Childhood & Early Life
Jimmy Kimmel was born in the middle class neighborhood of Mill Basin in Brooklyn, New York, to James Kimmel, an executive with IBM and Joan Kimmel, a dedicated homemaker.
He was born and raised a Roman Catholic and served as an altar boy at the church as a child.
When he was nine years old, his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he attended the Ed W. Clark High School. In high school, he was an excellent student.
He later attended the University of Nevada for one year and it was during this period that he discovered his passion for radio.
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Career
In 1989, he got his first job in the Seattle based radio station, ‘KZOK-FM’, as the co-host for the show ‘The Me And Him Show’. However, he was fired within two months, after which he started his own radio show in Palm Springs, California.
In Los Angles, he worked with the radio station ‘KROQ’, where he hosted ‘The Kevin and Bean Show’ as the popular ‘Jimmy the Sports Guy’.
In 1996, he was seen on Fox Network promos, where he made an appearance as ‘Jimmy the fox guy’.
He has made a number of appearances on talk shows such as Live with Regis and Kelly, The Howard Stern Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and the Late Show with David Letterman.
In 1997, he appeared on television as a co-host of the game show ‘Win Ben Stein's Money’ that was broadcast on the Comedy Central Network. His witty remarks and unique performing style struck a chord with TV viewers.
In 1999, he co-hosted Comedy Central’s ‘The Man Show’ along with Adam Corolla, an American TV personality, comedian and radio show host.
In 2000, he was the voice of ‘Corky’, a talking dog in the American comedy film ‘Road Trip’, directed and written by Todd Phillips.
In 2001, he played the role of ‘Deaths Dog’ in the ‘Mr. Saturday Knight’, the ninth episode from the third season of ‘Family Guy’.
In 2003, he began to host his own late-night talk show, ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on ABC network. The show was also broadcast on the Irish digital TV channel ‘3e’.
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In 2004, he lent his voice as ‘Spanky’ in ‘Garfield: The Movie’, an American live-action film directed by Peter Hewitt.
In 2010, he appeared on a video game commercial titled ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops’. In the video he was seen firing and dodging bullets.
In 2012, he hosted the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, D.C. where during the closing ceremony he made a set of funny remarks referring to his school history teacher.
On September 23, 2012, he hosted The 64th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards which was held at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California.
Major Works
The game show ‘Win Ben Stein's Money’ has won five Daytime Emmy Awards and the hosts of the show shared the Emmy Award in the category, ‘Outstanding game Show Host’ in 1999.
His successful talk show ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ has aired for a total of 1,826 episodes as of 2012, making it the longest running late-night talk show in the history of ABC Network.
Awards & Achievements
In 1999, he was the recipient of the Daytime Emmy Award as ‘Outstanding Game Show Host’ along with Ben Stein for the show ‘Win Ben Stein's Money’.
In 2013, he was featured on Time Magazine’s list of ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’.
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In 2013, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Personal Life & Legacy
In June of 1988, he married his long-time girlfriend Gina and the couple had two children together. The couple split in 2002.
After his separation from Gina, he was romantically involved with Sarah Silverman, American actress and writer. The couple broke-up in early 2009.
In October 2009, he started dating Molly McNearney, a co-head writer for ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’. The couple got engaged in 2012.
He has been suffering from Narcolepsy, a neurological disorder due to which the body fails to regulate sleep-wake cycles.
He plays the bass clarinet, a musical instrument of the clarinet family and showcased his talent at the ‘The Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ concert in Costa Mesa, California.
