Leslie Mann: Judd Apatow's Wife Has Her Own Full-Fledged Career

With almost three decades in show business under her belt, Leslie Mann is not just an A-list Hollywood actor — she's got that Lucille Ball quality that lends itself to being beautiful and charming one moment, and unapologetically funny the next. And despite marrying actor-director-producer, Judd Apatow in 1997, Mann has earned her way to her top spot.

At the age of 18, Mann began doing commercials, and before long she landed her first on-screen role in 1996 in the film "Virgin High." The actor quickly made an impression and just four jobs later, she landed a role next to Jim Carrey in "The Cable Guy." Mann then found herself in role after role alongside some of Hollywood's favorite leading men like Brendan Fraser in "George of the Jungle," Adam Sandler in "Big Daddy," and Steve Carell in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin."

While it might appear Mann has it all — a husband, two daughters, and a thriving career — it wasn't always easy. In 2011, she shared with Momtastic her struggles with pregnancy and motherhood, revealing she felt depressed for about five years after her first daughter was born. Not only did Mann make it through that, but her daughters became an even bigger part of her life when they appeared on screen with her on more than one occasion. These days Mann is working through being an empty-nester, but her career is still going strong. Keep reading to learn more about the talented Leslie Mann.

Leslie Mann might be considered a beautiful Hollywood actor, but for many of her fans, she's absolutely hilarious too. Of course, that might have something to do with her choice of films, which for the most part, are comedies. However, the actor herself, has never thought of herself as a comedian or a comedic actor. As she shared on Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist in 2017, she began formal theatrical training at the Baron Brown Studio. "Everyone takes themselves very seriously," she said. She also revealed that she went all out for those early auditions with costumes and attempting to pull off accents that she says were "the worst." Mann added, "I remember people giggling when I would do very serious scenes and it really threw me."

Over time, Mann found herself gravitating toward — and being selected for — roles that made viewers laugh out loud. Even when the actor had moments of complete seriousness or anger, like in 2011's "The Change-Up" when she literally kicks Jason Bateman's butt out of bed, there's something so appealing about Mann.

In a "spicy" 2022 interview on First We Feast, Mann echoed her sentiments about comedy when Sean Evans asked her about the term dramatic comedy being used to describe many of her movies. "I like to be able to feel something deeply and also be able to laugh about it," she said. 'I've always thought of myself as, like, a dramatic actress. I don't think of myself as a comedy actress."

Most famous actors have a part they look back on as being the one that changed everything — that breakout role that put them on the map. For Leslie Mann, that would be the 1996 comedy film "The Cable Guy," starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. In it, Mann plays the girlfriend of Matthew Broderick's character who Carrey tries to get back for him.

Beyond appearing with Carrey, getting a great big hug from, and getting to say the word "vagina" to win game night, Mann got something even better from being in that movie. It's where she met her future husband, Judd Apatow. As the often-told story goes, Apatow, who was one of the producers on the film, said of Mann after her audition, "There goes the future Mrs. Apatow." Mann confirmed the story in 2017 to TODAY's Willie Geist, with at least one caveat. Mann says the story annoys her when it's told as if Apatow gave her the job. "He was doing rewrites on 'The Cable Guy,' so he was reading Jim Carrey's part with all the actresses," she said. He wasn't doing the hiring. And she jokingly added in regards to the comment Apatow made about her, "But I think he may have said that about Heather Locklear and like J-Lo, too."

Things moved pretty quickly for Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow after they met on the set of "The Cable Guy." Almost exactly a year after the film released, the two were married in June of 1997, and by the end of that year, they welcomed their first daughter, Maude Annabelle Apatow. Interestingly enough, Maude's parents selected the name together because, as Mann shared with Wired in 2022, her favorite movie was "Harold and Maude." Apatow also shared his favorite TV show was "Maude" (though it's not totally clear if he was joking on that). In October 2002, Iris came along. Her name, Mann said in the interview, was whispered in her ear while she was pregnant and asleep.

Maude and Iris were just nine and four, respectively, when they first appeared on screen, playing Mann's character's daughters in "Knocked Up." The two were also in "Funny People," which their mother was in as well, then in 2012, Mann's daughters reprised their roles for "This is 40." Apatow, who directed "Knocked Up" and "This is 40," shared with Wired, "We hired them because we don't like other people's children." Mann admitted to Today that she wasn't onboard when Apatow first suggested their girls play Mann's daughters. "Two weeks before shooting, he's like, so we're gonna use the kids and it's gonna to be great," she said. Mann mused that she had to go along with it but added, "It turned out to be wonderful."

In 1994, Leslie Mann landed her first TV show, "Birdland," which was only her second credit besides her commercial work. David Duchovny was not far into his long run on "The X-Files." Somehow the pair met in Vancouver and made arrangements to go out together — at least that was what Mann had thought at the time.

She described the incident on "Live with Kelly & Ryan" in 2022, sharing that she'd invited him to a Halloween party she was having. After it ended, Mann and her best friend, along with Duchovny got into a cab to head to a bar. "He stops the cab, gets out of the cab, runs away, and doesn't speak to me again for 27 years," she said. Ryan Seacrest, understandably curious, asked what had happened inside the cab to make him bolt, but Mann was adamant she had no clue and neither did her friend.

Then in 2022, the two actors reunited when they were both cast in the comedy "The Bubble." Mann said it took some nerve, but she asked Duchovny what happened and his answer was unexpected. "And he was like, 'Oh, oh-yeah-yeah-yeah, I kind of remember that. Um, I don't know. I probably just left my weed in my room,'" she said. While Seacrest burst out laughing, Ripa tried to provide some consolation for Mann, telling her Duchovny's response was a good one because it wasn't personally about Mann. "It was the weed," Ripa said.

Talk about a small world. Back in the day, when struggling comics didn't have the internet, Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow were roommates, both trying to make it in the business (via Hollywood Reporter). At some point in the 90s, before Leslie Mann knew either of the men, she encountered Sandler at a bar. The pair recounted the story on Moviefone Unscripted while promoting "Funny People" (which was written and directed by Apatow) in 2012, and was the second time Mann and Sandler worked together. Their first film was "Big Daddy" in 1999.

According to Mann, they were each at separate tables with their friends when Sandler spotted Mann and sent a friend over with a note written in ketchup. When Mann said the pick-up line was "Nice Back," Sandler appeared affronted but didn't deny it. "Then his friend said, 'why don't you come over and say hi my friend,'" Mann said. "And I thought, why doesn't he come over and say hi to me." Apparently, they were at a standoff at this point, neither willing to give in and go to the other. And that was that.

Later, when Apatow and Mann started dating, and Apatow introduced his new girlfriend to his old friend and roommate, that's where the story gets fuzzy. Sandler claims it wasn't awkward because he doesn't think he remembered Mann at the time. "I remember going 'hey, nice to meet you' but I don't remember like, oh, that was the girl I hit on." Mann replied simply, "I remember."

Legendary actor Harvey Keitel has been appearing on-screen for more than five decades and as of this writing, he's still a working actor at the age of 83. In 2016, Leslie Mann starred opposite Robert De Nero in the comedy drama, "The Comedian" and Keitel played her father.

Somehow, Keitel, who joined the Marines in 1956 and served until 1959 (per Fox News), got the impression that Mann's father was also a Marine. So, of course, he became interested in that and even asked Mann if he could connect with her dad. As Mann relayed to Today's Willie Geist, Mann then spoke to her mom about it, who set her straight, telling her that Dad was a Merchant Marine for a summer. "Maybe not even a merchant marine," Mann clarified, "he may have just, like, cleaned the boats for the Merchant Marines..."

Mann felt bad about the miscommunication and wanted to set the record straight, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She didn't elaborate on what exactly stopped her, but one can assume it wouldn't be the easiest thing to do, especially since he seemed to bring it up each time they spoke. Then something happened that likely made it even more difficult to come clean. "He gave me this special coin, like this Marine Corp coin that he's had for like 30 years," she added. Needless to say, this article might be how Mr. Keitel finds out.

After her breakout role in "The Cable Guy," Leslie Mann had small roles in "She's the One" and "Last Man Standing," before landing opposite Brendan Fraser in "George of the Jungle," Disney's adaptation of the 1967 cartoon. Fraser, of course, played George, while Mann played love interest, Ursula. This was Mann's first time as leading lady.

The movie was quite the adventure for the actor, who got her own opportunity to swing from a vine, slide down a waterfall, and even scuffle with the bad guy. But as Mann shared with NewBeauty Magazine in 2018, none of that was the answer she gave to the question, "What's your favorite character you've ever played in a movie?" Apparently, it was Ursula because of the giant crush she had on Brendan Fraser. "He was, like, naked all day long and I enjoyed that," Mann said with a giggle, "and I was with Judd at the time." She and Apatow tied the knot just one month before the release of the movie, a likely coincidence, right?

In 2019, Busy Philipps brought up Mann's crush when she appeared on "Busy Tonight." Mann said, "He was just delightful and like funny ..." While Mann went on to describe their daily kisses and how much she loved Fraser, the man himself dropped in and floored Mann. The two had a sweet and lengthy hug, and Fraser gave Mann a bouquet of Peonies. They sat and shared stories from their time together. But the icing on the cake? Fraser gifted Mann his framed loincloth.

Leslie Mann and Cameron Diaz first connected on screen in the 1996 film "She's the One," starring Edward Burns and Jennifer Aniston. But it wasn't until the 2014 movie, "The Other Woman" that the pair really grew into close friends. In the film, three women (the third was played by Kate Upton) bond over their mutual hatred for the man who was cheating on all three of them.

Mann shared with CBS that her relationship with her co-stars is the opposite of the characters. "Girlfriends are so important," she explained. "There's no point in competing to me. I don't get it. I'm not that person." The press tour for the movie involved lots of stops where the three women appeared together, and the "girl power" vibe was obviously not just with the characters. In one group interview with "Alan Carr: Chatty Man," Diaz (who was a bit tipsy from the Tequila shots they were doing), gushed about Mann, saying, "Leslie has this innate talent, it's her, that's why she's so brilliant as a comedian, that she can just let go and be free and be in the moment ..."

During the pandemic in 2020, Mann and Diaz got outside for some roller skating and wine drinking, and the fun turned into a cool video Mann shared on Instagram. In August of 2022, People reported that Diaz had her 50th birthday party at Nobu in Malibu, surrounded by family and her closest friends, including Mann and her husband.

When the cult classic "Harold and Maude" came out in March of 1972, actor Leslie Mann was still three months away from being born. But, at some point in her life, she not only saw the film, but it came to mean a great deal to the actor. Starring Ruth Gordon — who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role — and Bud Cort, the off-beat comedy romance features an unlikely relationship between characters who are 52 years apart in age.

Mann shared a memory with Sean Evans on First We Feast in 2022 about her first experiences watching the film. Mann remembered having a VCR, and her mother giving the kids a tape of the movie for Christmas. Why that particular film? It might be because that was the movie her parents saw on one of their first dates. Because it was one of the only movies they owned, Mann watched it several times over. "I really loved watching it, and I would cry and be so moved," she shared, adding, "The music is so beautiful and the acting is so beautiful."

Mann went on to explain she felt the movie shaped her, so it might explain why she's so perfectly cast into these slightly dark comedies, playing quirky but endearing characters. "Thank God, she gave me a good movie," Mann added. "What if she gave me a different movie, and that was the thing that shaped me, and then I was like, just off for the rest of my life?"

For someone who considers herself a serious actor, Leslie Mann often finds herself in hilarious situations, both on and off screen. And it's not just her female co-stars she lets loose with, including while promoting the films she's in as well. In 2018, Mann starred in "Blockers" alongside John Cena, playing parents on a mission to prevent their daughters from having prom night sex.

In one interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Cena was acting host, shooting rapid-fire questions at Mann without allowing her time to answer. He then revealed that he gets nervous around her because, "Both you and your husband have seen me in some pretty compromising situations." In the background was a shot of Cena naked, except for a tiny towel — hanging off a body part! 

After some awkward back and forth where Mann compared her husband's body to Cena's, she went on to describe Cena's body, which she got a closeup view of while filming a hilarious scene where Cena is supposed to be "butt chugging" a beer. Mann admitted to peeking at Cena's backside but said, "You can't see anything because it's like four inches thick of butt meat, so there's no seeing through." Using her hands as a visual while Cena awkwardly looked on, she added, "It's like thick muscle slammed shut." Though the audience laughed, Mann seemed to be reassuring Cena that because of this, she didn't see "anything."

Leslie Mann has been described as funny, beautiful, and talented. But she's also known for her voice, which is a little higher than the average actor or person for that matter. Mann herself has shared that growing up her high voice was something she was teased about. In 2012, Mann lent her voice to the animated film "ParaNorman" about a boy who sees ghosts and is teased by other kids. When asked by CineMovie if she could relate to the main character, Mann said the teasing from others didn't just make her self-conscious growing up — it was devastating for her. "As I've gotten older, I realized that that is the thing that makes me different, the thing that makes me unique," she said.

The change in perspective wasn't an easy one, however. Mann shared with Esquire in 2012, the high pitch of her voice cost her acting jobs early on. "I tried to get into a commercial workshop class when I was in high school, and the woman wouldn't let me in to the class because of my voice. She said that I would never work as an actress," Mann told the publication.

Mann has definitely used her voice to her advantage in her career over the years. She's voiced characters on TV shows like "Hercules," "Allen Gregory," and "The Simpsons," where she played herself. The actor also voiced the character of Linda for "Rio" and "Rio 2." More recently she voiced the character of Hope in 2020's "The Croods: A New Age," starring Nicholas Cage and Emma Stone.

In 2009, Leslie Mann reunited with co-star Adam Sandler for the comedy-drama "Funny People." The film also brought Sandler back together with his former roommate and friend Judd Apatow, who wrote, directed, and co-produced the movie about a middle-aged, retired comedian (played by Sandler) who has been diagnosed with leukemia. Mann played the part of Laura, George's fiancée.

In one of the scenes, George shows Laura, who gave up acting to be a stay-at-home mom, that he saved a clip reel from when Laura was an aspiring actress. Only the clips are actually from Mann's early years of acting, including "Things I Never Told You," where Mann has very short hair, and a couple of commercials she did in the early 90s. One of them featured Mann in a "King Kong" version of a Coca-Cola commercial.

Mann shared with Backstage Magazine in 2019 that it was surreal watching those old clips of herself. "I have so many weird hairstyles, and my voice is really high — even higher than it is now," she said. And it may not have been just Mann who noticed the voice as Sandler's character in the movie says, "They need you back in Munchkinville. They miss the mayor."