Jerry Seinfeld is a stand-up comedian and actor, most famous for co-creating and starring in the NBC series Seinfeld, one of the most popular sitcoms of all time.

Seinfeld was a pioneer in what has come to be known as "observational comedy," based largely on trivial, but universal, observations about everyday life. He worked his way up the New York comedy circuit, starting out at open mic nights and eventually earning a slot on a Rodney Dangerfield HBO special. The 1993 book, Seinlanguage, collects much of this material.

While working New York comedy clubs, Seinfeld met fellow comedian Larry David, and the two co-created a show based on Seinfeld's real life, initially titled The Seinfeld Chronicles.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000632/Seinfeld starred in his eponymous show, playing an alternate version of himself - a New York stand-up comedian surrounded by neurotic eccentrics. Seinfeld's only prior acting experience was a small recurring role on the sitcom Benson.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000632/

The show ran for 9 seasons, from July 5, 1989 to May 14, 1998, and syndicated episodes continue to play in heavy rotation around the world. In 2002, TV Guide named Seinfeld as the Greatest Television Series of All Time. It won 10 Emmys and 3 Golden Globes. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000632/

Seinfeld returned to stand-up after the series ended its run, recording the 1997 comedy special I'm Telling You for the Last Time, "retiring" all his old material. He later produced and starred in the 2002 documentary, Comedian, chronicling his creative process during this time.

Seinfeld has made guest or cameo appearances on a variety of TV shows including Dilbert, 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live', The Jay Leno Show, theAcademy Awards, and Larry David's HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm. Seinfeld did not create any further projects of his own until the 2007 film Bee Movie.

Jerry Seinfeld executive produces and occasionally appears in The Marriage Ref.

While working on Seinfeld, while the comic was in his late thirties, he embarked on a much-discussed romantic relationship with high school student Shoshanna Lonstein. The two broke up in 1997 and Seinfeld soon thereafter met Jessica Sklar, who had recently married theatrical producer Eric Nederlander and had returned from her honeymoon just weeks before. Sklar and Nederlander divorced and she and Seinfeld were married on December 25, 1999. http://movies.nytimes.com/person/64376/Jerry-Seinfeld/biography

Books:

• Seinlanguage - 1993

DVDs:

• Jerry Seinfeld: I'm Telling You For The Last Time - Live on Broadway - 1998

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• 1954: Born on April 29

• 1976: Began stand-up

• 1980-81: Benson

• 1984: The Ratings Game

• 1990-98: Seinfeld

• 1999: Pros & Cons

• 2002: Comedian

• 2005: The Thing About My Folks

• 2007: Bee Movie