Jim Carrey's Early Life
James Eugene Carrey was born on January 17, 1962 in the Toronto suburb of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. His family suffered from financial struggles, leaving them homeless at one point. However, once their situation began improving, he began devoting more time to his comedy, which began with a love for impressions.
Carrey's father drove him to his first stand-up experience in Toronto at the age of 15, which bombed. However, he began developing his impressionist act further, adding more to his roster and eventually becoming a local success. He landed his first acting role in 1981 with the made-for-TV CBC movie Introducing...Janet.
Jim Carrey's Career and Success
Carrey eventually moved to Hollywood and made appearances in more films, including a supporting role in the 1985 hit Peggy Sue Got Married, but achieved his big break when he was cast as a regular on the sketch comedy series In Living Color from 1990-94.
1994-1999 represented Carrey's rise to stardom, becoming a comedic force in Hollywood thanks to the back-to-back success of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber (all 1994), Batman Forever, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (both 1995), Liar Liar (1997), The Truman Show (1998), and Man on the Moon (1999). The Mask earned him his first Golden Globe nod, which he followed up with back-to-back wins for The Truman Show and Man on the Moon, which displayed his dramatic chops and established him as a noted actor.
His other successes in the aughts include How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Bruce Almighty (2003), Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), and Yes Man (2008), which established his reign over the box office. His performance in 2004's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with Kate Winslet won him the best reviews of his career, and the Academy was criticized for once again snubbing him for an Oscar nomination.
His work on screen slowed down during the late 2010s, although he won acclaim and another Golden Globe nod for his lead turn in the Showtime series Kidding (2018, 2020), and his biggest box office hits as Dr. Robotnik in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise (starting in 2020). Carrey has indicated in recent years that he intends to take time off from being on screen or retire altogether.
Jim Carrey's Personal Life
Throughout his life in the spotlight, Carrey has been involved in several high profile relationships, including with Linda Ronstadt (1983), January Jones (2002), and Ginger Gonzaga (2019). He was engaged to his Me, Myself and Irene co-star Renée Zellweger from 1999-2000 and dated makeup artist Cathriona White from 2012 to her death in 2015.
Carrey married actress and Comedy Store waitress Melissa Womer in 1987, and they welcomed their daughter Jane later that year. They split up in 1995, and a year later, he married his Dumb and Dumber co-star Lauren Holly, which lasted less than a year. His other most significant relationship was with model and actress Jenny McCarthy, with the pair dating from 2005-10.
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