Jesse Eisenberg - Early Life

Early Life

Eisenberg was born in Queens, New York City. His mother, Amy (née Fishman), worked as a clown at children's parties, and his father, Barry Eisenberg, ran a hospital and later became a college professor. He has two siblings, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, a former child actress who was once famous as the "Pepsi girl" in a series of commercials, and Kerri. He was raised in a secular Jewish family that originated in Poland and Ukraine. Eisenberg grew up in Queens and East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, attending the East Brunswick Public Schools at Frost School, Hammarskjold Middle School, Churchill Junior High School, and spending his sophomore year at East Brunswick High School.

Eisenberg struggled to fit in at school and began acting in plays at the age of 10, stating "when playing a role, I would feel more comfortable, as you're given a prescribed way of behaving." Eisenberg studied contemporary architecture at The New School in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood. Originally, he had applied and was accepted to New York University, but declined enrollment in order to complete a film role.