Terry Zwigoff (born May 18, 1949) is an American filmmaker whose work often deals with misfits, antiheroes, and themes of alienation. Zwigoff was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, to a Jewish family of dairy farmers. He was raised in Chicago.Zwigoff moved to San Francisco in the 1970s and met cartoonist Robert Crumb, who shared his interest in pre-war American roots music. Zwigoff, who plays cello and mandolin (as well the saw, and the Stroh violin), joined Crumb’s string band R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders, with whom he recorded several records. Zwigoff's friendship with Crumb led to his involvement in the underground comix scene. He initially edited the one-shot Funny Aminals #1 (Apex Novelties, 1972), the groundbreaking comic in which Art Spiegelman first introduced the characters and themes that would be come Maus. In 1972–1973, Zwigoff operated Golden Gate, a small retailer and underground comix publisher (located at 429 Brazil Street in San Francisco. Zwigoff’s first fiction feature film was the comedy-drama Ghost World, based on Daniel Clowes' graphic novel of the same name. For this, Zwigoff and co-writer Clowes were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and won the Independent Spirit Award. Ghost World was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and two AFI awards. USA Today and The Washington Post called it the best film of the year. Ghost World appeared on over 150 Ten Best Lists. Zwigoff’s next film was the 2003 black comedy Bad Santa whose star, Billy Bob Thornton, was nominated for a Golden Globe award. The film cost $23 million to make and grossed over $76 million worldwide.

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