Pegg was born in Gloucester, England, the son of Gillian Rosemary (née Smith), a civil servant, and John Henry Beckingham, a jazz musician and keyboard salesman. His parents divorced when he was seven. He attended many schools including Dene Manga Secondry School and Brockworth Comprehensive Secondary School and later Stratford Upon Avon College to study English Literature and Performance Studies. Read more...

In 1993 he moved to London and gigged on the stand-up comedy circuit. In 1995 he took his acclaimed one man show to the Edinburgh Festival, which lead to his being invited to perform at festivals in Adelaide and Melbourne in Australia and Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in New Zealand, which he did in 1996 and 1997. His work as a stand up attracted the attention of several TV producers, leading Read more...

Pegg married Maureen McCann on 23 July 2005 in Glasgow. Nick Frost was the best man. Along with Jonny Buckland, Pegg is godfather to close friends Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter, Apple. Pegg's parents and sister briefly appeared in Spaced while his mother alone appeared in both Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.