- Bob Odenkirk is a comedy writer and actor, most well-known for ‘Mr. Show’ and ‘Better Call Saul.’
- He’s been married to Naomi Yomtov since 1997.
- They have two kids: Nate and Erin.
- Bob Odenkirk was inspired by his children for his new poetry book ‘Zilot and Other Important Rhymes.’
Bob Odenkirk has been one of the most prolific people in show business. Beginning his career in the 80s, Bob has written for iconic comedy TV shows like Saturday Night Live and Mr. Show, which he also co-starred in. He wrote for a number of late night shows, but perhaps his biggest acting break came when he joined the cast of Breaking Bad in 2009, which lead to his spin-off show Better Call Saul. He’s received a wide range of Emmy nominations for his work both in front of and behind the camera, but he’s won twice, for his writing on SNL and The Ben Stiller Show.
Throughout much of his career, Bob has had his wife Naomi Yomtov by his side. He married the producer in 1997. The pair are loving parents to two children Nate, 24, and Erin, 22. Bob has been very honest about how his children have inspired him throughout his career. He revealed that his children were a major factor in helping him decide to take his iconic role in Breaking Bad in a 2022 interview with The Washington Post. “Their friends had watched it. They knew it was a good show that people liked well, and they wanted me to do it. They talked to me that day and I believed them when they said they would help at home and that it could be okay. So, I took a chance on it,” he said.
More recently, Bob has revealed that his kids helped inspire his new book Zilot And Other Important Rhymes, based on a game that they used play when they were younger by writing poems together. “I really wanted them to be a part of it. So I would write a line, they would write a line, then we’d finish it together. Or I’d let them start the poem, and then we’d try to find a way through,” he told People. The book was released on October 10, 2023.
Find out everything you need to know about Bob’s two kids here.
Nate Odenkirk
Bob and Naomi welcomed their son Nate in 1998. The pair’s older child was clearly influenced by his dad, following in his comedy footsteps and pursuing a career as both a writer and performer. Nate has contributed humor pieces to tons of outlets, most notably The New Yorker, but also Inquirist and Chicago Genius. He also hosts the weekly podcast Alright It’s Time For The News.
Aside from his writing, Nate has also dabbled a bit on the performance side. He’s shown that he’s done standup comedy on his Instagram. He’s also made a few acting appearances in projects like Hello It’s Hobert and Melvin Goes to Dinner, per IMDb.
Erin Odenkirk
Naomi and Bob had their daughter Erin in 2000. Nate has also shared a few family photos including with his sister on Instagram. While she appears to be a little more private than her father and brother, she is also very creative. She is a visual artist and has a website where she’s shared some of her different pieces, including drawings and paintings. She was a Critical and Visual Studies major at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
While she may have taken her career in a different direction, Erin still got to collaborate with her dad on the book Zilot and Other Important Rhymes as the illustrator. She announced that she had worked with Bob on the project on her Instagram. “His faith in me was really important to the project,” she told People about working with her dad. “It started as him mostly writing the poems, and it ended up being us workshopping them fully together. And I really feel like we’re a good team for that.”
Zilot and Other Important Rhymes was released on October 10, 2023. Bob and Erin were guests on The View together to discuss the book and what it was like working together. Erin explained that they started putting the book together after she graduated from college in 2020 and was still stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “He came knocking on my door, and he was like, ‘I’ve got this project. You should try it. You have to try it. I’m your dad. We’re doing it,'” she said. “We’re so proud of it.”
Erin explained that she was very happy to get to collab with her dad throughout the pandemic. “It was good. It was great, ultimately, to have that era that was so unregimented with nothing going on, and then, to have this ‘to-do’ that I got done every day and the person that I got to turn it into was in the kitchen, and I could just talk about it right away,” she said.