Jimmy Kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel was born and raised in Brooklyn until he was 9, at which point his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. After attending University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for one year, he transferred to Arizona State University. He ultimately dropped out, but college is where Kimmel got his start in radio, which is how he kicked off his career.

After working on several different radio shows, Kimmel switched to the small screen in 1997 and starred as comedic counterpart to Ben Stein on the hit Comedy Central game show Win Ben Stein’s Money — a combination that earned the pair a 1999 Emmy Award for Best Game Show Host.

Following his four-year stint on The Man Show as cohost (with Adam Carolla), Kimmel began hosting his own late-night television show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, in 2003.

Kimmel was married to Gina Maddy from 1998 to 2002. They share daughter Katherine, born in 1991, and son Kevin, born in 1993. He famously dated fellow comedian Sarah Silverman from 2002 to 2009, and they remain friendly after their split, with the Wreck-It Ralph star still regularly appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

He married Molly McNearney on July 13, 2013. They welcomed daughter Jane in July 2014 and son Billy in April 2017. Billy was born with a rare congenital heart defect, needing surgery three days after he was born. The surgery was successful, and Kimmel has since been a proponent of making the American healthcare system more accessible.

In September 2025, ABC announced Jimmy Kimmel Live was indefinitely pulled off air following comments he made about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s death. The show returned weeks later and was later renewed for another year.