Jim Carrey

Biography: Arguably one of the most popular entertainers of his lifetime, Jim Carrey has combined equal parts of his idol Jerry Lewis, his spiritual ancestor Harry Ritz, and the loose-limbed Ray Bolger into a gleefully uninhibited screen image that is uniquely his own.

Carrey was born on January 17, 1962, into a peripatetic household that regularly ran the gamut from middle-comfort to abject poverty. Not surprisingly, Carrey became an overachiever, excelling in academics while keeping his fellow students in stitches with his wild improvisations and elastic facial expressions. His comedy club debut at age 16 was a dismal failure, but Carrey had already resolved not to be beaten down by life's disappointments (as his father, a frustrated musician, had been). By age 22, he was making a good living as a standup comic, and was starring on the short-lived sitcom The Duck Factory, a series which curiously did little to take advantage of its star's uncanny physical dexterity.

Throughout the 1980s, Carrey had supporting roles in such films as Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and Earth Girls are Easy (1990). Television stardom came Carrey's way in 1990 on Fox's In Living Color. 1994 proved to be "The Year of Carrey," with the release of three top-grossing comedy films to his credit: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. By the end of the year, Carrey was commanding seven to ten million dollars per picture. In 1995, the actor/comedian took over for Robin Williams as The Riddler in the blockbuster film Batman Forever, and, in 1996, he tried his hand at a darker and more menacing role as a maniacal cable repairman in The Cable Guy.

Following a return to all-out comedy in Liar, Liar (1997) as a chronically dishonest attorney, Carrey explored new territory with his lead role in the highly acclaimed The Truman Show (1998), Peter Weir's eerie comedy drama about the perils of all-consuming media manipulation. With critical respect finally in hand, Carrey returned to comedy of a different sort with the lead role in Milos Forman's Man on the Moon (1999), a much-anticipated biopic of the legendary comic Andy Kaufman. Although some critics hailed at the performance, others had mixed reviews. Carrey returned to comedy that was more his in the following year with the Farrelly Brothers' Me, Myself & Irene in which he starred as a cop with a split personality, both of whom are in love with the same woman. Extending his dramatic experiences, Carrey next appeared in the 2001 box-office bomb, The Majestic, as a screenwriter working in Hollywood's Golden Era of the 1950s.

After a brief break from the movie scene, Carrey returned with the much-anticipated How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) as the green-suited Dr. Seuss-inspired Grinch. In 2003, Carrey worked alongside Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Aniston in Bruce Almighty as a news reporter who gets the chance to play God. Carrey then starred in the critically acclaimed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). It went on to receive an Oscar for Best Writing for an Original Screenplay. Without pausing, Carrey starred then starred in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) as a distant relative to three children who adopts and then plans to kill them to seize their ill-fated parent's fortune.

Jim returned to comedy in 2005 by starring in Fun With Dick and Jane. He played Dick Harper, a man who lost his high paying job, leaving him broke and turning to a life of crime.

for his next project, Carrey experimented with the thriller The Number 23 (2007). To his deepest disappointment, the film was a box-ofice disaster. His personal life has had it's ups and downs as well. His marriage to his first wife, Melissa, ended after almost 19 years just as Jim's career was taking off. They have a daughter, Jane. After filming of Dumb and Dumber, Jim began dating and eventually married co-star Lauren Holly. That marriage lasted less than one year and the couple divorced in July of 1997. He is most recently is linked to long-time girlfriend Jenny McCarthy, but neither have any wish to marry. They both wish to model their relationship on the success of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn.… Expand