Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson is a Scottish-American TV host, comedian, actor, and writer whose ten-year tenure as host of CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2005–2014) made him one of the American late-night TV figures of the 2000s and 2010s. He was born Craig Ferguson on May 17, 1962, in Glasgow, Scotland. The family relocated to Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, when he was a child. He left school at age 16 and worked various jobs through his late teens and twenties — including as a punk-rock drummer in 1980s Scottish bands.

His comedy and acting career began in the late 1980s and early 1990s in British TV. His American breakthrough came in 1996 as Nigel Wick on ABC's The Drew Carey Show (1996–2003). The seven-season Drew Carey Show role launched his American TV-actor career.

His CBS late-night talk show The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson launched on January 3, 2005 — replacing Craig Kilborn — and ran for ten seasons until his December 19, 2014 final episode. The Ferguson late-night show was distinct from competing American late-night formats — featuring Geoffrey Peterson (the robotic skeleton AI co-host), Secretariat (the hand-puppet horse), the shorter monologue length, and continuous improvisational interview style. He won two Peabody Awards (2010 and 2014) for his late-night work.

Beyond his CBS late-night tenure, Ferguson has been active in American film, theater, and writing. He authored the 2009 bestselling memoir American on Purpose (about his Scottish-American immigration journey) and the 2012 novel Between the Bridge and the River. He hosted ABC's Celebrity Name Game (2014–2017) and the 2024 reality competition The Hustler (Game Show Network). He has been with American art consultant Megan Wallace Cunningham since 2008, and the couple has one son.

His name Craig is from the Scottish Gaelic creag meaning "rock" or "crag." Craig has been continuously among the most-popular American boys' names for over half a century.