We Know 'SNL’s Ben Marshall, but Who the Heck Are His Parents?

Actor, comedian, and writer Ben Marshall is best known for his role on Saturday Night Live (SNL) as one-third of the Please Don’t Destroy trio. He and the other co-founders, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy, have seen so much success with their comedy group that it even spawned the 2023 film Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain.

While Ben’s screen time on SNL was initially limited (but certainly memorable), that all changed when he was promoted to featured player ahead of the Season 51 premiere in October 2025.

But SNL aside, what do we really know about Ben beyond the fact that he’s hilarious and can deliver a punchline? Like, who are his parents and where is he from? And does comedic talent run in the family? Let’s dive into the personal life of Ben Marshall and find out.

Surprisingly, little is known about Ben Marshall’s parents, and their names don’t appear to be publicly available. That said, he did bring his father backstage in 2023 during a Please Don’t Destroy show and snapped a photo with him alongside Conan O’Brien with the caption, “Real dad met screen dad.” He later shared it on Instagram.

Although Ben has been pretty quiet about the finer details of his family life, and that may change now that he’s a featured player for SNL’s 51st season, it’s clear he’s not a nepo baby like his fellow Please Don’t Destroy members. Otherwise, we’d probably know who his parents are. For now, we can safely assume Ben has taken the reins when it comes to comedy in his family.

John Higgins, on the other hand, is the son of Steve Higgins, the longtime announcer on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. John’s father is also a writer for SNL, having joined the team in 1995, according to his IMDb bio. As for Martin Herlihy, his father has written some pretty big films, many starring Adam Sandler, including The Waterboy, Happy Gilmore, and Billy Madison.

Ben was born on May 1, 1995, in Savannah, Georgia. According to WSAV, he completed part of his studies in Savannah, graduating from the Savannah Arts Academy. Savannah Now also reported that he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, studying Film & TV at the Kanbar Institute, in 2017.

Shortly after graduating, Ben landed a gig as an intern on The Tonight Show, and you might remember an episode with Drew Barrymore as a guest, where he and several others served as lipstick models, per NBC. By 2021, Ben signed on with SNL as a writer and later debuted with his comedy group, Please Don’t Destroy, which also happens to include his two best friends.

Ben has also appeared on the show Poker Face as Rusty and continues to tour with his comedy buddies. While he’s certainly become a familiar face in TV and comedy, 2025 brought a major change after he was promoted to featured player on SNL.

Along with that exciting news came some other shifts, including John leaving the show and Martin staying on as a writer, which essentially means no more Please Don’t Destroy segments. Even though the group may no longer have a regular spot on SNL, they remain a tight-knit comedy team and continue touring.