Conan O'Brien

Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, musician, and voice actor. He is best known for hosting several late-night talk shows, the most recent of which, is Conan, premiered on American cable television station TBS in 2010, and ended in 2021.

Conan O'Brien
O'Brien at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con
Birth name	Conan Christopher O'Brien
Born	(1963-04-18) April 18, 1963 (age 61) Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Medium	Television film podcast
Education	Harvard University (AB)
Years active	1983–present
Genres	Improvisational comedy sketch comedy physical comedy surreal humor black comedy musical comedy satire
Subject(s)	American culture American politics everyday life pop culture current events social awkwardness self-deprecation
Spouse	Liza Powel ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	2
Relative(s)	Denis Leary (third cousin)
Notable works and roles	Saturday Night Live (writer, 1988–1991) The Simpsons (writer, producer, 1991–1993) Late Night with Conan O'Brien (host, 1993–2009) The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (host, 2009–2010) Conan (host, 2010–2021) Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend (host, 2018–present)
Signature

Early life

O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. His father, Thomas Francis O'Brien (January 28, 1929 - December 9, 2024), was a physician, epidemiologist, and professor of medicine at Harvard.^[1][2][3] His mother, Ruth O'Brien (née Reardon) (December 16, 1931 - December 12, 2024), was an attorney and partner at the Boston firm Ropes & Gray.^[4] He is the third of six children. O'Brien's family is Irish Catholic; some of his Irish ancestors immigrated before the American Civil War.^[3] In a Late Night episode, O'Brien paid a visit to County Kerry, Ireland, where his ancestors originated.

Comedian career

Conan got his first start in comedy as a writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. Conan hosted Late Night from 1993 to 2009. In 2009, he replaced Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show. In 2010, NBC decided to give The Tonight Show back to Leno, which led to Conan leaving NBC. Many people were upset that Conan had to leave. After leaving The Tonight Show, Conan grew a beard and went on a comedy tour. On November 8, 2010, he hosted a late-night talk show on TBS called Conan, which ended in 2021.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Work	Category	Result
1989	Emmy Award	Saturday Night Live	Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program	Won[5][6]
1990	Emmy Award		Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5]
1991	Emmy Award		Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5]
1996	Emmy Award	Late Night with Conan O'Brien	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5]
1997	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5]
	Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Won[5]
1998	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5]
1999	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5]
	Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Nominated[5]
2000	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5]
	Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Won[5]
2001	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5]
	Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Nominated[5]
2002	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5]
	Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Won[5][6]
2003	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5][6]
	Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Won[5][6]
2004	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5][6]
	Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Nominated[5]
2005	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5][6]
	People's Choice Award		Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host	Nominated[5]
	Telvis Award	For the color spot of the year	Special Telvis	Won[5]
	Writers Guild of America Award	Late Night with Conan O'Brien	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Won[5]
2006	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5][6]
	People's Choice Award		Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host	Nominated[5]
	Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Won[5]
2007	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Won[5][6]
	Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Nominated[5]
2008	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5][6]
2009	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program	Nominated[5][6]
	Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Nominated[5]
2010	Emmy Award	The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien	Outstanding Comedy, Music or Variety Series	Nominated[7]
			Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series	Nominated[7]
	Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series	Nominated[5]
2011	People's Choice Award	Conan	Favorite TV Talk Show Host	Won
	Emmy Award		Outstanding Comedy, Music or Variety Series	Nominated[8]
			Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series	Nominated[8]
			Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series	Nominated[8]
		American Express	Outstanding Commercial	Nominated[8]
2012	People's Choice Award	Conan	Favorite TV Talk Show Host	Nominated

References

1. "Conan O'Brien Biography (1963–)". Film Reference. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
2. "Conan Christopher O'Brien". Ancestry. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
3. Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2009
4. "Ruth Reardon O'Brien 1931–" (PDF). Stanford.edu. Retrieved January 12, 2014.^{[permanent dead link]}
5. Internet Movie Database staff (2010). "Awards for Conan O'Brien". Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
6. "Conan O'Brien". NBC.com — The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com. 2010. Archived from the original on June 13, 2009. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
7. "62nd Primetime Emmy Award Nominations" (PDF). Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. July 8, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 1, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
8. "Conan is a cable guy now, but Emmy still likes him while neglecting Jay". Associated Press. 2011-07-14. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved Jan 12, 2014.

Other websites

• Conan O'Brien on IMDb
• I'm With Coco Facebook

Media offices
Preceded by Jay Leno	Host of The Tonight Show June 1, 2009 – January 22, 2010	Succeeded by Jay Leno
Preceded by David Letterman	Host of Late Night September 13, 1993 – February 20, 2009	Succeeded by Jimmy Fallon
Preceded by Ellen DeGeneres	Host of Christmas in Washington 2011, 2012	Succeeded by Incumbent