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Jim Carrey

( Agencies ) Updated: 2009-11-16 07:38:24

Jim Carrey

Birth Name: James Eugene "Jim" Carrey

Date of Birth: 17th. January, 1962

Place of Birth: Newmarket, Ontario, Canada

Father: Percy Carrey, a musician and accountant.

Mother: Kathleen (née Oram), a homemaker.

Siblings: Three older siblings, John, Patricia, and Rita.

Schooling: When Carrey was 14 years old, he attended Blessed Trinity Catholic School, in North York, for two years, enrolled at Agincourt Collegiate Institute for another year, then briefly attended Northview Heights Secondary School, for the remainder of his high school career (altogether, he spent three years in Grade 10). Carrey lived in Burlington, Ontario, for eight years and attended Aldershot High School.

Start of Career:

--Comedy

In 1979, under the management of Leatrice Spevack, Carrey started doing stand-up comedy at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, where he rose to become a headliner in February 1981, shortly after his 19th birthday. One reviewer in the Toronto Star raved that Carrey was "a genuine star coming to life." In the early 1980s, Carrey moved to Los Angeles and started working at The Comedy Store, where he was noticed by comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who signed the young comedian to open Dangerfield's tour performances.

Carrey then turned his attention to the film and television industries. His first lead role on television was Skip Tarkenton, a young animation producer on NBC's short-lived The Duck Factory, airing from April 12, 1984, to July 11, 1984, and offering a behind-the-scenes look at the crew that produced a children's cartoon.

Carrey continued working in smaller film and television roles, which led to a friendship with fellow comedian Damon Wayans, who co-starred with Carrey as an extraterrestrial in 1989's Earth Girls Are Easy.

--Film

Carrey made his film debut in Rubberface (1983), which was released as 'Introducing...Janet'. Later that year, he won the leading role in Damian Lee's Canadian skiing comedy Copper Mountain, which included his impersonation of Sammy Davis Jr. Since the film had a less than one hour runtime consisting largely of musical performances by Rita Coolidge and Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins, it was not considered a genuine feature film. Two years later, in 1985, Carrey saw his first major starring role in the dark comedy Once Bitten, in the role of Mark Kendall, a teen virgin pursued by a 400-year old female vampire (played by Lauren Hutton). Carrey did not experience true stardom until starring in the 1994 comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which premiered only months before In Living Color ended. The film was panned by critics, and earned Carrey a 1995 Golden Raspberry Award nomination as Worst New Star.

Personal Life:

Carrey has been married twice, first to former actor and Comedy Store waitress Melissa Womer, with whom he has a daughter, Jane Erin Carrey. They were married on March 28, 1987, and were officially divorced in late 1995. After his separation from Womer in 1994, Carrey began dating his Dumb and Dumber co-star Lauren Holly. They were married on September 23, 1996; the marriage lasted less than a year. Carrey dated actress Renée Zellweger, whom he met on the set of Me, Myself & Irene, but their relationship ended in a broken engagement in December 2000. During 2004, Carrey dated his massage therapist Tiffany O. Silver.

In the May 2006 issue of Playboy Magazine, it was mentioned that he has dated model Anine Bing. In December 2005, Carrey began dating actress/model Jenny McCarthy. The pair have since denied engagement rumors. They did not make their relationship public until June 2006. She announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 2, 2008 that the two are now living together, but have no plans to marry, as they do not need a "piece of paper."

Carrey's 22-year-old daughter, Jane, is expecting her first child with rocker fiancé Alex Santana, who performs in the band Blood Money under the stage name Nitro.

Carrey has a chipped tooth; for his role in Dumb and Dumber, he simply removed the tooth cap.

He attended a Presbyterian Church with his family in the early 1990s. He is a fan of death metal band Cannibal Corpse, who made a cameo appearance in Ace Ventura, at his request for the band to be featured in the film. Carrey received U.S. citizenship on October 7, 2004, and now maintains dual citizenship of the U.S. and his native Canada, where he has had a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto since 1998.

He went public about his bouts with depression in a November 2004 interview on 60 Minutes. Carrey has made calls to the public, by way of Internet videos, to try to bring attention to the political repression in Burma, especially of Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he describes as a personal hero.

Together with Jenny McCarthy Carrey is a prominent spokesperson and activist for the Generation Rescue foundation.

Films:

1980 The Sex and Violence Family Hour

The All-Night Show

1981 Rubberface (TV)

1983 Copper Mountain (TV)

All in Good Taste

1984 Finders Keepers

The Duck Factory (TV)

1985 Once Bitten

1986 Peggy Sue Got Married

1988 The Dead Pool

1989 Pink Cadillac

Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All (TV)

Earth Girls Are Easy

1990 In Living Color (TV)

1991 High Strung Death

1992 The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Doing Time on Maple Drive (TV)

1994 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

The Mask

Dumb and Dumber

1995 Batman Forever

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

1996 The Cable Guy

1997 Liar Liar

1998 The Truman Show

Simon Birch

1999 Man on the Moon

2000 Me, Myself & Irene

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

2001 The Majestic

2003 Bruce Almighty

Pecan Pie

2004 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

2005 Fun with Dick and Jane

2007 The Number 23

2008 Horton Hears a Who!

Yes Man

2009 A Christmas Carol

2010 I Love You Phillip Morris

2011 Damn Yankees

2012 Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Awards:

Golden Globe Awards

1995 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, The Mask (Nominated)

1998 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Liar Liar (Nominated)

1999 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, The Truman Show (Won)

2000 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Man on the Moon (Won)

2001 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Nominated)

2005 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Nominated)

Screen Actors Guild Awards

2000 - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, Man on the Moon (Nominated)

BAFTA Awards

2005 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Nominated)

Satellite Awards

2000 - Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical, Man on the Moon (Nominated))

2005 - Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Nominated)

People's Choice Awards

2001 - Favorite Motion Picture Star in a Comedy (Won)

2005 - Favorite Funny Male Star (Won)

2009 - Favorite Male Funny Star (Nominated)

MTV Movie Awards

1994 - Best Comedic Performance (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) (Nominated)

1995 - Best On-Screen Duo (Dumb and Dumber) (Nominated)

1995 - Best Dance Sequence (The Mask) (Nominated)

1995 - Best Comedic Performance (The Mask) (Nominated)

1995 - Best Kiss with Lauren Holly (Dumb and Dumber) (Won)

1995 - Best Comedic Performance (Dumb and Dumber) (Won)

1996 - Best Villain (Batman Forever) (Nominated)

1996 - Best Kiss with Sophie Okonedo (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls) (Nominated)

1996 - Best Comedic Performance (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls) (Won)

1996 - Best Male Performance (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls) (Nominated)

1996 - Best Performance

1997 - Best Fight with Matthew Broderick (The Cable Guy) (Nominated)

1997 - Best Villain (The Cable Guy) (Won)

1997 - Best Comedic Performance (The Cable Guy) (Won)

1998 - Best Comedic Performance (Liar Liar) (Won)

1999 - Best Male Performance (The Truman Show) (Won)

1999 - Best Performance

2000 - Best Male Performance (Man on the Moon) (Nominated)

2001 - Best Comedic Performance (Me, Myself, & Irene) (Nominated)

2001 - Best Villain (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) (Won)

2004 - Best Kiss with Jennifer Aniston (Bruce Almighty) (Nominated)

2004 - Best Comedic Performance (Bruce Almighty) (Nominated)

2005 - Best Villain (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) (Nominated)

2006 - MTV Generation Award

2009 - Best Comedic Performance (Yes Man) (Won)

Kid's Choice Awards

1995 - Favorite Movie Actor (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) (Won)

1996 - Favorite Movie Actor (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls) (Won)

1997 - Favorite Movie Actor (The Cable Guy) (Won)

1998 - Favorite Movie Actor (Liar Liar) (Nominated)

1999 - Favorite Movie Actor (The Truman Show) (Nominated)

2001 - Favorite Movie Actor (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) (Won)

2004 - Favorite Movie Actor (Bruce Almighty) (Won)

2005 - Favorite Movie Actor (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) (Nominated)

2009 - Favorite Movie Actor (Yes Man) (Nominated)

2009 - Favorite Voice in an Animated Movie (Horton Hears a Who) (Nominated)

Teen Choice Awards

2000 - Wipeout Scene of the Summer (Me, Myself, & Irene) (Won)

2001 - Choice Hissy Fit (How the Grinch Stole Christmas)

2003 - Choice Comedian (Won)

2003 - Choice Movie Actor- Comedy (Bruce Almighty) (Won)

2003 - Choice Movie Chemistry with Morgan Freeman (Bruce Almighty) (Nominated)

2004 - Choice Comedian (Nominated)

2005 - Choice Movie Bad Guy (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) (Won)

2005 - Choice Comedian (Nominated)

2005 - Choice Movie Actor- Action/Adventure/Thriller (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) (Nominated)

2005 - Choice Movie Liar (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) (Nominated)

2006 - Choice Movie Actor- Comedy (Fun with Dick and Jane) (Nominated)

2009 - Choice Movie Actor- Comedy (Yes Man) (Nominated)

2009 - Choice Movie Rockstar Moment (Yes Man) (Nominated)

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