Rob Reiner’s Life in Photos, from a Young Actor to a Beloved Director

Rob Reiner’s Early Days in Hollywood

Rob Reiner was born on March 6, 1947, in the Bronx, New York, to comedian Carl Reiner and his wife, singer and actress Estelle. They lived there until Reiner was 13, at which point they moved to Los Angeles thanks to his father’s work in Hollywood. Reiner attended Beverly Hills High School alongside Richard Dreyfuss, Bonnie Franklin and Albert Brooks.

Here, a young Rob Reiner joins his father Carl on the set of The Dick Van Dyke Show in 1965. He had small roles on TV and in films for several years, and worked as a writer (alongside Steve Martin) on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, before becoming a full-time actor.

Rob Reiner’s Breakout Role

Reiner was cast in the Norman Lear sitcom All in the Family playing Mike, Archie Bunker’s son-in-law not-so-fondly referred to as “Meathead.” The role earned him two Emmy Awards, in 1974 and 1978.

Rob Reiner on ‘All in the Family’

Reiner and costar Sally Struthers shared a silly moment backstage as dad Carl looked on.

Rob Reiner’s First Marriage to Penny Marshall

Rob Reiner and Penny Marshall were married from 1971 to 1981, during which time he adopted her daughter Tracy from a previous marriage. The two had grown up near one another in the Bronx, but didn’t meet until they began acting years later.

After Marshall’s death in 2018, Reiner said,  “I grew up with her. She was born with a great gift. She was born with a funnybone and the instinct of how to use it. I was very lucky to have lived with her and her funnybone. I will miss her.”

Rob Reiner with His Parents Carl and Estelle

Though Carl’s success was the one Reiner emulated, Estelle had one of the most indelible comedic moments ever committed to film with her line “I’ll have what she’s having” in his film When Harry Met Sally…. He’s pictured with his parents in 1978.

Rob Reiner’s Directorial Debut

Reiner was looking to distinguish himself from his “Meathead” character, and did so by directing This Is Spinal Tap, the 1984 film starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer that followed the fictional washed-up band Spinal Tap as they attempted to stage a comeback tour. It was a massive hit, and Reiner was particularly pleased that he shared cinematic success with his father, whose film All of Me also made many “best of” lists.

“I said, ‘Dad, has it ever been where there’s been a father and a son both have films in the top 10 in one year?’ I didn’t ever remember it,” Rob recalled to PEOPLE. “And we looked it up – nobody could remember! So we took out an ad. We were both very proud of each other, to be able to be thought of in the same way.”

Rob Reiner Directs ‘Stand By Me’

Reiner then went on an incredible streak in the 1980s, directing one instant classic after another including The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally … and Stand by Me (pictured). Cast member Wil Wheaton recently told PEOPLE about how he and his castmates, then all young unknown actors, were guided by Reiner.

“Even as an adult, I have worked on sets where the director, for whatever reason, just gives you the feeling that you don’t deserve to be there. [Like,] ‘You’re lucky to be there, and just shut up and do the thing.’ Rob never did that,” he said. “Even though we were little kids, Rob pointed us in the right direction. And he had cast four kids who absolutely were our characters in extremely meaningful ways, and he let us just live, and exist and relate naturally and honestly.”

Rob Reiner Meets His Wife

The ending of When Harry Met Sally… was initially very different: The main characters went their separate ways at the end. But meeting wife Michele Singer (pictured here with Reiner in 2014) while directing the film changed his outlook — and the ending.

“Because I had been married for 10 years, I’d been single for 10 years and I couldn’t figure out how I was ever going to be with anybody that gave birth to When Harry Met Sally,” he said on CNN. “I met my wife Michele, who I’ve been married to now 35 years, I met her while we were making the film, and I changed the ending.”

Rob Reiner As a Dad

Reiner and Michele welcomed three more children together in the ’90s: Sons Nick and Jake and daughter Romy.

Reiner was a proud parent, and was inspired by his experience to become an advocate for early childhood eduction and universal preschool. In recent years, he spoke to The Guardian about how his own relationship with his superstar father was both inspirational and complicated when it came to his career, and he saw the same for his own kids.

“My son is 32 and my daughter’s 26. They both want careers, they’re both talented. Should I lean into it? Should I back away from it? They’re confused. I said, once they find their own path, it won’t matter. I was very conscious when I was carrying out my career that I didn’t rely on [my dad]. I didn’t ask him for money, and if you know in your heart that what you’re doing is true, you can block out all that stuff.”

Rob Reiner Directs His Son’s Film

Reiner’s son Nick co-wrote a 2016 film, Being Charlie, loosely based on his own experience with drug addiction starting at age 15. It follows the story of a troubled son whose dad is a former actor running for governor, and in an interview with PEOPLE at the time, Nick said that his struggles with homelessness and rehab helped inform the script.

Said Reiner at the time, “it forced us to look at what each other was going through. Anytime you get an insight into what somebody else is experiencing, it makes you understand them more. And if it’s a father-son, a child and a parent, it makes the relationship better. Our relationship is better now than it was, and it’s got places to go.”

Rob Reiner’s Film Career

Rob Reiner (pictured getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999) worked steadily throughout the ’90s and ’00s on hits including A Few Good Men and The American President, as well as more sentimental films such as The Bucket List and North (which earned one of the most famous Roger Ebert pans of all time). Several of his films earned Oscar nominations, with Kathy Bates winning Best Actress for her work in Misery.

“You start and all you want to do is make a story and you just have to think: I’ll make it and then somebody will either like it or they won’t like it. And you have no control over that,” he said of his filmmaking career.

Rob Reiner’s Recent Work

After years of directing, Reiner returned to acting — often playing himself, but notably taking a role as the dad of Jess Day (played by Zooey Deschanel) in New Girl from 2012-2018.

Rob Reiner’s Recent Years

Reiner released Spinal Tap II: The End Continues in September 2025, and spoke to PEOPLE at the time about why the time was right to revisit the film.

“It was like falling back into something that was very familiar,” he said. “We’ve all known each other even more than 40 years: you pick up where you left off, you just fall right back into it. And we don’t talk as fast as we used to, but our brains are still sharp and we start making each other laugh, and then you’re off to the races again.”

He also had a role on The Bear in 2025, and continued his activist work, including speaking up frequently against President Trump’s policies, particularly those regarding the media.

He was accompanied at the Spinal Tap II premiere by his entire family, including Nick, Jake and Romy. And he retained his sense of humor even when looking back at his legacy. As he once told The New York Times, “I could win the Nobel Prize, and the headline would read, ‘Meathead Wins Nobel.’ ”