Stephen McDannell Hillenburg (born August 21, 1961) is an American
marine biologist,
cartoonist, animator, director, producer, writer, and voice actor, who is best known for creating the
Nickelodeon animated television series
SpongeBob SquarePants. Born in
Lawton, Oklahoma, Hillenburg grew up in
Anaheim, California and attended
Humboldt State University, earning a
bachelor's degree in marine resource planning and interpretation in 1984. After graduating from college, Hillenburg taught marine biology at the
Ocean Institute in
Dana Point.