Editing Will Ferrell (section)

==Early life and education==
John William Ferrell was born on July 16, 1967, in [[Irvine, California]],<ref name="AllMovie"/> to Betty Kay ([[née]] Overman; born 1940), a teacher who taught at Old Mill School elementary school and [[Santa Ana College]],{{sfnp|Abbey|2007|p=54}} and Roy Lee Ferrell Jr. (born 1941), who played saxophone and keyboards for [[the Righteous Brothers]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elitedaily.com/entertainment/celebrity/will-ferrell-story-change-following-your-passions/672705|title = The Will Ferrell Story That Will Change the Way You Feel About Following Your Passions| date=July 16, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/actor/will-ferrell|title = Will Ferrell| date=February 14, 2020 }}</ref> His parents were both natives of [[Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina]]. They moved to California in 1964.<ref name="WatchTV">{{cite web|title=Biography – Will Ferrell| publisher=Watch TV Series| url= http://watchtvseries.se/Person/WillFerrell-2099|access-date=September 13, 2015| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151017013422/http://watchtvseries.se/Person/WillFerrell-2099|archive-date=October 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Riddick & Rountree and Related Families From Northeast North Carolina|first=Betty|last=Smith Hobbs}}{{full citation needed|date=November 2019}}</ref> Ferrell's ancestry includes English, German, and Irish.<ref>{{cite magazine| last= Davis |first= Caris |url= http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173470,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080127023433/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173470,00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= January 27, 2008 |title=Will Ferrell Has Irish Award Society in Stitches – Will Ferrell |magazine=People |date=January 24, 2008 |access-date=September 11, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.geni.com/blog/look-whos-related-mark-wahlberg-and-seth-macfarlane-375733.html |title=Look Who's Related: Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane |date=June 29, 2012 |publisher=Geni.com |access-date=December 7, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{IMDb name|2071|section=bio}}</ref> As an infant Ferrell suffered from [[pyloric stenosis]] and had a pyloromyotomy to correct the condition. He has a younger brother, Patrick.{{sfnp|Abbey|2007|p=54}}

When he was eight years old, his parents divorced. Ferrell said of the divorce: "I was the type of kid who would say, 'Hey, look at the bright side! We'll have two Christmases'." The divorce was amicable, and both parents were committed to their children. The biggest problem was his father's line of work. As a person in show business, his paychecks were never steady, and he traveled from home for months at a time. Growing up in this environment made Ferrell not want to go into show business and instead have a steady job.{{sfnp|Abbey|2007|p=54}}

Ferrell first attended school at Culverdale Elementary<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/will-ferrell-sets-the-record-straight-on-internet-rumors-about-will-ferrell/|title=Will Ferrell sets the record straight on internet rumors about Will Ferrell|website=news.vice.com|date=November 29, 2017 |access-date=September 22, 2018}}</ref> and later attended [[Rancho San Joaquin Middle School]], both in Irvine. He attended [[University High School (Irvine, California)|University High School]] in Irvine, and was a [[Placekicker|kicker]] for the school's varsity [[American football|football]] team.<ref name="autogenerated1">Dave Albee,[http://www.marinij.com/ci_6751208?source=rss Carroll Chronicles: Celebrities love to practice with Pete] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010014343/http://www.marinij.com/ci_6751208?source=rss |date=October 10, 2010 }}, ''Marin Independent Journal'', {{Nowrap|August 29}}, 2007.</ref> He was also on the soccer team and captain of the basketball team, as well as serving on the student council. Ferrell called third grade "a pivotal year." He realized he could make his classmates laugh if he pretended to smash his head against the wall, or if he tripped and fell on purpose, and said it was a great way to make friends.{{sfnp|Abbey|2007|pp=54–55}} He said the dullness of Irvine contributed to the growth of his humor:

{{blockquote|Growing up in suburbia, in safe, master-planned Irvine, there was no drama so we had to create it in our heads. My main form of entertainment was cracking my friends up and exploring new ways of being funny. I didn't have to have the survival mode instinct like other comics, who grew up in tough neighborhoods. I had the opposite. For me, I grew up in [[Mayberry]], and the humor broke the boredom. And there was a lot to make fun of.<ref>{{cite news |last=Koltnow |first=Barry |title=Will Ferrell says growing up in Irvine made him funny |date=July 25, 2008 |work=[[The Orange County Register]] |url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/ferrell-ocr-wanted-2103182-think-know |access-date=July 25, 2008| archive-date= March 7, 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307172315/http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/ferrell-101743-ocr-wanted.html | url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In his senior year of high school, Ferrell and a friend would perform comedy skits over the school's intercom system, with cooperation from the principal; the two had to write their own material. Ferrell also performed comedic skits in the school's talent shows. He was voted "Best Personality" by his classmates.{{sfnp|Abbey|2007|p=55}} He enrolled at the [[University of Southern California]], where he studied sports broadcasting and joined the [[Delta Tau Delta]] fraternity. In college, he was known for a few pranks. On occasion, he would dress in a janitor's outfit and stroll into his friends' classes. He was also known for [[streaking]] around campus with a few other people from the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.{{sfnp|Abbey|2007|p=55}} Ferrell earned an internship at a local television station in the sports department, but he did not enjoy the work.{{sfnp|Abbey|2007|p=56}}

After graduating with a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] degree in sports information in 1990, he knew he did not want to do broadcasting. He took up a job as a hotel valet where, on his second day, he tore a baggage rack off the top of a van by trying to drive it under a low beam. He also worked as a teller at [[Wells Fargo (1852–1998)|Wells Fargo]], but came up short $300 the first day and $280 the second; he was not stealing the money, but was just careless and error-prone. In 1991, encouraged by his mother to pursue something he liked, Ferrell moved to Los Angeles. He successfully auditioned for the comedy group [[The Groundlings]] where he spent time developing his [[Improvisational comedy|improvisation skills]].{{sfnp|Abbey|2007|p=56}}