stiller was born in new york city in 1965. his father, jerry stiller, was from a jewish family that immigrated from poland and galicia, in eastern europe. his mother, anne meara, who was of irish catholic background, converted to reform judaism after marrying his father. she died in 2015. the family celebrated both hanukkah and christmas, and stiller had a bar mitzvah. he has said that he is "half jewish and half irish catholic." stiller's parents frequently took him on the sets of their appearances, including "the mike douglas show" when he was six. he stated in an interview that he considered his childhood unusual: "in some ways, it was a show-business upbringing—a lot of traveling, a lot of late nights—not what you'd call traditional."