he won Smithsonian magazine’s American Ingenuity Award for Performing Arts and in 2018 he wrote the foreword for The Yacht Rock Book by Greg Prato.
Armisen also appeared in the revival of The Kids in the Hall in 2022.
In 2024, he made a cameo as DJ Carl in Fallout living in a shack with traps and playing colonial-era violin music referencing the Classical Radio station from Fallout 4.
What Is Fred Armisen’s Net Worth?
Fred Armisen’s Net Worth is estimated to be $8 Million as of 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Fred Armisen Personal life
Fred Armisen was married two times before. First to Sally Timms, a musician from England, from 1998 to 2004. Then to Elisabeth Moss, an actress from England and America, from 2009 to 2011. Moss later described their time together as really bad, saying Armisen is good at pretending to be normal.
In an interview with Howard Stern, Armisen admitted he wasn’t a good husband or boyfriend and feels sorry for anyone he’s dated.
He started dating Natasha Lyonne, an actress, in 2014. Lyonne confirmed they broke up in April 2022 but they still care about each other a lot.
Later in 2022, Armisen began dating comedian Riki Lindhome. They even bought a house together in Los Feliz.
Armisen and Carrie Brownstein became close while working together on ThunderAnt. Brownstein says they have a special, non-romantic bond, but Armisen calls it the most intimate relationship he’s ever had, except for the physical aspect.
He loves the Red Dead video game series and even voiced characters in two of the games. He’s also into black metal and death metal music.
Armisen has said he doesn’t believe in a higher power, so he considers himself an atheist.
