Michael Birbiglia was born on 20 June 1978, in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts USA, to Mary Jean and Vincent Paul Birbiglia, of part-Italian descent. He is a comedian, writer, actor, and director, best known for his “Secret Public Journal” segments on the radio program “This American Life” and for his show “Sleepwalk with Me”.
A famous comedian, how rich is Mike Birbiglia? Sources state that Birbiglia has established a net worth of over $2 million, as of mid-2016. His wealth has been earned through his various stand-up comedy and film projects.
Mike Birbiglia Net Worth $2 Million
Birbiglia grew up in Shrewsbury, along with his three older siblings, where he attended St. John’s High School, later transitioning to St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Massachusetts, matriculating in 1996. He then enrolled in Georgetown University, also performing as a member of the Georgetown Players Improv Troupe.
Birbiglia became interested in stand-up comedy at the age of 16, being influenced by Steven Wright’s performances. After his college graduation in 2000, he began performing comedy around Washington D.C. and New York City, and started working the ticket window at the D.C. Improv, developing and refining his act. He later moved to New York City, where his performances led him to meet the late Lucien Hold, who introduced him to talent scouts and helped him to appear on David Letterman’s show – Birbiglia’s popularity started to grow. He became a regular contributor to the radio program “This American Life” and “The Bob and Tom” radio show, with his “My Secret Public Journal” segments.
In 2004 Birbiglia released his self-produced album “Dog Years”. Signing with Comedy Central Records, he released two more albums, the 2006 “Two Drink Mike” and the 2007 “My Secret Public Journal Live”, the latter one being named one of the best comedy albums of the decade by The A.V. Club. His third album under Comedy Central – “What I Should Have Said Was Nothing” – came out in 2008; the comedian’s popularity was boosted, and his net worth started to rise.
Birbiglia opened his first one-man off-Broadway show called “Sleepwalk with Me” in 2008 – the show was a critical success, with New York Times calling it “simply perfect” and Time Out New York ranking it as “Show of the Year”. It has since been turned into different projects, such as the non-fiction book “Sleepwalk With Me & Other Painfully True Stories”, which Birbiglia released in 2010. The book debuted at #29 on The New York Times’ hardcover nonfiction bestseller list and was a finalist for the 2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor. In 2011 Birbiglia’s album “Sleepwalk with Me” came out under Comedy Central Records, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Magazine Comedy Charts. The same year he opened his second one-man show called “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend”, named as the #1 stand-up special of 2013 by magazines such as Vulture, Paste, Laughspin and The Laugh Button, as one of Time Out New York’s Best Comedy Specials of 2013 and as one of the top 20 funniest stand-up specials of all time by Flavorwire. It earned the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show. All contributed to Birbiglia’s wealth.
Aside from stand-up comedy, Birbiglia has also been involved in the film industry – in 2012 he wrote, directed and starred in the independent comedy “Sleepwalk with Me”, which won the Best of NEXT Audience Award, and also appeared in other films, such as “Going the Distance”, “Your Sister’s Sister”, “Annie”, “The Fault in Our Stars”, “Adult Beginners”, “Trainwreck” and “Hot Pursuit”. In 2016 he wrote, directed and starred in the comedy/drama film “Don’t Think Twice” about a New York City improve troupe, increasing his net worth once again. He is currently filming the comedy film “Tramps”, announced to be released in fall 2016.
Speaking about his private life, Birbiglia has been married to Jen Stein since 2007, with whom he has one daughter.
Best of NEXT Audience Award, ECNY Award - Stamnd-up comedy (2003), Nightlife Awards (2003), Lucille Lortel - Outstanding Solo Show (2011), Sundance Film Festival Audience Award (2012)
Albums
Dog Years (2004), Two Drink Mike (2006), My Secret Public Journal Live (2007), Sleepwalk With Me Live (2011), My Secret Public Journal Live
Nominations
Gotham Awards, Gotham Awards, Thurber Prize for American Humor
Movies
"Don't Think Twice" (2016), "Sleepwalk with Me" (2012), "Digging for Fire" (2015), "The Fault in Our Stars" (2015), "Your Sister's Sister" (2011),"Don't Think Twice"
TV Shows
"This American Life", "Sleepwalk with Me", "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend"
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Fact
1
He has Italian, Irish, and more distant English and German, ancestry.
2
His directorial debut, Sleepwalk with Me (2012), was loosely based on his own life. Especially autobiographical are the main character's early struggles as a stand-up comedian and his issues with sleepwalking due to his having "rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder".
3
Does the Secret Public Journal whenever on the Bob & Tom Show.