Judge Reinhold (born May 21, 1957) is an American actor, perhaps best known for co-starring in movies such as Beverly Hills Cop, Ruthless People, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and The Santa Clause trilogy.
Reinhold was born Edward Ernest Reinhold, Jr. in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of Regina Celeste (née Fleming) and Edward Ernest Reinhold, Sr., a trial lawyer. He was raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia, until his family moved to Martin County, Florida, prior to his junior year in high school.
Reinhold graduated from Martin County High School and went on to attend Mary Washington College and North Carolina School of the Arts, after which he performed at various regional theatres, including Burt Reynolds' Dinner Theater in Jupiter, Florida.
Reinhold has appeared in more than 60 films. His first appearance on screen was in the Wonder Woman episode "Amazon Hot Wax" (1979), in which he played Jeff Gordon, a singer who gets caught up in an extortion ring in the music business. Reinhold's first major film role was as high school senior Brad Hamilton in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) along with then-unknown actors Sean Penn, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nicolas Cage.