George Will was born on 4 May 1941 in Champaign, Illinois, the son of Frederick L. and Louise Hendrickson Will. His father was a philosophy professor, specializing in epistemology at the University of Illinois. Will received an M.A. and Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University. His 1968 dissertation was entitled, "Beyond the Reach of Majorities: Closed Questions in the Open Society."

Will taught at various institutions, including James Madison College of Michigan State University, the University of Toronto and Harvard University in 1995 and in 1998. From 1970 to 1972 he served on Senator Grodon Allot's staff (R-CO).

George Will is, perhaps, best known for his stint as editor for the conservative magazine, National Review, from 1972 to 1978. His voice was a moderate one, however, and he was praised by many liberals for his criticisms of the George W. Bush administration as well as previous condemnation on the corrupt Nixon presidency. Will also was a harsh critic of Sarah Palin and John McCain's campaigns for the 2008 presidential election.

Will became a contributing editor for Newsweek in 1976 and remains in that role as of 2009. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for "distinguished commentary on a variety of topics" in 1977, and he also has written two best-selling books about baseball, three books on political philosophy and has published eleven compilations of his columns for the Washington Post and Newsweek and of various other book reviews and lectures.

Will has not been without his critics, however, and he was noted for misquoting information about global warming in one Washington Post column.

Will has three children with his first wife, Medeleine. One child was born with Down Syndrome in 1972. In 1991, Will married Mari Maseng, a former Feagan presidential speechwriter and former communications director for Robert Dole. They have one child, a son named David.