Christopher Haden-Guest, a multifaceted individual, 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, holding the title of the fourth Baron of Saling in the County of Essex.
Christopher's mother, an American, was the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants, while his father, British, had English and Dutch-Jewish ancestry. His paternal great-grandfather, Colonel Albert Goldsmid, was a British officer.
He received his training in dramatic arts at New York City's High School of Arts and Music and Bard College. Guest initially appeared in minor film roles, including The Hot Rock (1972),Death Wish (1974),Lemmings (1973),and The Long Riders (1980).
In addition to his acting career, Guest also dabbled in writing for several TV shows. During the filming of Million Dollar Infield (1982),he became acquainted with writer-director Rob Reiner and collaborated with him, along with 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 the lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel, whose famous line is "These go to eleven," referring to the volume settings on the band's unique Marshall amplifiers.
In the 1980s, Guest became a regular performer on Saturday Night Live (1975) and, along with fellow Spinal Tap band members, appeared as Spinal Tap. In 1992, 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 poke fun at wannabe actors in Waiting for Guffman (1996). He took center stage as high-strung choreographer Corky St. Clair.
In 2000, Guest made a return to heavy metal with Spinal Tap: The Final Tour (1981) and Catching Up with Marty DiBergi (2000) before turning his comedic pen to the world of championship dog shows for the sensational comedy Best in Show (2000).
The latest mockumentary from Guest and co-writer-actor Eugene Levy was met with critical praise and loved by movie fans. In 2003, Guest and Eugene Levy took aim at the folk-music world and successfully collaborated to write the comedy A Mighty Wind (2003) about the reunion of the Folksmen, a fictional 1960s folk music group.
Christopher Haden-Guest is married to actress Jamie Lee Curtis, with whom he has two children, Annie Guest and Ruby Guest. He is also the brother of actor Nicholas Guest.
