"James Carrey" redirects here. For other uses, see James Carey (disambiguation).

Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey 2008.jpg

Carrey at the Yes Man premiere in 2008

Born James Eugene Carrey

January 17, 1962 (age 59)

Newmarket, Ontario, Canada

Citizenship

CanadianAmerican

Occupation

Actorcomedianwriterproducerartist

Years active 1977–present

Spouse(s)

Melissa Womer

(m. 1987; div. 1995)

Lauren Holly

(m. 1996; div. 1997)

Partner(s) Jenny McCarthy (2005–2010)

Children 1

Comedy career

Medium

Stand-upfilmtelevision

Genres

Observational comedyphysical comedysurreal humorcharacter comedysatireslapstick

Subject(s)

Everyday lifepopular culturepoliticscelebrities

Signature

Firma de Jim Carrey.svg

James Eugene Carrey (born January 17, 1962)[1] is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, writer,
producer, and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances,[2] Carrey first gained
recognition in 1990, after landing a recurring role in the American sketch comedy television series In
Living Color (1990–1994). He broke out as star in motion pictures with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,
The Mask and Dumb and Dumber (all 1994). This was followed up with Ace Ventura: When Nature
Calls, Batman Forever (both 1995), and Liar Liar (1997).

In the 2000s, he gained further notice for his portrayal of the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole
Christmas and for the comedy Me, Myself & Irene (both in 2000), as well as Bruce Almighty (2003),
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), Yes Man,
Horton Hears a Who! (both 2008), and A Christmas Carol (2009). In the 2010s, Carrey appeared in
the films Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Kick-Ass 2 (both 2013),
Dumb and Dumber To (2014) and portrayed Leap Day William in the sitcom 30 Rock (2012). In 2020,
he portrayed Dr. Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog and Joe Biden in six episodes of Saturday Night
Live in the leadup to the 2020 United States presidential election.

Although largely typecast as a comedic actor, Carrey has had success in dramatic roles. His first
dramatic success was for starring in the Emmy-nominated made-for-television film Doing Time on
Maple Drive (1992). Carrey gained attention for his leading roles in The Truman Show (1998) and
Man on the Moon (1999), earning Golden Globe Awards for each film. He later starred in the
psychological science fiction romantic drama film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), this
performance is repeatedly lauded as one of the most important and seminal in Carrey's career and
for which he was nominated for both the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and another
Golden Globe Award. He was also praised for his dramatic role of Jeff Piccirillo in the Showtime
tragicomedy series Kidding, for which he was nominated for another Golden Globe. The Guardian
named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.[3]

In 2013, Carrey published his first book, a children's story, entitled How Roland Rolls; the book was
awarded a 2013 Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award.[4] In 2020, Carrey published his first novel,
Memoirs and Misinformation, which he co-authored with Dana Vachon.[5][6]

Contents

1 Early life

2 Career

2.1 1977–1983: Early impressionist work in Toronto

2.2 1983–1994: Move to Hollywood

2.3 1994–1998: Rise to fame

2.4 1998–2007: Critical acclaim

2.5 2007–2018: Change in pace

2.6 2018–present: Comeback

3 Personal life

3.1 Relationships

3.2 Wrongful death lawsuits

3.3 Vaccine skepticism

3.4 Political and spiritual views

4 Awards and nominations

5 Selected filmography

6 Discography

6.1 Singles

6.2 Other

7 Bibliography

7.1 Books

7.2 Forewords

8 See also

9 References

10 Further reading

11 External links

Early life

Carrey was born in the Toronto suburb of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada,[1] to Kathleen (née Oram), a
homemaker, and Percy Carrey, a musician and accountant.[7][8] He was raised a Roman Catholic
and has three older siblings, John, Patricia, and Rita.[9][10] His mother was of French, Irish, and
Scottish descent, and his father was of French-Canadian ancestry (the family's original surname was
Carré).[11][12][13]

At age eight he began making faces before a mirror and discovered a talent for doing impressions.
[14] At age ten, Carrey wrote a letter to Carol Burnett of the Carol Burnett Show pointing out that he
was already a master of impressions and should be considered for a role on the show; he was
overjoyed when he received a form letter reply.[15] A fan of Monty Python whose TV show aired in
the 1970s, in 2014 Carrey appeared on Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly) and recalled the effect on
him of Ernest Scribbler (played by Michael Palin) laughing himself to death in "The Funniest Joke in
the World" sketch.[16] Radio Times states, "You’ll see why immediately: Palin’s performance is
uncannily Carreyesque.”[16]
Carrey spent his early years in the borough of Scarborough, Ontario, part of Metropolitan Toronto,
where he attended Blessed Trinity Catholic Elementary School in North York. His family later moved
to Burlington, Ontario, where they would spend eight years; Jim attended Aldershot High School
while there.[17] Some time later, his family became homeless and lived together in a Volkswagen
van while teenage Jim and his brother spent months living in a tent in Charles Daley Park on the Lake
Ontario shore in Lincoln, Ontario.[18][19] The family struggled financially, however, their situation
started improving once his father found employment in the accounting department at the Titan
Wheels tire factory in Scarborough.[19] Furthermore, in return for living in the house across the
street from the factory, the family—primarily teenage sons Jim and John—would work as janitors
and security guards at the tire factory, doing eight-hour shifts from 6p.m. into the next morning.[19]
Moving back to Scarborough, teenage Jim started attending Agincourt Collegiate Institute before
dropping out of school on his sixteenth birthday. He began to perform comedy in downtown
Toronto while continuing to work at the factory.

In a 2007 Hamilton Spectator interview, Carrey said, "If my career in show business hadn't panned
out I would probably be working today in Hamilton, Ontario, at the Dofasco steel mill." As a young
man, he could see the steel mills across the Burlington Bay and often thought that was "where the
great jobs were."[20