Christopher Haden-Guest, a multifaceted American artist, was born on February 5, 1948, in New York City. His mother, Jean Pauline (Hindes),was a vice president of casting at CBS, while his father, Peter Haden-Guest, was a UN diplomat and a member of the British House of Lords. Christopher's mother was an American of Russian Jewish descent, and his father was British with English and Dutch-Jewish ancestry.
Christopher received his dramatic arts training at New York City's High School of Arts and Music and Bard College. He initially appeared in minor film roles in various genres, including The Hot Rock (1972),Death Wish (1974),Lemmings (1973),and The Long Riders (1980). During this time, he also began writing for several TV shows.
Guest collaborated with writer-director Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer to pen the script and music for the sleeper hit This Is Spinal Tap (1984). The mockumentary starred Guest as Nigel Tufnel, the lead guitarist of the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap. The film's most famous line is likely "These go to eleven," referring to the unique volume settings on the band's Marshall amplifiers.
In the 1980s, Guest became a regular performer on Saturday Night Live and, along with fellow Spinal Tap band members, appeared as Spinal Tap. They released Spinal Tap: Break Like the Wind - The Videos (1992) and A Spinal Tap Reunion: The 25th Anniversary London Sell-Out (1992).
Guest had a minor acting role in A Few Good Men (1992) before returning to comedy with Waiting for Guffman (1996),in which he played the high-strung choreographer Corky St. Clair. He then returned to heavy metal with Spinal Tap: The Final Tour (1998) and Catching Up with Marty DiBergi (2000).
In 2000, Guest turned his comedic pen to the world of championship dog shows with the sensational comedy Best in Show. He collaborated with co-writer-actor Eugene Levy on the mockumentary, which received critical acclaim and was loved by audiences. In 2003, Guest and Levy aimed at the folk-music world, writing the comedy A Mighty Wind about the reunion of the Folksmen, a fictional 1960s folk music group.
Guest is married to actress Jamie Lee Curtis and has two children, Annie and Ruby, as well as being the brother of actor Nicholas Guest.
