Background and career
Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. He and Wright co-wrote the films Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World's End (2013), known collectively as the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, all of which saw Wright directing and Pegg starring alongside Nick Frost. Pegg and Frost also wrote and starred in the sci-fi comedy film Paul (2011).
Pegg is one of the few performers to have achieved what Radio Times calls the "Holy Grail of Nerd-dom", having played popular supporting characters in Doctor Who (2005), Star Trek as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (2009–2016), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). He starred as Benji Dunn in six Mission: Impossible films, beginning with Mission: Impossible III (2006) and ending with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025). He has also provided the voice of Buck in the Ice Age film series (2009–present).
Simon John Pegg was born Simon John Beckingham on 14 February 1970 in Brockworth, Gloucestershire; he is the son of Gillian Rosemary (née Smith), a former civil servant, and John Henry Beckingham, a jazz musician and keyboard salesman. His parents divorced when he was seven, and he took on his stepfather's surname, Pegg, after his mother remarried. His brother, Mike (who starred in the 2020 film The Host), still uses Beckingham as his surname. He attended Castle Hill Primary School, Brockworth Comprehensive Secondary School, and The King's School, Gloucester.
Pegg moved to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire when he was 16 and studied English literature and theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon College. He graduated from the University of Bristol in 1991 with a BA in theatre, film, and television, titling his undergraduate dissertation "A Marxist overview of popular 1970s cinema and hegemonic discourses". While there, he performed as a member of a comedy troupe called "David Icke and the Orphans of Jesus", alongside David Walliams, Dominik Diamond, and Jason Bradbury.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (2025-02-13), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
