Jon Favreau, born Jonathan Kolia Favreau on October 19, 1966, in Queens, New York, is an accomplished American filmmaker and actor. He grew up as the only child of Madeleine, an elementary school teacher, and Charles Favreau, a special education teacher.

His mother was of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, and his father had French-Canadian, German, and Italian ancestry. He attended the Bronx High School of Science and later Queens College, though he dropped out just a few credits shy of completing his degree.

Jon Favreau began his career in comedy and acting, performing at several Chicago improvisational theaters, including the ImprovOlympic and the Improv Institute. He gained early recognition for his role in the film "Rudy" (1993) and later starred in the breakout film "Swingers" (1996), which he also wrote and co-produced.

This film helped establish his career in Hollywood and led to numerous other roles in both film and television, including appearances on "Seinfeld" and "Friends".

As a filmmaker, Jon Favreau is best known for his work on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, particularly his direction of "Iron Man" (2008) and "Iron Man 2" (2010), in which he also played the character Happy Hogan. He has continued to be involved with Marvel films as an executive producer and actor.

He has also directed other successful films such as "Elf" (2003), "The Jungle Book" (2016), and "The Lion King" (2019).

Jon Favreau has also produced and presented various television series, including the Disney+ original series "The Mandalorian" (2019-present), which he co-created with Dave Filoni. He is married to Joya Tillem, and they have three children together.