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Background:
Canadian/American actor Jim Carrey has established himself as a popular comedic
actor with more than 30 films under his belt. Starting out as a stand-up comic,
Carrey gained nationwide fame in the Fox well known sketch comedy "In Living
Color" (1990). He continued with such blockbuster comedy films as Ace Ventura:
Pet Detective (1994), The Mask (1994), Dumb & Dumber (1994), Ace Ventura: When
Nature Calls (1995), Liar Liar (1997), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) and
Bruce Almighty (2003). He has received several awards, including seven MTV
Awards, a People's Choice Award, a Teen Choice Award, a Kids' Choice Award and a
People's Choice award. In a more recent comedy film, Carrey netted a Teen Choice
Award for his work in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004).
In addition to his comic talents, Carrey also received recognition for his
dramatic role in the critically acclaimed The Truman Show (1998), where he was
handed a Golden Globe Award and a MTV Movie Award. He gained even more notice
for portraying the late Andy Kaufman in the 1999 biopic Man on the Moon,
directed by Milos Forman. Due to his spectacular performance, Carrey nabbed a
Golden Globe Award and a Boston Society of Film Critics Award. In 2004, he won
praise for costarring with Kate Winslet in Charlie Kaufman’s Eternal Sunshine of
the Spotless Mind.
Off screen, Jim Carrey was listed as one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful
People in the World” (1997) and as the 54th of Empire magazine's “The Top 100
Movie Stars of All Time” (1997). Since 2004, Carrey has had a dual citizenship,
Canada and The U.S. Commenting about his dual citizenship, he said, "I have no
intention of giving up my Canadian heritage, and all those who loved and
supported me."
As for his private life, the Canadian-born actor first married actress Melissa
Womer, but they divorced in 1993. He next became the husband of actress Lauren
Holly, whom he wed in 1996. Unfortunately, his second marriage also ended in
divorce in 1997.
Carrey began a new relationship with Me, Myself and Irene costar Renee Zellweger
two years later, but they split up in late fall of 2000. He was also linked to
23-year-old Danish model Betina Holte, whom he met at the posh five-star hotel
d'Angleterre in Copenhagen in 2003.
A Harley Rider
Childhood and Family:
Son to Percy Carrey (musician/accountant) and Kathleen Carrey (amateur singer),
James Eugene Carrey, who would later be famous as Jim Carrey, was born on
January 17, 1962, in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. The youngest of four children,
Jim has one older brother, John Carrey, and two older sisters, Rita Carrey and
Patricia Carrey Fournier.
Little Jim developed his comedic talent through impersonations of family members
and performed regularly for anyone who would watch. At age 10, he even sent his
resume to "The Carol Burnett Show" (1967). Jim went on to show off his craft at
school when he was permitted by his junior high school teacher to have a
fifteen-minute performance at the end of each school day to amuse his
classmates. Entering his teenage years, however, Jim had trouble in his family
when his father lost his job and the family had to move from their comfortable
town of Newmarket to Scarborough. There, fourteen-year-old Jim, with the rest of
Carey family, supported their life by working as janitors and security guards in
the Titan Wheels factory. When they eventually abandoned the factory, the family
began living out of a Volkswagen camper van until they could move back to
Toronto. Jim dropped out of high school at age 16 and headed for Hollywood a
year later to pursue a career as a comedian.
Jim Carrey has been married twice. He first tied the knot with actress Melissa
Womer on March 28, 1987, but the couple divorced in November 1993. With his
first wife, Jim has one daughter named Jane Carrey, who was born in 1987. Three
years after the separation, Jim married actress Lauren Holly on September 23,
1996. Unfortunately, his second marriage only lasted for 10 months and he filed
for divorce in July 1997.
Off screen, Jim is the owner of a $25 million dollar plane. He also has a Harley
Davidson and a vanity license for that reads "NO TAG."
The Truman Show
Career:
Discovering a great passion for comedy at an early age, Jim Carrey left high
school at age 16 to try his luck in the showbiz industry. A year before, he got
his start as a stand-up comic at a Toronto comedy club named Yuk Yuks, before
making his way to Los Angeles at age 17, where he began to perform at The Comedy
Store. Carrey’s potential caught the eye of successful comic Rodney Dangerfield
who soon signed him up to open Dangerfield's tour performances. This led to
Carrey’s performances on television and movies in the early 1980s.
Beginning as an additional voice for the television series "The All-Night Show"
(1980), Carrey moved on to the big screen in 1983 when he received the minor
role of struggling stand-up comic Tony Moroni in Introducing... Janet. After
Copper Mountain (1983) and All In Good Taste (1983), Carrey was hired to star as
neophyte cartoonist Skip Tarkenton in the NBC television sitcom "The Duck
Factory" (1984). Unfortunately, the show was axed after only thirteen episodes.
More work in film occurred throughout the 1980s. Carrey first appeared in
Finders Keepers (1984) and subsequently scored the male lead in the
disappointing Lauren Hutton vehicle Once Bitten (1985). He went on to take small
roles in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986, starring Kathleen Turner and Nicolas
Cage), The Dead Pool (1988), Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) and Pink Cadillac
(1989). He was also seen in television’s Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All (1989).
His big breakthrough, however, arrived on television when Keenen Ivory Wayans
asked Carrey to join his sketch comedy show "In Living Color" (1990). Portraying
one of the show's two resident "white guys," Carrey soon made a reputation for
himself as a comedian with his shameful acts, most notable the grotesquely
spoiled Fire Marshal Bill and female body builder Vera De Milo. As the show
became a hit, Carrey received television stardom.
Lured by his notable performance on In Living Color, Carrey won the title
character of Ace Ventura in the 1994 comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Though
the film received negative reviews, it was a surprising hit. The actor earned a
nomination with the Golden Raspberry for Worst New Star.
Carrey scored another hit with The Mask (1994), but it was his performance in
the top-grossing comedy Dumb & Dumber (1994) which won the hearth of critics and
audiences alike. Carrey nabbed two MTV Movie Awards for Best Comedic Performance
and Best Kiss in the following year.
Carrey again received blockbuster exposure when he costarred with Val Kilmer and
Tommy Lee Jones in the box office smash Batman Forever (1995). The same year, he
teamed up with director Steve Oedekerk for the hit comedy Ace Ventura: When
Nature Calls (1995), in which Carrey netted two MTV Movie Awards in the
categories of Best Comedic Performance and Best Male Performance. He also took
home a People's Choice for Favorite Actor in a Comedy in the same year.
Additionally, the huge success of the films earned him multi-million dollar
paychecks.
He then signed a $20 million contract to star in The Cable Guy (1996), where he
ventured to a darker and more frightening role as maniac cable repairman. The
film and Carrey, however, received negative response from audiences and film
critics which resulted in the film's box office failure. On the other hand,
Carrey again took home two MTV Movie awards for Best Comedic Performance and
Best Villain in 1997. Returning to his trade mark style, Carrey rejoined Ace
Ventura, Pet Detective director Tom Shadyac to play the chronically deceitful
attorney Fletcher Reede in the comedy Liar Liar (1997). The film was an
immediate hit, grossing $20 million in its first week of release. As a result,
it became one of the top grossing films of the year. In the following year,
Carrey won a MTV Movie for Best Comedic Performance.
In 1998, Carrey showcased his dramatic versatility as the lead of Truman Burbank
in the highly acclaimed comedy drama The Truman Show, for director Peter Weir.
Delivering a brilliant performance, Carrey garnered a wealth of critical
appreciation, as well as a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Leading Role-Drama
and a MTV Movie award for Best Male Performance. In the following year, Carrey
again impressed film critics when he worked with legendary director Milos Forman
for the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon (1999). His outstanding acting
handed him another Golden Globe and a Boston Society of Film Critics award for
Best Actor.
Starring as policeman Charlie Baileygates, with a split character, both of whom
fall in love with the same woman (played by Renée Zellweger), in the Farrelly
brothers' Me, Myself & Irene was Carrey’s opening film in the new millennium.
Soon after, the actor attracted the attention of the public when he was cast in
the title role of the titular miserly Grinch in the long-awaited big budget film
version of Dr. Seuss' holiday classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000),
helmed by Ron Howard. Despite the extensive, critical-contempt for the film, it
was a box-office smash. Carrey won a Kids' Choice award for Favorite Movie Actor
and a Teen Choice for Film - Choice Hissy Fit, as well as earned a Golden Globe
nomination. He then starred as amnesiac playwright Peter Appleton in the 2001
blockbuster bomb The Majestic.
After taking a two year hiatus from film, Carrey returned in 2003 with a small
role in Pecan Pie before he scored a hit with the successful metaphysical comedy
Bruce Almighty (2003). His impressive turn as a guy gifted with God-like powers
named Bruce Nolan, opposite Jennifer Aniston, handed him a People's Choice for
Favorite Comedy Motion Picture. In 2004, Carrey costarred with Kate Winslet as a
pair who have their memories wiped out in the mind-bending,
romantic-drama-comedy Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, scripted by Charlie
Kaufman. With Michel Gondry in the director’s chair, both the film and Carrey
won critical raves from film critics. Also in 2004, Carrey found himself acting
with Jude Law and Meryl Streep in the much-anticipated wide screen version of
the children's book Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, where he
picked up a Teen Choice for Best Movie Baddie in 2005.
The 43-year-old actor has two forthcoming projects fans can look forward to. He
will soon star in the remake of the 1977 film Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) and
play a man obsessed with a book he's read that seems to be about his life in
Joel Schumacher’ eccentric thriller The Number 23 (2006). He is also in
negotiations with 20th Century Fox to join Ben Stiller and director Jay Roach in
the clone comedy Used Guys.
Awards:
- Teen Choice: Best Movie Baddie, Lemony Snicket, 2005
- People's Choice: Favorite Comedy Motion Picture, Bruce Almighty, 2004
- Kids' Choice: Favorite Movie Actor, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 2001
- Teen Choice: Film - Choice Hissy Fit, How the Grinch Stole Christmas,
2001
- People's Choice: Favorite Motion Picture Star in a Comedy, 2001
- Sho West: Male Star of the Year, 2000
- Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Leading Role-Drama, The Truman Show, 1999
- MTV Movie: Best Male Performance, The Truman Show, 1999
- Boston Society of Film Critics: Best Actor, Man on the Moon, 1999
- Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical), Man on
the Moon, 1999
- MTV Movie: Best Comedic Performance, Liar Liar, 1998
- MTV Movie: Best Villain, The Cable Guy, 1997
- MTV Movie: Best Comedic Performance, The Cable Guy, 1997
- People's Choice: Favorite Actor in a Comedy, 1996
- MTV Movie: Best Comedic Performance, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls,
1996
- MTV Movie Best Male Performance, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, 1996
- MTV Movie: Best Comedic Performance, Dumb and Dumber, 1995
- MTV Movie: Best Kiss, Dumb and Dumber, 1995
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