Does Jesse Eisenberg Have Kids?

The Short Answer

Jesse Eisenberg is 43 years old — born on October 5, 1983. That makes Jesse Eisenberg one of the most-searched public figures for age-related questions, with fans regularly looking up birthday and family details.

Jesse Eisenberg: Early Life and Background

Jesse Adam Eisenberg ( EYE-zən-burg; born October 5, 1983) is an American actor, playwright, and filmmaker. Recognized for playing smart but socially awkward characters in both comedies and dramas, his accolades include a BAFTA Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, and three Golden Globes.

Eisenberg made his television debut with the short-lived comedy-drama series Get Real (1999–2000). Following his first leading role in the film Roger Dodger (2002), he starred in films such as The Squid and the Whale (2005), Adventureland (2009) and Zombieland (2009). He gained wider recognition for starring as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher's film The Social Network (2010), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Eisenberg then starred in the Woody Allen films To Rome with Love (2012) and Café Society (2016), the heist films Now You See Me (2013) and its two sequels (2016 and 2025), and independent dramas such as The Double (2013).

He starred as Lex Luthor in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) superhero films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), and had a lead voice role as Blu in the animated films Rio (2011) and Rio 2 (2014). In 2022, he starred in the FX / Hulu miniseries Fleishman Is in Trouble and made his film directorial debut with the black comedy When You Finish Saving the World. He has since directed, written, and starred in the comedy-drama A Real Pain (2024), which earned him the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay and an Academy Award nomination in the same category.

Eisenberg has contributed pieces to The New Yorker and the website McSweeney's. He has written and starred in three plays for the New York stage: Asuncion, The Revisionist, and The Spoils. He released his first book, Bream Gives Me Hiccups: and Other Stories, in 2015.

Career and Rise to Fame

Early life

Jesse Adam Eisenberg was born in Astoria, Queens (NYC) and grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey. His mother, Amy (née Fishman), who now teaches cross-cultural sensitivity in hospitals, previously worked as a clown named Bonabini at children's parties and as a director/choreographer for a high school for 20 years. She was also a Socialist Zionist and member of the Hashomer Hatzair youth organization. His father, Barry Eisenberg, drove a taxicab, then worked at a hospital, and later became a college professor, teaching sociology. He has two sisters: Hallie Eisenberg, a former child actress who was once famous as the "Pepsi Girl" in a series of commercials; and Kerri Eisenberg, now Kerry Lea, who also worked as an actress, ran a vegetarianism- and animal rights-based children's theatre troupe, later becoming an independent artist in New York.

Eisenberg was raised in a secular Jewish household. His ancestors came from Poland and from the area that later became Ukraine. He attended the East Brunswick Public Schools at Frost Elementary School, Hammarskjold Middle School (6th & 7th), Churchill Junior High School (8th & 9th), and spent his sophomore and junior years at East Brunswick High School. He then transferred to the Professional Performing Arts School in New York for his senior year. When he was a senior, he received his breakthrough role in the independent comedy-drama film Roger Dodger. His work in the film prevented him from enrolling at New York University. Instead, he studied anthropology and contemporary architecture at The New School in Greenwich Village, where he majored in liberal arts, with a focus on democracy and cultural pluralism.

Eisenberg struggled to fit in at school due to an anxiety disorder, and began acting in plays at an early age. When he was seven he starred as Oliver Twist in a children's theater production of the musical Oliver!, and by 12 he was an understudy in the 1996 Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke. At 13, he understudied the role of Young Scrooge in a musical version of A Christmas Carol starring Tony Randall. He had his first professional role in Arje Shaw's off-Broadway play The Gathering at age 16. He said, "When playing a role, I would feel more comfortable, as you're given a prescribed way of behaving."

Age and Birthday Details

Jesse Eisenberg was born on October 5, 1983.

As of 2026, Jesse Eisenberg is 43 years old.

Birthday milestones for public figures like Jesse Eisenberg routinely trend on social media, which is why "how old is" questions generate such consistent search demand.

Personal Life and Family

Eisenberg started writing screenplays at 16, some of which were optioned by major studios, but he claimed that he was dissatisfied with the lack of control he had over his creations once they were sold. He once got into trouble with Woody Allen's lawyers when, as a teenager, he penned a play about how Allen came to change his name and managed to get the script to Allen's "people." Instead of a seal of approval, he received cease and desist letters from Allen's attorney. Eisenberg later starred in two films directed by Allen, To Rome with Love and Café Society.

1999–2008: Early work

Eisenberg made his television debut in the series Get Real, from 1999 to 2000. In 2001, he appeared in a UK Dr Pepper commercial as "Butt Naked Boy." After appearing in the made-for-television film Lightning: Fire from the Sky at 18, he starred in the independent film Roger Dodger (for which he won an award at the San Diego Film Festival for Most Promising New Actor), and in The Emperor's Club, both of which were released in 2002 to generally positive reviews. Eisenberg was sick for the majority of the nightclub scene and can be seen sweating in different shots.

In 2005, Eisenberg appeared in Cursed, a horror film directed by Wes Craven, and The Squid and the Whale, a well-reviewed independent drama starring Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels. In 2007, he starred opposite Richard Gere and Terrence Howard in The Hunting Party, a comic thriller in which he plays an American journalist reporting from Bosnia and was also cast in the indie comic-drama Holy Rollers alongside his sister, Hallie Eisenberg, who played his fictional sister in the film. He played a young Hasidic Jew who becomes involved in the ecstasy smuggling trade, using his religion as a disguise to deal without suspicion. Filming took place in New York in 2008. In 2009, Eisenberg played the lead role alongside Kristen Stewart which would be the first of many collaborations between them in Adventureland, a comedy directed by Greg Mottola and filmed in Kennywood Park, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Filming wrapped in October 2007, and the film had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. During the late 2000s, he also had roles in the independent films Solitary Man, playing college student Daniel, and Camp Hell, a horror film directed by George Van Buskirk.

Recent Years

2009–2011: Breakthrough and critical success

Eisenberg's first major box office success was a lead role in the horror-comedy Zombieland (2009). He starred opposite Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as a group of survivors on a road trip through a post-zombie apocalypse America, and was a sleeper hit. In 2010, he portrayed Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg in the film The Social Network, for which he earned the Best Actor Award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, and nominations for Best Actor at the BAFTA Awards, Golden Globes, and Academy Awards but lost to Colin Firth for his performance of George VI in The King's Speech. According to the film's director, David Fincher, both he and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin knew Eisenberg was the one for the role as soon as they watched his audition tape, despite Eisenberg's own anxieties about his audition.

On January 29, 2011, Eisenberg hosted Saturday Night Live on NBC, with musical guest Nicki Minaj. During his opening monologue, Zuckerberg himself appeared. Eisenberg said that meeting the man he portrayed on-screen was "an overwhelming experience," and was happy that "we were both able to have fun at the situation." Zuckerberg, who has complained frequently about the artistic licenses taken by The Social Network, would later say that he thought Eisenberg "was a little afraid to meet me after his portrayal, but I tried to be nice."

In 2011, he starred in the box-office animated hit Rio, as the main character Blu, a metropolitan, domesticated male Spix's macaw who learns how to fly. He starred alongside Anne Hathaway, his former co-star (and onscreen sibling) from Get Real, as well as George Lopez, Tracy Morgan, will.i.am, and Jamie Foxx. He featured in one song, "Real in Rio," in the film's soundtrack, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. He also starred alongside Aziz...

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