Louis C.K is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, producer, and editor best remembered for semi-autobiographical comedy-drama series Louie, which he not only starred in but also wrote, directed, produced, and edited. Although his full name is Louis Székely, the comedian goes by the name of Louis C.K. since C.K. is the closest English pronunciation of his Hungarian surname. Known for his observational, self-deprecating, and dark sense of humor, Louis released his debut comedy album Live In Houston directly on his website for the viewers in 2001, and has released nine albums ever since. He has won several awards and accolades for his work, be it his television shows, his stand-up, or his comedy albums.

Early Life
Louis C.K. was born to Luis, an economist, and Mary, a software engineer, on the 12th of September, 1967 in Washington, D.C., and has three sisters. C.K. moved to Mexico with his family when he was just a year old, making Spanish his first language. His family then moved back to the US when C.K. was seven years old, and settled down in Boston. Upon moving back, Louis had trouble with the English language but now barely even remembers his Spanish. C.K. was immensely influenced by Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, and George Carlin, and decided that he wanted to become a writer and comedian.

When Louis turned ten, his parents divorced, and his father went on to remarry. He moved to Newton, Massachusetts where his mother raised him and his three sisters as Catholics all by herself. C.K. attended Newton North High School with Matt LeBlanc and graduated in 1985. After his graduation, he took up the job of an auto mechanic and later worked at a public access TV cable station. It was his experience with working at the cable station that he learnt the tools and technical aspects of making short films and later also with his television show. He also worked as a cook for a brief period of time, and also in a video store.

Personal Life
C.K. married artist and painter Alix Bailey in 1995, and the couple has two daughters, Kitty Szekely, and Mary Louise Szekely. However, the two divorced in 2008 and agreed on sharing the joint custody of both their children.

Stand-up Career
Before making it big in the industry, C.K. first presented his sketch at a club in Boston’s open mic night in 1985. He was given five minutes to perform, but he had only content for a two-minute-long sketch. Discouraged by his first attempt at stand-up, C.K. did not perform for the next two years. However, with the growing comedy scene in Boston, C.K. began to perform at paid events and started hosting for comedy clubs. He moved to Manhattan in 1989 where he performed his sketch on various television shows like Evening at the Improv and Star Search. He auditioned for the very popular show Saturday Night Live but, unfortunately, did not make the cut.

C.K.’s first comedy special was released in 1996 by HBO, after which he performed on shows like the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Lopez Tonight, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. In 2005, HBO released a stand-up series called One Night Stand starring Louis. In 2007, he launched Shameless, his hour-long comedy special, which released on HBO and was later released on DVD. The following year, he launched his second comedy special Chewed Up on Showtime Network, which then earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Special.

The comedian then went on to record a concert film produced independently and directed by himself, Hilarious in 2009. He sold it to Epix and Comedy Central after its completion because of which it was only released in 2010, and its DVD and CD versions were published in the following year. Hilarious went on to become the first stand-up comedy film to be accepted into Sundance Film Festival. His fourth special Live at the Beacon Theater was released in the year 2011, and it was too produced independently and directed by C.K. But the special was directly distributed on his website for his viewers to watch priced at $5. C.K.’s website earned over $1 million owing to the sale of his special. After his fourth special, C.K. went on to release his fifth one-hour special, Oh My God, which was aired on HBO in 2013, and premiered Live at The Comedy Store on FX in 2015.

Television Career
As an actor
Apart from making appearance on a few television shows to present his sketch, and releasing his half-hour and one-hour specials on TV, C.K. was seen in FX’s series Louie. The show premiered in 2010 for which C.K. has been nominated five times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and also won two Emmys for the show. The show went on to have five seasons with a possibility of another season being made.

As a writer and producer
C.K. owns a production company Pig Newton, which is under a contract to develop and produce pilots for FX Networks. C.K., under the banner, produced and co-wrote Baskets, a ten-episode single-camera comedy, featuring Zach Galifianakis in the main role. He also developed another FX series Better Things co-starring Pamela Adlon. C.K. directed, co-wrote, and co-produced the series that revolves around a single working actress, who is mother to three children, and her struggles in raising her kids.

Movie Career
As a director, producer, and writer
C.K. started his directing and writing career at the age of 17 with comedy short film Trash Day in 1984, after which he directed another short film titled Caesar’s Salad, which he also wrote for, in 1990. His third short film Ice Cream released in 1993 and went on to win the grand prize at the Aspen Shortsfest in the same year. After directing a series of short films, C.K. directed absurdist comedy movie Tomorrow Night, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1988. He then directed American comedy film Pootie Tang, which was adapted from his comedy sketch on The Chris Rock Show. C.K. then co-wrote the 2001 comedy Down to Earth, and romantic comedy I Think I Love My Wife in 2007.

As an actor
Louis C.K. was seen essaying small roles in movies like Tuna in 2000, 2008 comedy film Diminished Capacity, black comedy crime film American Hustle in 2013, and American comedy-drama The Angriest Man in Brooklyn in 2014. The comedian lent his voice to Max’s character, a Jack Russell Terrier, in the animated comedy The Secret Life of Pets.