From Comedy to “Curb: ”Larry David's Life in Photos

As the award-winning multi-hyphenate turns 77 years old on July 2, 2024, see some of the highlights of his life and career

Larry David has been bringing the laughs for 77 years.

The writer, producer, actor and comedian — who celebrates his birthday on July 2 — got his start on the comedy circuit before hitting it big with ever-popular series Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

"I didn't think I was capable of doing anything," David told Today in 2024 of his rise to fame. "The fact that this has happened to me is miraculous. I can't even believe it."

Here, on his birthday, take a look at Larry David's life and career in photos.

Larry David's Early Years

Born in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn on July 2, 1947, Lawrence "Larry" Gene David was the son of Jewish parents whose families immigrated from Germany and Ukraine. His mother urged him to aspire to become a mailman, yet he failed the civil service exam.

After attending the University of Maryland, College Park, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, David decided to enlist in the army reserve for five years.

David also joined the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity, where he said he realized he could make people laugh by merely being himself.

Larry David on 'Fridays'

Larry David began his career as a stand-up comedian shortly thereafter, while simultaneously working as a chauffeur and bra salesman to make ends meet.

“I'm a fantastic driver," David said of his capabilities in a 2015 interview on Today.

His big moment came in 1980, when he joined the cast of the sketch comedy series Fridays, running through 1982.

Larry David on 'SNL'

Fridays opened the door to Saturday Night Live, where Larry David would write for a season from 1984 to 1985 (returning intermittently through the early '90s).

In a 2015 interview with Howard Stern, David called himself a "failure" on the show.

"My sketches would do very well at the read-through, and then they would invariably get cut, week after week after week," he recalled. "One night before the show another sketch of mine was cut at 11:25, five minutes before the show was to start. I had enough. [Series creator Dick Ebersol] was sitting in the chair and I marched over to him, I said 'This f---ing show stinks! I'm done, I'm gone ... I'm out.' " He did, however, return two days later for the next writers' meeting.

Larry David and 'Seinfeld'

Larry David teamed up with fellow comedian Jerry Seinfeld in 1989 to create a pilot for NBC called The Seinfeld Chronicles, which would later become the premise for Seinfeld.

The show ran for almost a decade and is widely considered to be one of the most popular shows of all time, where David wrote 62 episodes before amicably departing from the show in season 7 (the show lasted nine).

Larry David Wins His Emmys

Though he's been nominated for 29 Emmy Awards, David has two, both won in 1993 for outstanding individual achievement in writing in a comedy series and outstanding comedy series for Seinfeld. David has six SAG Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations to his name, too.

Larry David and First Wife Laurie David

On March 31, 1993, Larry David wed activist, producer and writer Laurie David. Together, the former couple has two daughters, Cazzie and Romy.

The actor said the decision to divorce in 2007 led to "the best situation" with his kids.

"The best part about [it] is that you get time off too … because the kids are with their mom, so it's the best of both worlds," he told Rolling Stone in 2011. "There's a lot to be said for it."

Larry David's Daughters

Both Cazzie (pictured) and Romy David have acted, appearing together in a 2007 episode of Hannah Montana with their dad. Cazzie has gone on to other projects including The Umbrella Academy and Eighty-Sixed, while Romy interned at the White House during Barack Obama's presidency.

"I have a wonderful relationship with my daughters," Larry David previously joked to The Irish Independent in 2009. "At least, I do on my end. I don't know how they feel."

Larry David on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'

About a year after the ​​one-hour special, Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm, premiered on HBO on Oct. 17, 1999, the series Curb Your Enthusiasm launched on the network to critical acclaim.

The show — starring David, Jeff Garlin, Cheryl Hines and Susie Essman, among others — was non-scripted and improvised; David would write a simple story outline of only a couple pages for each episode. Curb has earned more than 50 Emmy nominations throughout its run.

'Seinfeld' Meets 'Curb'

In season 7, episode 10 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the cast of Seinfeld came together in a story arc revolving around Larry David's wish for a Seinfeld reunion special. Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards all returned as themselves.

Larry David on 'Entourage'

Though his acting credits aren't extensive, Larry David did make a memorable cameo during season 1 of the HBO show Entourage, as a client of agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven).

Larry David on Broadway

Larry David wrote and starred in the Broadway play Fish in the Dark which opened on March 5, 2015 (above, with surprise guest Jason Alexander). Though it only ran for six months, the play's advance sales broke records for a Broadway show.

Larry David as Bernie Sanders

Larry David went viral for his impersonations of Senator Bernie Sanders during his 2016 presidential campaign on Saturday Night Live, and frequently mimicked the politician during his 2020 presidential run as well. The two were actually found to be distant relatives in 2017 on an episode of the PBS series Finding Your Roots.

Larry David and Wife Ashley Underwood

After meeting through friends Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher, Larry David started dating Ashley Underwood around 2017 and the two wed in 2020.

On July 2, 2021, Underwood celebrated her husband's birthday and referred to his first marriage in a hilarious post on Instagram, writing, "Happy birthday to this lovely man who did two things this past year he swore he'd never do, get another dog and another wife. Here he is searching for a way to escape both. We love you! HBD Larry ❤️."

Larry David Now

As he marks his 77th birthday, Larry David keeps busy, recently wrapping Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2024 after bringing it back in 2017.

“It was the most fun I could ever have possibly had doing anything," David said on a 2024 PaleyFest panel. "To do that, to write it and then film it. I can't imagine how I could ever have had more fun in my life."

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