Jim Carrey is a famous American and Canadian film and television actor. There is no spectator who would not laugh at the comedies with his participation and was not amazed at the amazing facial expressions and charisma. Biography of Jim Carrey on our website! Comedian, actor, and producer Jim Carrey win the hearts of the audience more and more with each film. Charming and funny on the screen and very serious off it. Who is Jim Carrey really?
Childhood and youth
On January 17, 1962, a son, James Eugene Kerry, was born into a large family from the city of Newmarket. Jim’s parents, Katherine and Percy, dreamed of linking their lives with the stage – his mother was a singer, and his father was a saxophonist. But their stellar career did not work out, and they barely made ends meet, trying to raise four children.
The main breadwinner in the Kerry family was his father, who worked as an accountant. However, his accounting career did not work out when he was fired, the whole family had to move to the small town of Scarborough, where Kerry Sr. began working as a security guard. Young Jim also had to work to somehow help his parents. He, his brother, and his sisters worked at the same factory as his father. Only cleaners on the evening shift.
Such a pace of life was too exhausting for both children and parents, and in the end, they all had to quit. The house they lived in was owned by a labor company, so after being fired, the Kerry family came to live in a trailer.
Soon, the father nevertheless found a job and they moved to Burlington. Here life began to improve. Jim went to high school and performed with his musical group, the Spoons. After leaving school, the young man went to work at the Dofasco foundry, like his father. Although Jim liked the job, in his heart he still dreamed of an acting career.
“First steps”
Even at school, Jim Carrey developed a love for performances, the boy now and then parodied everyone – friends, family, and famous personalities. Once he even decided to send his parodies to the famous Carol Barnet show, but to no avail.
The parents were glad that the son found something to his liking, so his father took him to the Yak-Yak comedy club. There, 15-year-old Jim first demonstrated his talent as a comedian to the public. The performance was a failure.
After 2 years, Jim decided to return and perform again. And everything worked out. The audience appreciated Carrey’s performance and in just a couple of years, he became one of the most popular comedians in Toronto. Newspapers wrote about Jim and people talked about him.
In the 80s, Jim Carrey comes to Los Angeles. At one of the performances at the Comedy Store club, famous comedian Rodney Dangerfield notices his talent and charisma. He invites the young artist to perform for him “as an opening act” on a tour, and he agrees.
At the end of the tour, Jim decides to go to Hollywood and began his performances at The Comedy Store. And soon Jim had his first television experience in the show “Evening of improvisations”. But the artist wanted to be not just a stand-up comedian, but a real actor.
Film career
Jim Carrey made his first film appearance in 1983. And not in one, but in several films at once – “Rubber Face”, “Everything is in Good Taste” and “Kupper’s Mountain”. A year later, the actor got the lead role in the series “Duck Factory”. This was followed by roles in several more comedy projects.
1994 brought Jim Carrey a huge success – the brightest films in the actor’s career were released: Dumb and Dumber, The Mask, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. In addition to earning millions at the box office, the films brought Jim Carrey several prestigious film awards. However, not everyone liked this style and manner of playing – along with the Golden Globe and MTV Movie Award, Jim received the Golden Raspberry.
Jim Carrey’s next role was in Batman Forever (1995), where he played the main villain, the Riddler. Stunning facial expressions and charisma captivated the viewer, and the film grossed over $330 million at the box office. Critics did not appreciate the film, but this did not stop Jim Carrey from receiving an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best On-Screen Villain.
In the same year, the sequel film “Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls” was released. Jim Carrey was again waiting for a stunning success – the second part surpassed the first by 2 times in terms of the number of views and earned money at the box office, and the actor immediately received 3 nominations for the MTV Movie Award and Kid’s Choice Awards.
A year later, Jim Carrey received his first 8-figure fee – $ 20 million for the film “The Cable Guy”. And it was for that – the comedy again collected admiring comments from viewers and critics.
One painting is followed by another. In the comedy Liar Liar, Jim Carrey played a successful lawyer who suddenly stopped telling lies. The actor perfectly managed to convey the image, for which the audience and critics again strewed him with compliments.
Jim was pleased with the success of the picture but thought about how to change the image. The actor wanted to try himself in serious roles, not just comedic ones. Director Peter Weir gave the actor such a chance in the drama The Truman Show. The picture tells about the character Truman, who lives his life in a reality show under the gaze of the audience. The film brings Jim Carrey another Golden Globe.
In 2000, the audience saw Jim Carrey again in the comedy genre. The actor starred in the films Me, Myself and Irene and The Grinch Stole Christmas. The role of the “green creature” Grinch brought Jim another “Golden Globe”.
In the next picture, Jim Carrey again became a villain. This time the actor reincarnated as Count Olaf in the fairy tale film Lemony Snicket: 33 Misfortunes. Young viewers liked the fairy tale and collected a record $210 million at the box office.
Many critics call the 2003 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind the pinnacle of Jim Carrey’s career. The romantic drama with elements of fantasy won the hearts of millions of viewers, and the duet of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet turned out to be simply amazing. The picture won an Oscar for Best Screenplay, and Jim won a BAFTA and Satellite Award.
The actor again left his comical image in favor of a serious role in the film “Fatal Number 23”. But no matter how hard Jim tried, the picture did not receive positive reviews, and he was awarded the Golden Raspberry. The comedy “Always Say Yes” helped the actor to rehabilitate himself. The familiar image and a wonderful tandem with Zooey Deschanel brought Jim Carrey another victory at the MTV Movie Award.
The success of the comedy pleased the actor, but he wanted to achieve the same in other genres. Therefore, in 2009, I Love You Philip Morris, starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, was released. The film is based on the biography of American criminal Steve Russell. The accident changed his life forever – Steve stopped hiding his homosexuality and became a fraudster. Jim Carrey, who played Steve, did an excellent job of conveying this complex image. In general, the film received positive reviews, but before the rental, it was significantly “shredded” due to a large number of erotic scenes.
In the same year, Jim Carrey took part in the creation of the Christmas Carol Project. The familiar story of Charles Dickens was filmed in 3D. Jim Carrey got several roles at once – the main character Scrooge (in his youth, maturity, and old age) and the ghosts that appear to him. The audience liked the new vision of A Christmas Carol very much and the picture became one of the favorite Christmas movies.
After that, Jim Carrey starred in several more films, including “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”, “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone”, “Kick-Ass 2”. In 2014, viewers saw the continuation of the comedy Dumb and Dumber with Jim Carrey in the title role.
In 2018, Jim Carrey became the main cast member of Kidding on Showtime. Moreover, he also tried himself as a producer. In addition to his work in film and television, Jim Carrey is also a painter. On his social media, he often shares his own artwork.
Personal life of Jim Carrey
At the Comedy Store club, Jim Carrey met Melissa Womer, who worked there as a waitress. The couple married on March 8, 1987. Soon the couple had a daughter, who was named Jane Erin Kerry. Relations between Jim and Melissa did not develop, they could not find a common language and often quarreled. In 1991, Jim’s mother died, and 3 years later, his father. The loss of loved ones led to Kerry’s depression, which further exacerbated their problems with Melissa. In the end, the couple divorced after 8 years of marriage. As a result of the divorce, Jim Carrey paid his ex-wife Melissa Womer $7 million.
In the same year, Jim Carrey married a second time. The second official wife of the actor was a colleague in the film “Dumb and Dumber” – Lauren Holly. However, the marriage did not last even a year, after 10 months Jim and Lauren divorced.
On the set of Me, Myself & Irene, Jim Carrey met actress Renee Zellweger. The couple was engaged for a year and a half, but the wedding never took place. Then the actor met with Tiffany Silver – his doctor, and the star of Playboy magazine – Anine Bing.
In 2005, a new love appeared in the life of Jim Carrey, it was the actress and model Jenny McCarthy. Their relationship lasted as long as 5 years, but they did not develop in the best way. Some familiar couples believe that the strange antics of Jim Carrey became the reason for this. After the break, rumors even began to circulate that Jim Carrey paid Jenny $ 25 million for the fact that she would never reveal the details of their relationship.
Jim with Jenny McCarthy
In February 2010, Jim Carrey became a grandfather. His daughter Jane gave him a grandson, Jackson Riley. Jim tries to spend as much time as possible with his grandson and daughter.
In 2012, Jim Carrey began an affair with 28-year-old Catriona White. It lasted several months and soon Jim and Catriona separated. Less than a year later, the girl married another. But in May 2015, it became known that Kerry and White still communicate and the relationship between them is more than friendly, even despite Catriona’s marriage.
After 4 months, the couple broke up again. And on September 29, 2015, it became known that Catriona White committed suicide by swallowing pills. In her suicide note, the girl wrote that the reason for this act was parting with Jim.
Jim Carrey took care of all expenses for Catriona’s funeral and carried her coffin to the funeral ceremony. In September 2016, Catriona’s family, along with her husband, filed a lawsuit against Jim Carrey, accusing him of purchasing the pills that poisoned the girl with his help. White’s mother soon filed a second lawsuit, alleging that Jim suffered from sexually transmitted diseases – herpes and chlamydia – and he knowingly infected her daughter. In January 2018, all charges against the actor were dropped.
The tragedy and 2 years of litigation unsettled the actor and he practically did not appear in public. After a long break, Jim Carrey appeared at the 2019 Golden Globes not alone, but with a companion. She turned out to be a colleague of the actor on the TV series “Just Kidding” – Ginger Gonzaga.
Filmography of Jim Carrey
- 1981 – Rubber face
- 1983 – Family Hour of Sex and Violence
- 1983 – Mount Cooper
- 1983 – Everything is in good taste
- 1984 – Chur, mine!
- 1984-1984 – Duck Factory
- 1985 – Once bitten
- 1986 – Peggy Sue got married
- 1988 – Death List
- 1989 – Earth girls are easily accessible
- 1989 – Pink Cadillac
- 1990-1994 – In vibrant color
- 1991 – Nerves on edge
- 1992 – Tiny Spider
- 1992 – Life on Maple Drive (TV)
- 1993 – Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
- 1994 – Dumb and Dumber
- 1994 – Mask
- 1995 – Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls
- 1995 – Batman Forever
- 1996 – The Cable Guy
- 1997 – Liar, liar
- 1998 – Simon Birch
- 1998 – The Truman Show
- 1999 – Man in the Moon
- 2000 – The Grinch Stole Christmas
- 2000 – Me, me again and Irene
- 2001 – Majestic
- 2003 – Bruce Almighty
- 2004 – Lemony Snicket: 33 misfortunes
- 2004 – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- 2005 – Swindlers Dick and Jane
- 2007 – Fatal Number 23
- 2008 – Always Say Yes
- 2008 – Horton
- 2009 – I love you Phillip Morris
- 2009 – A Christmas Story
- 2009 – Under the sea in 3D
- 2011 – Mr. Popper’s Penguins
- 2011 – Office
- 2013 – The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
- 2013 – Kick-Ass 2
- 2013 – TV presenter 2
- 2014 – Dumb and Dumber 2
- 2016 – True Crime
- 2016 – Bad Batch
- 2017 – Jim and Andy: Underworld
- 2018 – Just kidding
- 2019 – Sonic the Hedgehog
