is an American game designer, cartoonist, film producer, actor, and writer. He is best known for authoring the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series of novels, as well as the owner and creator of the children’s website Poptropica. He also appeared in the film Diary of a Wimpy Kid, based on his series. He was born on February 19, 1971, in Fort Washington, Maryland, USA. He attended the University of Maryland in the early 1990s, where he created the fictional character Igdoof, which he published in the university newspaper, The Diamondback.