Kattan was born in Culver City, California. His father, Kip King (1937–2010), was an actor and voice actor. His mother, Hajnalka E. Biro, was once photographed for Playboy and worked as a model in London. His father was Jewish, from a family from Iraq and Poland. His mother, a native of Budapest, Hungary, is a Buddhist. His stepfather was a Buddhist therapist and monk. His half-brother, Andrew Joslyn, is a professional musician and Composer. Kattan was raised on a Zen retreat on Mount San Antonio (Mount Baldy), outside Los Angeles. He lived on Bainbridge Island, Washington, where he attended Bainbridge High School, and graduated in 1989.
He moved to New York City to work on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2003. His recurring characters included Mr. Peepers, Mango, Azrael Abyss, Kyle Demarco from The Demarco Brothers, Gay Hitler, Suel Forrester (known for the term "dagitybo") and, most notably, one half of the Butabi Brothers with fellow SNL (and Groundlings) cast member Will Ferrell, known for their trademark head-bobbing. Kattan and Ferrell continued the characters in the 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury.
Kattan married model Sunshine Deia Tutt on June 28, 2008, in Oakhurst, California, after proposing to her on Christmas Eve 2006. The couple separated on August 10, 2008, and were officially divorced in February 2009.
In August 2009, Kattan starred in the Independent Film Channel (IFC) miniseries Bollywood Hero, where he portrays himself and the difficulties he faces after a career as a comic actor, trying to attain leading man status. Starting in fall of 2009, Kattan appeared in a supporting role in The Middle. Kattan played Bob, a colleague of Frankie Heck's at Mr. Ehlert's car dealership. Kattan appeared in an episode of How I Met Your Mother as a star in "The Wedding Bride", a fictional movie within the show. He played himself acting as Jed Mosely, a character based on the main character Ted with an arrogant personality. He reappeared as the character while the gang was watching its sequel, Wedding Bride 2. On December 17, 2011, Kattan made a guest appearance on Saturday Night Live's Christmas show, hosted by Jimmy Fallon and again briefly on the final episode of SNL's 37th season.
In January 2014, Kattan was a cast contestant who was eliminated 1st in episode 2 of Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off (hosted by Guy Fieri and Rachael Ray). In June 2014, Kattan reprised his role as former SNL character Mango in a preview of Missy Elliott protégée Sharaya J's "Shut It Down" via a T by Alexander Wang campaign.
