Adam McKay (born 1968) is an Emmy-nominated American writer and film director.

McKay was born in Colorado, graduated from Great Valley High School in Malvern, PA, in 1986, and attended Penn State and Temple universities. He is one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade improv comedy group and a former performer at Chicago's ImprovOlympic theater. While a member of the mainstage cast at Second City, he wrote and performed in that company's landmark revue, Pinata Full of Bees. In several politically charged sketches, McKay played characters like Noam Chomsky as a substitute kindergarten teacher, and a hapless personnel manager trying to inform a corporate vice president (Scott Adsit) of some disastrous IQ test results without losing his own job. (The latter performance was excerpted in Second City's 25th anniversary compilation.)

McKay auditioned for Saturday Night Live to be an on-camera performer, but did not make the cut. Yet the scripts he submitted to the show earned him a job as writer from 1995 to 2001, including three years as head writer. He also directed several popular short films for the show, including the original SNL Digital Shorts. McKay encouraged former Second City castmate Tina Fey to submit some of her scripts to Saturday Night Live, and she later succeeded him as head writer for that show.

After leaving Saturday Night Live, he teamed with comedian Will Ferrell to write the feature films Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), both of which he also directed.

Since May 2005, he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.

He has been married to actress and director Shira Piven (the sister of actor Jeremy Piven) since 1996. They have two children.

In April 2007 he launched, with Will Ferrell, the user submitted comedy video site Funny or Die. A video on the site, titled "The Landlord" features both him and his young daughter Pearl.

Even though McKay was not chosen as an SNL castmember, he did have a recurring role as an obnoxious audience member during the celebrity host's monologues during the time that he was a head writer on the show.

Was one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe.

An alumni of the Second City Improv Company in Chicago.

Throughout 2000 and 2001, McKay made several short films for "Saturday Night Live" (1975). Actors such as Steve Buscemi, Willem Dafoe, Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, Patrick McCartney, Jerry Minor, Tracy Morgan (II), Chris Parnell (I), Andy Richter (I), Horatio Sanz, Molly Shannon and Ben Stiller have appeared in his SNL shorts. In 2004, McKay directed his first full feature film, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), which he co-wrote with Will Ferrell.

Although his work at "Saturday Night Live" (1975) was mainly as a writer and director, he made several appearances on the show, usually as an over-sized, obnoxious audience member who heckles the host or cast members until the stars verbally or physically attack him. McKay had auditioned for "Saturday Night Live" (1975) as an actor, while he was still with the Second City Improv but didn't make the cut as on camera talent. But, he had submitted four scripts to the show which had gotten him hired as a writer.

Brother-in-law of Jeremy Piven. Son-in-law of Byrne Piven and Joyce Hiller Piven.

On the Anchorman commentary, he pretended he was a producer of the movie named Aaron Zimmerman.

He is an Alumni from the Famous Improv Olympic along with actors Vince Vaughn, the late Chris Farley, Ossie Beck, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Mike Myers (I).

His daughter, Pearl, is featured in two short films with Will Ferrell - "The Landlord" and "Good Cop, Baby Cop". The films share the common theme of toddler Pearl ruthlessly bullying Ferrell.

As a college student he was a stand up comic and once had a guy throw a bottle at him while on stage.

Was a student of Del Close's at the IO Theater.

With wife Shira Piven, has two daughters, Lili and Pearl.