Schneider has also made guest appearances on numerous television shows and has pursuedstand-up comedy throughout his career. He is the father of singerElle King.
Early life and education
Robert Michael Schneider was born inSan Francisco, California on October 31, 1963, and grew up in the nearby suburb ofPacifica.[1] His parents were Pilar (née Monroe), a former kindergarten teacher and ex-school board president, and Marvin Schneider, a real estate broker.[2] His father wasJewish and his mother wasCatholic.[3] Schneider's maternal grandmother was aFilipina who met and married his grandfather, a white American army private, while he was stationed in thePhilippines.[4] His mixed background has been a common theme throughout his career.[5] Schneider graduated fromTerra Nova High School in 1982 and then attendedSan Francisco State University.[5] His older brother,John, is a producer.
Career
Early career
Schneider began his career doingstand-up comedy inSan Francisco.[6] He made his debut appearance on television in 1987, onHBO's 13th Annual Young Comedians special, which was hosted by comedianDennis Miller.[7]
Saturday Night Live
After being hired as a writer for theNBCsketch comedy seriesSaturday Night Live in 1988, Schneider was part of the show's comedy team from 1990 to 1994.[8][9] He played such roles as "Tiny Elvis", "Orgasm Guy",[10] andRichard Laymer, the office worker beside the photocopier who addressed each of his fellow employees with an endless stream of annoying gossip.[11] Schneider is featured in the video releaseThe Bad Boys of Saturday Night Live, along with colleaguesAdam Sandler,Chris Rock,David Spade, andChris Farley.[10]
RecurringSNL characters
The Richmeister, an office worker who annoys people by giving them nicknames as they make copies.[11]
Schneider starred in the 1999 feature filmDeuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, a tale of a fish-tank cleaner who incurs a massive debt and is forced to become a "man-whore." This was followed byThe Animal (2001), about a man given animal powers by a mad scientist;The Hot Chick (2002), wherein the body of a petty thief named Clive Maxtone (played by Schneider) is mystically switched with the body of a pretty, but mean-spirited high school cheerleader named Jessica Spencer (played byRachel McAdams in her film debut); and the sequelDeuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005). The latter movie was not well received by critics or moviegoers, and as a result, Schneider won a2005 Worst Actor Razzie Award for his role in the film.[12]
Schneider's directorial debut, the comedyBig Stan, was released in some overseas markets during the fall of 2008, with a U.S. release in early 2009. In the film, he starred as a real estate con artist who is arrested for perpetrating real-estate scams. He is sentenced to prison, so he takes a crash-course in martial arts to survive incarceration.
Schneider has also appeared in numerous comedies starring hisSNL comradeAdam Sandler, includingThe Waterboy (1998),Grown Ups (2010) andHubie Halloween (2020). The comedic characters Schneider plays in these films include an overly enthusiasticCajun man who proclaims the catch-phrase, "You can do it!"; an amiable Middle Eastern delivery boy; a prison inmate; and Sandler's one-eyed Hawaiian sidekick, Ula. Schneider has uttered the line "You can do it!" as a running gag in Sandler's filmsThe Waterboy,Little Nicky,50 First Dates,The Longest Yard, andBedtime Stories, as well as in a deleted scene fromClick (a sample of Schneider saying the phrase also turns up in the song "Original Prankster" byThe Offspring). Returning the favor, Sandler appeared in a cameo to spout the same line in Schneider'sThe Animal. Schneider narrated Sandler's 2002 animated movieEight Crazy Nights, and voiced the part of a Chinese waiter. Schneider also had an uncredited cameo as a Canadian-Japanese wedding-chapel minister in the 2007 Sandler-Kevin James comedyI Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, and played aPalestinian cab driver who serves as the title character's nemesis in the 2008 Sandler filmYou Don't Mess with the Zohan.
Schneider played a variety of roles in the 2005 television specialBack to Norm, starring another formerSNL playerNorm Macdonald, and appeared on episodes of the popular television showsSeinfeld andAlly McBeal. Schneider hosted theSports Illustrated: Swimsuit '97 television special, and the 2005Teen Choice Awards, and was a frequent guest on NBC's late-night variety programThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In Schneider's appearance with Leno on the July 24, 2007, episode ofThe Tonight Show, he showed up in drag as actressLindsay Lohan after the latter cancelled following a controversial arrest fordriving under the influence.[13]
Besides his efforts in movies and television, Schneider released his first comedy albumRegistered Offender in July 2010.Registered Offender is composed of audio sketches and songs, with Schneider himself doing all of the character voices on the recording. He also revived his stand-up comedy career in 2010 with an international tour of theaters, clubs, and casinos.[citation needed]
Schneider starred as the title character in theCBS sitcomRob, which was loosely based on his real life. The series ran for eight episodes starting on January 12, 2012 and was canceled in May. In 2015, he produced, directed and starred inReal Rob, a sitcom that follows his life and includes his real-life wife Patricia and daughter Miranda.Netflix released a season of 8 episodes,[14][15] and a second season in 2017.[16][17]
Schneider is the official celebrity spokesperson for the Taiwan Tourism Bureau and theTen Ren Tea company inTaipei.[18]
In 2021, Schneider competed onseason six ofThe Masked Singer as the wild card contestant "Hamster". A running gag is that "Hamster" would pantomime urinating onNick Cannon and get affectionate with him. When unmasked on the fifth week, Schneider dedicated his performance ofLuis Miguel'sSabor a Mí to Patricia and his daughters Miranda, Madeline, andElle. In addition, Schneider did a variation of his Townie character's "You can do it" line by quoting Hamster's final words "You can do it Masked Singer, all night long!"
In 2022, he starred, produced, and directed inDaddy Daughter Trip, which served as his third film as a director and also starred his wife Patricia and daughter Miranda. The film was to be exclusively shown inHarkins Theaters.[21]
In December 2023, Schneider was hired to perform a standup show at an event organized by the Senate Working Group. The performance was scheduled to last 30 minutes, but the show was cancelled after 10 minutes due to offensive content. Attendees were sent letters of apology after the performance.[22]
Personal life
In 1988, Schneider eloped toLas Vegas with former model London King, who gave birth to their daughter, musicianElle King, in 1989.[23][24] The couple divorced in 1990 and he had little connection with his daughter as a child, but as an adult the two rekindled a "beautiful and really wonderful, great loving relationship."[25] In 2021, King gave birth to a son, Schneider's first grandchild.[26] In August 2024, King discussed her childhood and her relationship with her father on an episode ofBunnie Xo's podcastDumb Blonde. She described her relationship with Schneider as an "ebb and flow" and at that point, the two were "not flowing." On growing up with Schneider, she said she would stay summers with him on film sets but that the two rarely spent time together as he was working and that she refused to spend any more summers with him after he decided to send her toweight loss camp. She also mentioned that Schneider would often forget her birthday and that she did not agree with his then-recent comments about women, transgender people, and vaccines.[27][28] Schneider later issued a public apology to her during an interview withTucker Carlson, saying he loved her and that he hoped she could forgive him for his shortcomings as a father.[29] In response, King said that her father apologizing on Carlson's show is "like adouble negative... means nothing".[30]
In 1996, Schneider established the Rob Schneider Music Foundation. The foundation returned music education toPacifica's elementary schools by paying the teachers' salaries and providing funds for instruments and other equipment. Prior to Schneider's efforts, the school system had been without music education programs for years.[31] He also once co-owned theDNA Lounge, aSan Francisco nightclub.[32]
In 2002, he married former model Helena Schneider but the union was short-lived.[33]
In 2005, Schneider began dating television producer Patricia Azarcoya Arce. On April 23, 2011, the two married inBeverly Hills, California.[5][34][35] They have two daughters, born in 2012[36] and 2016.[37] The family supports Mexican soccer clubTigres, which is based in Patricia's hometown ofMonterrey, Mexico.[38][39] The family reside inArizona.[40]
In 2013, Schneider switched political parties from theDemocratic Party to theRepublican Party, explaining: "The state of California is a mess, and the super majority of Democrats is not working. I've been a lifelong Democrat and I have to switch over because it no longer serves the people of this great state."[44] He endorsed Republican candidateTim Donnelly for the2014 California gubernatorial election.[44]
Schneider has been a critic ofchildhood vaccinations.[19] In an interview withNews10 in Sacramento, Schneider opined that "The efficacy of these shots have not been proven... And the toxicity of these things – we're having more and more side effects. We're having more and more autism." He also views the actions from the state of California to mandate vaccinations as government overreach.[49]
In 2015, Schneider actively opposed the passage of two California laws, California Assembly Bill 2109 andCalifornia Senate Bill 277, which both made childhood vaccination exemptions harder to obtain. On September 28, 2012, Schneider and California State Assemblyman Tim Donnelly spoke at the "Medical Freedom Rally", where they urged California GovernorJerry Brown to veto Assembly Bill 2109, which would have made it more difficult for parents to use philosophical reasons for exemptions from mandatory childhood vaccinations. While the bill was not vetoed, Governor Brown added a signing message instructing theDepartment of Health to add areligious exemption and to make sure the process was not overly burdensome to parents.[50][51][52]
While fightingCalifornia Senate Bill 277, which removed exemptions to mandatory vaccinations due to personal beliefs, Schneider left a phone message to California state Assemblywoman and bill co-authorLorena Gonzalez saying that he would spend money against her in her next re-election. Gonzalez, in an interview withThe Washington Times, said that she found the message to be disturbing, but upon calling back, she said, "he was actually much nicer to me, but let's be honest... that is 20 mins of my life I'll never get back arguing that vaccines don't cause autism withDeuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo."[53]
In October 2025, he tweeted that "there were no Children's Hospitals when I was a kid. Because kids weren't sick."[54] Others responded, pointing out that many such hospitals existed even before his birth, and that the first children's hospital in the United States, theChildren’s Hospital of Philadelphia, opened in 1855.[54]
Removed off stage
In June 2024, Schneider performed inSaskatchewan at a fundraising event for the Hospitals of Regina Foundation fundraiser (a Canadian medical not-for-profit organization), where he told jokes about vaccines, women, and transgender people. He was removed from the stage in the middle of his set by event organizers, who later apologized for his behaviour.[55] Schneider has defended his jokes, stating "I'm doing it right."[56]
Paris Olympics boycott
In July 2024, Schneider posted on the social media platform X, "I am sorry to say to ALL the world's GREATEST ATHLETES, I wish you ALL THE BEST, but I cannot watch anOlympics that disrespects Christianity and openly celebrates Satan. I sincerely hope THESE @Olympics get the same amount of viewers as @cspan". This was in reaction to the2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, which was accused of including drag queen performers burlesquingThe Last Supper painting.[57][58]
Transgender views
In 2023, Schneider made posts on social media criticizing the transgenderTikTok influencerDylan Mulvaney, calling her transgender identity "cultural appropriation".[59]
In August 2024, Schneider was a speaker at the 2024 national summit for the anti-transgender groupMoms for Liberty.[60]
In September 2024, Schneider's daughter,Elle King, distanced herself from Schneider and criticized his comments.[61][62]
