Pete Davidson Bio
Peter Michael Davidson, professionally known as Pete Davidson, is an American comedian, actor, and writer who first gained widespread attention as a cast member on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. Born on November 16, 1993, in the Staten Island borough of New York City, he joined Saturday Night Live in 2014 at the age of 20, becoming the first cast member born in the 1990s. Over the course of eight seasons on the show, he became known for his personal style of stand-up and sketch comedy.
After leaving Saturday Night Live in 2022, Pete Davidson expanded his career into film, voice work, and television production. He co-wrote and starred in the semi-autobiographical comedy-drama The King of Staten Island (2020) and later created the Peacock series Bupkis (2023). He has appeared in major studio films including The Suicide Squad (2021), Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023). He has also released three stand-up comedy specials.
Early Life and Background
Pete Davidson was born on November 16, 1993, in the Staten Island borough of New York City, to Amy (née Waters) and Scott Matthew Davidson. His mother is of mostly Irish ancestry, with some distant German roots. His father was predominantly of Jewish ancestry, with some distant German, Irish, and Italian roots. He has a younger sister named Casey, and he was raised Catholic.
His father, Scott Matthew Davidson, was a New York City firefighter with Ladder 118 who died in service during the September 11, 2001 attacks, along with the rest of his unit. He was last seen running up the stairs of the Marriott World Trade Center just before the building was destroyed when the Twin Towers collapsed. Pete Davidson, who was seven years old at the time, has said the loss was overwhelming and that he later struggled in school as a result of the trauma. He has also spoken publicly about struggling with suicidal thoughts in his youth and has credited the music of Kid Cudi with helping him through that period.
Davidson attended St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School and then Tottenville High School in Huguenot, Staten Island, before transferring to Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where he graduated in 2011. He first tried stand-up comedy at age sixteen in a Staten Island bowling alley, where friends, including future professional baseball player Matt Festa, dared him to take the stage. After high school, he enrolled at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, but he left after one semester to pursue a full-time career in comedy.
Path to Celebrity
Pete Davidson began his stand-up career in 2010 while still a teenager performing in small New York venues. His earliest onscreen appearance came in 2013, when he appeared in the MTV comedy series Failosophy. That same year, he made his first appearance on MTV2’s Guy Code, the first of four episodes, and later appeared on Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out, his first of six appearances on the show. He also performed his first televised stand-up on the Comedy Central program Gotham Comedy Live.
As a young comedian, Davidson built a reputation through appearances on shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Friends of the People. His big break came when he auditioned for Saturday Night Live in 2014 through the support of comedian Bill Hader, whom he had met while filming the Judd Apatow comedy Trainwreck. Hader told producer Lorne Michaels about him, and Davidson was cast in the show’s 40th season. He was the first new addition to the cast that year and quickly drew attention for his personal brand of stand-up and sketch comedy.
Pete Davidson Career
Early Career (2013–2014)
Davidson’s earliest onscreen appearance was in the third episode of the MTV comedy series Failosophy, which premiered on February 28, 2013. He went on to make multiple appearances on MTV2’s Guy Code and Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out, while also performing stand-up on the Comedy Central program Gotham Comedy Live. He also landed a small role in a Fox comedy pilot, Sober Companion, although the show did not go to series.
During this period, he appeared in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and built a growing list of television credits. In March 2015, he served as a roaster on the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber, where his set was praised as one of the best of the night. In 2016, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and Comedy Central filmed his first stand-up special, Pete Davidson: SMD, in New York City.
Breakthrough (2014–2022)
Davidson joined the cast of Saturday Night Live with the show’s 40th-season premiere on September 27, 2014. At age 20, he was the youngest cast member to join the show in years and the first person born in the 1990s to be part of the regular cast. His debut drew positive critical notice, and he soon became known for recurring sketches and original characters, most notably Chad, an easily distracted apathetic man who first appeared in a Season 41 episode hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Over eight seasons, he became a regular in the show’s Weekend Update segments and in numerous filmed and live sketches.
Beyond Saturday Night Live, Davidson expanded into film with roles in Big Time Adolescence (2019), which he also executive produced, and supporting parts in What Men Want, The Dirt, The Angry Birds Movie 2, and The Jesus Rolls. In 2020, he co-wrote and starred in The King of Staten Island with director Judd Apatow, a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama. In August 2021, he appeared as Blackguard in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, and in 2022, he starred in Bodies Bodies Bodies and Meet Cute, and voiced Marmaduke in a Netflix animated film. In February 2020, he released his second comedy special, Alive from New York, on Netflix.
Notable Works and Milestones
Pete Davidson is best known for his eight seasons on Saturday Night Live (2014–2022), his co-written film The King of Staten Island (2020), his role in The Suicide Squad (2021), and his Peacock series Bupkis (2023), which he also co-wrote. He was placed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2016, and his comedy special Pete Davidson: SMD (2016) marked his first hour-long stand-up release. He has also continued to perform live stand-up, including the joint tour “Sundays with Pete & John” with John Mulaney.
Stardom and Bupkis (2023–Present)
In 2023, Pete Davidson starred in the Peacock original series Bupkis, which he also co-wrote. The series debuted to mixed reviews. Although Peacock renewed the series for a second season, Davidson chose not to move forward with one. That same year, he appeared in three major franchise films: as Phlektik in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as Bowie in Fast X, and as the voice of Mirage in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. In 2024, he released his third comedy special, Pete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli.
Pete Davidson Award Nominations
Pete Davidson has received industry recognition across his career in stand-up, film, and television. He was nominated for The Comedy Movie Star of 2020 at the 46th People’s Choice Awards for his work in The King of Staten Island, and he also received a nomination at the same ceremony for The Comedy Act of 2020 for Pete Davidson: Alive from New York. He was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2016.
Pete Davidson Family
Pete Davidson was born to Amy (née Waters) and Scott Matthew Davidson. His father was a New York City firefighter with Ladder 118 who died in service during the September 11, 2001 attacks, along with the rest of his unit. He has a younger sister named Casey.
He is the godfather of Leo, the son of fellow comedian and friend Ricky Velez. Davidson has also maintained a long friendship with Cleveland Guardians pitcher Matthew Festa, with whom he attended St. Joseph by the Sea High School. In 2023, Davidson and fellow Saturday Night Live comedian Colin Jost purchased a decommissioned Staten Island Ferry boat, which was later used in the film Screamboat.
Personal Life
Pete Davidson has lived much of his life in the New York City area. In 2019, he lived in Staten Island with his mother in a home they purchased together, and in April 2021, he moved into his own residence on Staten Island. In February 2022, he announced plans to move from Staten Island to Brooklyn to be closer to work. Davidson was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 17 or 18 and has spoken publicly about his borderline personality disorder diagnosis and ongoing treatment.
Davidson has had several high-profile relationships. He was engaged to singer Ariana Grande in 2018, though the engagement was called off later that year. He later dated actress Kate Beckinsale, actress Margaret Qualley, model Kaia Gerber, actress Phoebe Dynevor, and reality star and businesswoman Kim Kardashian. Between December 2022 and August 2023, he dated actress Chase Sui Wonders, whom he met on the set of Bodies Bodies Bodies. He dated actress Madelyn Cline from September 2023 to July 2024. In March 2025, he began a relationship with model and actress Elsie Hewitt; the couple had a daughter in December 2025.
