Baldwin attended Alfred G. Berner High School in Massapequa and played football there under Coach Bob Reifsnyder. In New York City, Baldwin worked as a busboy at the disco Studio 54. From 1976 to 1979, he attended George Washington University. In 1979, he lost the election for student body president and received a personal letter from former U.S. president Richard Nixon (with whom he had a common friend) encouraging him to use the loss as a learning experience.

Baldwin’s first acting role was as Billy Aldrich in the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors from 1980 to 1982. In fall 1983, he starred in the short-lived television series Cutter to Houston. He went on to appear as the brother of Valene Ewing and son of Lilimae Clements (played by Joan Van Ark and Julie Harris, respectively) in Knots Landing from 1984 to 1985. In 1986 Baldwin starred in Dress Gray, a four-hour made-for-television miniseries, as an honest cadet sergeant who tries to solve the mystery of a murdered gay classmate. In 1998 he became the third narrator and George Carlin’s replacement for the fifth and sixth seasons of Thomas & Friends. In 2000 he starred in “Thomas and the Magic Railroad” as Mr Conductor. He left the show in 2002 on winning the role of Lawrence Quinn in The Cat in the Hat and was replaced by Michael Brandon.

Baldwin made his Broadway debut in 1986 in a revival of Joe Orton’s Loot alongside Zoë Wanamaker, Željko Ivanek, Joseph Maher, and Charles Keating. This production closed after three months. His other Broadway credits include Caryl Churchill’s Serious Money with Kate Nelligan and a revival of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, for which his performance as Stanley Kowalski garnered a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor. Baldwin also received an Emmy nomination for the 1995 television version of the production, in which both he and Jessica Lange reprised their roles, alongside John Goodman and Diane Lane. In 1998 Baldwin played the title role in Macbeth at The Public Theater alongside Angela Bassett and Liev Schreiber in a production directed by George C. Wolfe. In 2004 Baldwin starred in a revival of Broadway’s Twentieth Century about a successful and egomaniacal Broadway director (Baldwin), who has transformed a chorus girl (Anne Heche) into a leading lady.

Baldwin made his film debut with a minor role in the 1987 film Forever, Lulu. In 1988, he appeared in Beetlejuice and Working Girl. He gained further recognition as a leading man with his role as Jack Ryan in The Hunt for Red October (1990).

In May 1990, Baldwin met actress Kim Basinger when they played lovers in the film The Marrying Man. They married on August 19, 1993 and had a daughter, Ireland (born October 23, 1995). They separated on December 5, 2000 and divorced on September 3, 2002.

Baldwin met his future wife Kim Basinger when they played lovers in the 1991 film The Marrying Man. Next, Baldwin played a ferocious sales executive in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), a part added to the film version of David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play (including the monologue “Coffee’s for closers”).

Afterward, he transferred to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he studied with, among others, Geoffrey Horne and Mira Rostova at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. Later, he was accepted as a member of the Actors Studio. In 1994, he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at NYU.

Also, in 1994, Baldwin made a foray into pulp fiction-based movies with the role of the title character in The Shadow. The film made $48 million. In 1996 and 1997 he continued to work in several thrillers, including The Edge, The Juror, and Heaven’s Prisoners.

In October 1995, Baldwin allegedly assaulted a photographer for videotaping his wife, Kim Basinger and their three day old daughter. The couple was returning from the hospital and was confronted by the photographer outside their Los Angeles home. Whoopi Goldberg praised Baldwin for his actions during her opening monologue while hosting the 68th Academy Awards.

During his appearance on the comedy late night show Late Night with Conan O’Brien on December 11, 1998, eight days before President Bill Clinton was to be impeached, Baldwin said, “If we were in another country … we would stone Henry Hyde to death and we would go to their homes and kill their wives and their children. We would kill their families, for what they’re doing to this country.” Baldwin later apologized for the remarks, and the network explained that it was meant as a joke and promised not to re-run it.

Baldwin shifted towards character acting, beginning with Pearl Harbor in 2001. He played Lt. Col. James Doolittle in the film. With a worldwide box office of $449,220,945, this film remains the highest-grossing film Baldwin has appeared in during his acting career. Baldwin was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in the 2003 gambling drama The Cooler.

Baldwin directed and starred in The Devil and Daniel Webster with Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Dan Aykroyd in 2001. The then-unreleased film became an asset in a federal bank fraud trial when investor Jed Barron was convicted of bank fraud while the movie was in production. The film was eventually acquired by The Yari Group without Baldwin’s involvement.

In 2002 Baldwin appeared in two episodes of Friends as Phoebe’s overly enthusiastic love interest, Parker. He also portrayed a recurring character in a number of season 7 and 8 episodes of Will & Grace, in which he played Malcolm, a “top secret agent” and the lover of Karen Walker (Megan Mullally). He also guest-starred in the first live episode of the series. Baldwin wrote an episode of Law & Order entitled “Tabloid”, which aired in 1998. He played Dr. Barrett Moore, a retired plastic surgeon, in the series Nip/Tuck. He starred as Jack Donaghy on NBC’s 30 Rock, which first aired October 2006. He met his future co-stars Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan while appearing on Saturday Night Live, and is one of only two actors to whom Lorne Michaels has extended a standing offer to host the show should their schedules permit (the other being Christopher Walken). Since season 3, Baldwin was credited as one of 30 Rock’s producers.

On June 9, 2005, he appeared in a concert version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific at Carnegie Hall. He starred as Luther Billis, alongside Reba McEntire as Nellie and Brian Stokes Mitchell as Emile. The production was taped and telecast by PBS on April 26, 2006. In 2006 Baldwin made theater news in Roundabout Theatre Company’s Off-Broadway revival of Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr. Sloane. In 2010, Baldwin starred opposite Sam Underwood in a critically acclaimed revival of Peter Shaffer’s Equus, directed by Tony Walton at Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York.

He appeared in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006). In 2006, he starred in the film Mini’s First Time. He performed opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in Suburban Girl (2007). Two years later, he co-starred in the hit romantic comedy It’s Complicated with Meryl Streep and Steve Martin.

Baldwin said in a 2006 interview with The New York Times that if he did become involved in electoral politics, he would prefer to run for Governor of New York. When asked if he was qualified for the office, Baldwin responded that he considered himself more qualified than California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. On December 21, 2011, Baldwin, addressing speculation, said he was abandoning plans to run for mayor of New York City and would instead continue in his role on 30 Rock. That April, he suggested he might change his mind, saying, “Let’s see what things are like in 2014. I would love to do it.”

In 2007 the Yari Film Group announced that it would give the film, now titled Shortcut to Happiness, a theatrical release in the spring, and cable film network Starz! announced that it had acquired pay TV rights for the film. Shortcut to Happiness was finally released in 2008. Baldwin, displeased with the way the film had been cut in post-production, demanded that his directorial credit be changed to the pseudonym “Harry Kirkpatrick”.

Baldwin contended that after seven years of these issues, he hit a breaking point, and on April 11, 2007, left an angry voicemail message in response to another unanswered arranged call, in which Baldwin called his 11-year-old daughter a “rude, thoughtless little pig”. He contends that the tape was sold to TMZ which released the recording, despite laws against publishing media related to a minor without the permission of both parents. Baldwin admitted that he made a mistake, but asked not to be judged as a parent based on a bad moment. He later admitted to Playboy in June 2009 that he contemplated suicide over the voicemail that leaked to the public. Of the incident, he said, “I spoke to a lot of professionals, who helped me. If I committed suicide, [Kim Basinger] would have considered that a victory. Destroying me was their avowed goal.”

Baldwin has won three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe awards and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards for his role. He received his second Emmy nomination for Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical as Jack Donaghy in 2008, marking his seventh Primetime Emmy nomination and first win. He won again in 2009.

Baldwin co-authored the book A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce with Mark Tabb in 2008. His 2017 memoir Nevertheless debuted at #5 on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction best-seller list.

In late 2008, Baldwin toured in support of the book, speaking about his experiences related in it.

Baldwin joined TCM’s The Essentials Robert Osborne as co-host beginning in March 2009. In 2009, he appeared in a series of commercials for Hulu that premiered during the Super Bowl broadcast. In 2010, he made a five-second cameo appearance with comedian Andy Samberg in a musical video titled “Great Day” featured on the bonus DVD as part of Lonely Island’s album Turtleneck & Chain.

On January 12, 2009, Baldwin became the host of The New York Philharmonic This Week, the nationally syndicated radio series of the New York Philharmonic. He has recorded two nationally distributed public service radio announcements on behalf of the Save the Manatee Club.

In February 2009, Baldwin spoke out to encourage state leaders to renew New York’s tax break for the film and television industry, stating that if the “tax breaks are not reinstated into the budget, film production in this town is going to collapse and television production is going to collapse and it’s all going to go to California”.

Baldwin co-hosted the 82nd Academy Awards with Steve Martin in 2010. He has hosted Saturday Night Live 17 times as of February 11, 2017, and holds the record for most times hosting the show. He also impersonated Republican nominee Donald Trump during SNL’s coverage of the 2016 Presidential election, to critical acclaim. In 2017, he won a Primetime Emmy for his portrayal of Trump. Baldwin continued in the role until Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election.

Beginning in 2010, Baldwin appeared in a television campaign for Capital One as their spokesperson. Following his 2013 confrontation with a videographer reported by TMZ, his contract was not renewed, and he was succeeded in the campaign by Jennifer Garner.

On May 12, 2010, Baldwin gave a commencement address at New York University and was awarded a Doctor of Fine Arts degree, honoris causa.

On October 24, 2011, WNYC public radio released the first episode of Baldwin’s podcast Here’s the Thing, a series of interviews with public figures including artists, policy-makers, and performers. The first two episodes featured actor Michael Douglas and political consultant Ed Rollins. Between 2011 and 2020, Baldwin completed more than 150 interviews, with guests who included musician Wynton Marsalis, filmmaker Edward Norton, comedian David Letterman, violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Lang Lang among many others. Here’s the Thing was developed for Alec Baldwin by Lu Olkowski, Trey Kay, Kathy Russo, and Emily Botein.

In March 2011, Baldwin donated $1 million to the New York Philharmonic (on whose board he served), and $500,000 to the Roundabout Theatre Company, where he has performed plays in New York. In recent years, his foundation has donated bookstore gift certificates to Long Island libraries to support literacy programs.

By August 2011, Baldwin began dating Hilaria Thomas, a yoga instructor with Yoga Vida in Manhattan. Baldwin and Thomas moved from the Upper West Side to Greenwich Village that August. The couple became engaged in April 2012 and married on June 30, 2012, at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in New York City. They have five children together, daughter Carmen (born August 23, 2013),, sons Rafael Thomas (born June 17, 2015), Leonardo Angel Charles (born September 12, 2016), Romeo Alejandro David (born May 17, 2018) and Eduardo Pau Lucas (born September 8, 2020).

In December 2011, Baldwin was on an American Airlines flight at Los Angeles International Airport, playing Words with Friends on his phone while waiting for takeoff. When instructed to put away the “electronic device” by the flight attendant, he reportedly became belligerent and was eventually removed from the plane. He later publicly apologized to the passengers who were delayed.

On February 4, 2012, he hosted the 2011 NFL Honors awards show. He later hosted the second show on February 2, 2013.

A 2012 commercial for Capital One credit cards, for which Baldwin was a spokesperson, made a humorous reference to the event: a Viking character from the ad series asks about the phone Baldwin is using, to which Baldwin facetiously replies that it is not to be used on the runway, ending with a chiding “No!” A 2012 Super Bowl commercial for Best Buy also humorously referenced the event. In the commercial, Words With Friends co-creators Paul Bettner and David Bettner are on a plane, and are interrupted by a flight attendant who loudly clears her throat to indicate to them to put their phones away.

On April 8, 2012, a 40-year-old Canadian actress, Genevieve Sabourin, was arrested outside Baldwin and his wife’s Greenwich Village apartment house and charged with aggravated harassment and stalking. She was released without bail and told not to contact Baldwin. Prosecutors said she and Baldwin had met on a film set more than ten years earlier, and that, beginning in 2011, she began sending him multiple unwanted emails and texts.

In 2013 Baldwin briefly hosted Up Late with Alec Baldwin on MSNBC. On November 26, 2013, the program was cancelled after only five episodes, due in part to a street tirade captured on video. TMZ claimed Baldwin’s insult toward the videographer was “cocksucking fag”. Baldwin, who denied that he used the word “fag”, later cited this incident as a major turning point in his public life.

In 2013, Manhattan prosecutors filed nearly two dozen harassment and stalking charges against her, saying she had continued her unwanted advances. On April 8, she rejected a plea bargain, and a trial date was set for May 13. On November 8, at the end of a non-jury trial, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Robert Mandelbaum found Sabourin, by then 41, guilty on all counts and sentenced her to 180 days in jail for stalking, attempted aggravated harassment, and harassment, plus 30 days for attempted contempt of court. Sabourin was released from New York City’s Rikers Island jail on March 28, 2014.

Despite demonstrating strong political beliefs throughout his career, in October 2013, Baldwin announced that he would not donate money to political candidates while hosting his talk show Up Late with Alec Baldwin on MSNBC, in accordance with the company’s policy.

In 2014, Baldwin was arrested for disorderly conduct after riding his bicycle the wrong way down a one-way street.

Baldwin co-starred in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, the fifth installment of the Mission: Impossible series, released on July 31, 2015, and reprised the role in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, released on July 27, 2018.

In 2016 Baldwin began hosting a reboot of the game show Match Game on ABC. In 2017, he took over as sole host of TCM’s The Essentials following the death of his co-host, Robert Osborne.

On March 3, 2018, following the broadcast of the 90th Academy Awards, ABC broadcast a preview episode of the talk show The Alec Baldwin Show, at the time called Sundays With Alec Baldwin, scheduled to formally debut with a nine-episode order that fall.

On August 27, 2018, it was announced that Baldwin would join the cast for Joker, playing Thomas Wayne, father of Bruce Wayne. Later, on August 29, 2018, Baldwin withdrew from the role.

On November 26, 2018, Baldwin appeared in a New York court to face a misdemeanor charge of third-degree attempted assault and second-degree harassment violation after a parking dispute in Manhattan’s West Village on November 2. The prosecutor said Baldwin told the responding officer, “He’s an ass. He stole my spot. I did push him.” On January 23, 2019, Baldwin pleaded guilty to harassment and agreed to attend a one-day anger management class.

Baldwin is a vegetarian. In 2019, Baldwin authored an article for CNN supporting the EAT Lancet report and recommended a plant-based diet due to certain global environmental issues.