Pete Davidson, a comedian and actor, has found a sympathetic fanbase by transforming his own personal issues and tragedies into wince-worthy, hilarious confessions on stage. Davidson began his career in a variety of roles on MTV shows such as Failosophy, Guy Code, and Wild ‘N Out. After performing stand-up on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Comedy Central, Davidson appeared as a guest on Brooklyn Nine-Nine before joining the cast of Saturday Night Live at the age of 20 in 2014. He has also made headlines for his personal life, most notably his brief engagement to pop singer Ariana Grande in 2018.
Early Life
Peter Michael Davidson was born on November 16, 1993, in Staten Island, New York, to Amy and Scott Davidson. Pete’s father was a New York City firefighter who died while responding to the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Pete was deeply traumatized by his father’s death, which caused him to struggle in school and consider suicide. He does, however, credit the rapper Kid Cudi, who has used his music to share his own battle with suicide, with saving his life.
“I would’ve killed myself if I didn’t have Kid Cudi,” he told the morning radio show The Breakfast Club. “I truly believe if Man on the Moon didn’t come out, I wouldn’t be here.”
Davidson attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights for a short time after graduating from Xaverian High School in 2011.
Career in Comedy and ‘Saturday Night Live’
Beginning in 2013, Davidson began appearing on MTV shows such as Failosophy, Guy Code, and Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out.
He continued doing standup after his televised standup debut on Comedy Central’s Gotham Comedy Live, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Comedy Underground with Dave Attell.
After appearing as a guest star on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Davidson was cast in the Amy Schumer-Bill Hader comedy Trainwreck (2015). Davidson landed the biggest role of his career, becoming a cast member of Saturday Night Live’s 40th season, thanks to Hader’s recommendation. He was one of the show’s youngest cast members at the age of 20.
Davidson became known for airing his hot takes during the show’s regular “Weekend Update” segment, though he occasionally went overboard with his humor; after drawing criticism in November 2018 for mocking Texas congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw, who lost an eye while serving in Afghanistan, Davidson apologized to Crenshaw the following week on the show.
Movies and Specials
Following his success on Saturday Night Live, Davidson appeared in Justin Bieber’s Comedy Central Roast and the 2018 rom-com Set It Up. In 2019, he appeared in four films, including Big Time Adolescence and the John Turturro crime comedy The Jesus Rolls.
The Netflix special Pete Davidson: Alive in New York premiered in early 2020, with the comedian delving into the Crenshaw saga and his interactions with Louis C.K.
The King of Staten Island, directed by Judd Apatow and loosely based on Davidson’s life, was released in June 2020.
Tattoos
Some of Davidson’s more famous tattoos include one of Hillary Clinton on his leg (he calls Clinton his “hero”). Following the start of his relationship with pop sensation Ariana Grande, Davidson had a black bunny mask tattooed behind his ear, an obvious homage to the cover of Grande’s Dangerous Woman album. The bunny mask was replaced with a black heart tattoo after the couple divorced.
Health Issues and Mental Illness
Davidson has been open about his health and mental health problems. In his late teens, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and had been using marijuana to alleviate his symptoms.
In 2016, he took a break from SNL to get sober, believing that his excessive marijuana use and drinking were causing him to have mental breakdowns. However, when he resigned, he noticed that his negativity deteriorated.
“I got sober for three months and I was just like never sadder and everything was just way worse,” he told Peter Rosenberg on Complex‘s show Open Late.
Soon after, Davidson was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and opened up about his experience in 2017. He says he’s now on meds and back to his vices of smoking pot and drinking.
“Party’s back on,“ he told Open Late. “I found out I had a mental disorder. I thought I had a drug problem. It’s a completely different thing.”
Relationship with Ariana Grande
Davidson and Grande first made their relationship public after Grande’s performance at the Billboard Music Awards in May 2018. Within a month, they surprised fans by announcing their engagement.
The comedian opened up about his romance to GQ for its September 2018 issue, saying that the day they met, he told Grande that he wanted to “marry you tomorrow.” Davidson gushed about how happy he was with his fiancée, saying, “All I know is that I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” despite the onslaught of unwanted attention his high-profile relationship brought—he deleted his Instagram feed in July to tune out the “negative energy”—Davidson gushed about how happy he was with his fiancée, saying, “All I know is that I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
However, the whirlwind romance was soon over, with the pair announcing their breakup in October 2018. Davidson was later linked to actress Kate Beckinsale and actress/model Kaia Gerber.