Louis C.K.: 5 Things You Don't Know

USMagazine, Friday, September 21, 2012, 4:30pm (PDT)

Louis C.K. is the writer, director and star of the hit FX series, Louie. The 45-year-old comedian plays a newly divorced father-of-two in NYC, which is a fictionalized version of himself.

At the 2012 Emmy Awards on Sunday, Louis C.K. has been nominated for seven awards: three for Louie and four for his stand-up special Live at the Beacon Theatre.

Get to know Louis C.K. by checking out five facts Us Weekly has uncovered about the star.

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1. His real name is Louis Szekely. The 45-year-old actor/comedian was born in Washington, D.C., but lived in Mexico City until he was seven. His first language is Spanish.

2. He's a mama's boy. Louis was one of four kids and raised by a single mother. His mother watching bad TV inspired him to get into acting. "I remember thinking in fifth grade, 'I have to get inside that box and make this s--t better,'" he told The Observer in April 2005. "Because she deserves this. It made me mad that the shows were so bad."

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3. He has two daughters -- just like his show! Louis was married to artist/painter Alix Bailey. They divorced in 2008 and share joint custody of their two daughters. "They are very different from my daughters," Louis C.K. told The New York Post in June 2010 of character's two daughters on his FX show. "My daughters are really mature for their age. They are very sweet people. Very considerate. Very fun to be with and very tom. That's not funny. So I kind of created a couple of characters that are a little crankier and a little more insistent."

4. He has a potty mouth, and he's not ashamed of it. "There's no such thing as a cheap laugh," Louis C.K. told the TODAY show in June 2012. "They all cost something, and it's cost me a lot, being dirty." Back in 2010, the comedian did face some backlash for his jokes about former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. More recently, he was accused of supporting Daniel Tosh's rape jokes, but it was just a misunderstanding. Louis C.K. told Jon Stewart, "I've been called a rape apologist, because I said 'hi' to a guy who everyone's mad at."

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5. He broke an Emmy record. Louis C.K. received the highest nominations of any individual in one year. The one nomination the show missed out on, however, was Outstanding Comedy Series. "That's a lot of nominations. It feels selfish, because I was really rooting for everybody on my show, so I feel a little selfish," he told The New York Times in July. "I would have loved to see it nominated, for everybody that works for me. But I don't think I got robbed or something. That's all craziness and I don't believe in that. We’re a little show on FX. Anything you get is great."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Louis C.K.: 5 Things You Don't Know