Stephen Hillenburg was an American animator, writer, producer, and marine science educator who was best known as the creator of the iconic animated TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, on which he had also served as the showrunner for the first 3 seasons.

Born Name

Stephen McDannell Hillenburg

Nick Name

Steve

Age

Stephen was born on August 21, 1961.

Died

He died on November 26, 2018, due to complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in San Marino, California, United States. He was 57 years old at the time of his death.

Sun Sign

Leo

Born Place

Fort Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma, United States

Nationality

Education

Stephen had attended Savanna High School, a public school in Anaheim, California. After his high school graduation, he had joined Humboldt State University, a public university in Arcata, California. He had majored in marine science and minored in art there.

He had graduated from there in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in natural resource planning and interpretation, with an emphasis on marine resources. In 1989, he had enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts, a private art university in Santa Clarita, California, to pursue a career in animation.

Occupation

Animator, Writer, Producer, Marine Science Educator

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Family

• Father – Kelly N. Hillenburg, Jr. (Former Military Officer, Draftsman, Designer in the Aerospace Industry) (d. August 2006)
• Mother – Nancy Hillenburg (née Dufour) (Teacher for Visually Impaired Students)
• Siblings – Bryan Hillenburg (Younger Brother) (Draftsman, Designer)
• Others – Kelly Nugent Hillenburg (Paternal Grandfather), Anna Mae Vest (Paternal Grandmother), John Dufour (Maternal Grandfather), Lucille H. McDannell (Maternal Grandmother) (Painter)

Net Worth

Stephen Hillenburg’s net worth had been $120 million according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.

Build

Average

Height

5 ft 8 in or 173 cm

Weight

78 kg or 172 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Stephen had dated –

1. Karen Umland (1998-2018) – Stephen had married a chef named Karen Umland in 1998. They had a son together named Clay Hillenburg (b. 1998). The couple was together until Stephen died in 2018.

Race / Ethnicity

White

He was of Irish, English, German, and Belgian (Flemish, Walloon) descent.

Hair Color

Light Brown

Eye Color

Blue

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Mildly stocky frame
• Tousled hair
• Cheerful smile
• Clean-shaven look

Stephen Hillenburg Facts

1. Stephen was interested in marine life and creatures from a very young age. During a few summers after he had finished high school, he had worked as a fry cook and lobster boiler at a seafood restaurant in Maine. This experience would go on to inspire the character SpongeBob SquarePants‘ occupation in the TV series.
2. He had started his professional career in 1984 as an instructor in marine biology at the Orange County Marine Institute, an ocean education organization in Dana Point, California. While there, he had written The Intertidal Zone, an informative picture book about tide-pool animals through which he used to educate his students.
3. In the early 1990s, after his success with short films titled The Green Beret and Wormholes, he had been offered a job on the Nickelodeon animated TV series Rocko’s Modern Life (1993–1996). In 1994, he had started developing characters and concepts from The Intertidal Zone for what would go on to become SpongeBob SquarePants.
4. He had named the fictional character Karen Plankton, an antagonist in the TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, after his wife.
5. His hobbies had included surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming, and birdwatching.

Featured Image by Stephen Hillenburg / Instagram

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