Jim Carrey

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Lore & Background

Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, to Kathleen (née Oram), a homemaker, and Percy Carrey, a musician and accountant. He was raised Catholic and had three older siblings. At age eight, he began making faces before a mirror and discovered a talent for doing impressions. At age ten, Carrey wrote a letter to Carol Burnett of the Carol Burnett Show pointing out that he was already a master of impressions and should be considered for a role on the show; he was overjoyed when he received a form letter reply. A fan of Monty Python, in 2014 he appeared on Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly) and recalled the effect on him of Ernest Scribbler (played by Michael Palin) laughing himself to death in "The Funniest Joke in the World" sketch. His family became homeless and lived together in a Volkswagen van while teenage Carrey and his brother spent months living in a tent in Charles Daley Park on the Lake Ontario shore in Lincoln, Ontario. The family struggled financially; their situation started improving once his father found employment in the accounting department at the Titan Wheels tire factory in Scarborough. In return for living in the house across the street from the factory, Carrey and his older brother worked as janitors and security guards at the tire factory, doing eight-hour shifts from 6 pm into the next morning. Carrey dropped out of school on his sixteenth birthday and began to perform comedy in downtown Toronto while continuing to work at the factory.

Reader's Guide

Carrey's first stand-up comedy experience took place in 1977 at age 15 at Yuk Yuk's comedy club in Toronto. His conventional impersonations bombed, with Yuk Yuk's owner Mark Breslin recalling it as "bad Rich Little." He returned in 1979 with a more polished act, leading to his first paid gig: a 20-minute spot at the Hay Loft club for a reported $20. He soon went back to Yuk Yuk's, which had moved to a permanent location on Bay Street, and within a short period went from open-mic nights to regular paid shows. In 1981, a Toronto Star review of one of his spots—alongside a photo of him doing a stage impression of Sammy Davis Jr.—raved about "a genuine star coming to life." That summer, he landed one of the main roles in Introducing... Janet, a made-for-TV movie that premiered on the CBC in September 1981, his first acting role. He was noticed by comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who signed Carrey to open his tour performances. After moving to Hollywood in early 1983, Carrey gained recognition when cast in the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color (1990–1994). He broke out as a film star after starring in a string of box office hits: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber (all 1994), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, and Batman Forever (both 1995). The success of these five films led to Carrey being the first comic actor to receive an upfront $20 million salary for performing in films, beginning with The Cable Guy (1996). He continued success in comedies such as Liar Liar (1997), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Bruce Almighty (2003), Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), and Yes Man (2008). Since the 2010s, he has appeared in fewer films, with notable works including Dumb and Dumber To (2014) and his role as Doctor Eggman in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series (2020–present). Although largely typecast as a comedic actor, Carrey had success in dramatic roles, winning Golden Globe Awards for The Truman Show (1998) and Man on the Moon (1999), and receiving a BAFTA nomination for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He also starred in the Showtime tragicomedy series Kidding (2018–2020), receiving his seventh Golden Globe nomination.

Did You Know?

• At age ten, Carrey wrote a letter to Carol Burnett of the Carol Burnett Show pointing out he was already a master of impressions and should be considered for a role; he was overjoyed when he received a form letter reply.
• Carrey's family became homeless and lived together in a Volkswagen van while teenage Carrey and his brother spent months living in a tent in Charles Daley Park on the Lake Ontario shore in Lincoln, Ontario.
• Carrey's first paid gig was a 20-minute spot at the Hay Loft club for a reported $20.
• Carrey was the first comic actor to receive an upfront $20 million salary for performing in films, beginning with The Cable Guy (1996).
• Carrey won Golden Globe Awards for his dramatic performances in The Truman Show (1998) and Man on the Moon (1999).