Anthony Barr was born on March 18, 1992, he is an American football outside linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA from 2010 to 2013, where he was a consensus All-American in 2013. He was drafted by the Vikings in the first round, ninth overall of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Barr was an offensive player during his first two years at UCLA, playing running back, wide receiver, and tight end. He struggled as a running back and switched to linebacker during his junior year, at which position he was named a first-team All-Pac-12 selection and to the CBSSports.com All-America second-team. As a senior Barr received the Lott IMPACT Award after leading the team in sacks.
In 2014, Barr’s first season playing professional football in the NFL, he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 8 and selected for the Pro Football Focus All-NFC North Team. His rookie season was cut short due to a knee injury. Barr has since made four consecutive Pro Bowl appearances (2015–2018). In the spring of 2019, he signed a five-year extension of his contract with the Vikings.
On March 11, 2019, it was reported that Barr would be signing a multi-year deal with the New York Jets. However, Barr changed his mind and re-signed with the Vikings on March 13, 2019, on a five-year, $67.5 million contract with $33 million guaranteed. In Week 5, Barr recorded his first interception since 2015 when he intercepted Daniel Jones in a win over the New York Giants.
On October 26, 2019, Barr received a fine for a hit on Matthew Stafford during a Week 7 matchup against the Detroit Lions. On December 2, 2019, Barr recorded a season-high 11 tackles against the Seattle Seahawks. Throughout the year, Barr has had 79 tackles, 54 solo tackles, 25 assisted tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 1 interception.
In the divisional round of the playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers, Barr forced a fumble on running back Matt Breida and recovered the football, but the Vikings lost 27–10.
Barr was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Vikings on July 30, 2020, and activated from the list four days later. He was placed on injured reserve on September 21, 2020, after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2. On August 3, 2022, Barr signed with the Dallas Cowboys.
Anthony Barr has never divulged any information about his parents, he is a very private person who likes to keep his personal life away from media attention.