Jenny McCarthy biography

Synopsis

Actress, model and comedian Jenny McCarthy was born on November 1, 1972. McCarthy was named Playboy's 1994 Playmate of the Year. She gained wide fame as the co-host of MTV's dating-game show Singled Out, from 1995 to 1997. She left the show to begin hosting her own show on the network, a sketch-comedy program called The Jenny McCarthy Show (1997)—scheduled to make a return to TV in late 2012. McCarthy is also the second-season host of NBC's Love in the Wild, which began airing in June 2011.

Early Life

Jenny McCarthy was born in Illinois on November 1, 1972. McCarthy got her career start in 1993, when she began modeling for Playboy. In 1994, she was named Playboy's Playmate of the Year.

TV and Film Career

McCarthy continued to gain fame as the co-host of MTV's dating-game show Singled Out, alongside Chris Hardwick, from 1995 to 1997. She left the show to begin hosting her own show on the network, a sketch-comedy program called The Jenny McCarthy Show (1997).

Since then, McCarthy has continued to pose for Playboy—recently appearing on the cover of the magazine's July/August 2012 issue—as well as in advertisements for companies like Candie's. She's also made several TV and film appearances, including in the film Scary Movie 3 and the TV program Two and a Half Men. Additionally, she's authored many popular books, including Louder Than Words (2007) and Belly Laughs (2009), about parenting an autistic child and her comical experiences as a pregnant mother, respectively.

In June 2012, McCarthy began hosting the second season of NBC's Love in the Wild, a reality show in which real-life couples participate in challenges. She is also scheduled to return as the host of The Jenny McCarthy Show, this time airing on VH1, in late 2012.

Personal Life

McCarthy has a son, Evan Joseph, with ex-husband John Mallory Asher. The couple divorced in 2005. Not long after he was born, in May 2002, Evan was diagnosed with autism. In 2007, McCarthy publicly announced that her son was autistic, and around the same time, began working as an activist on behalf of autism-related organizations, including Talk About Curing Autism and her own group, Generation Rescue.

McCarthy dated actor and comedian Jim Carrey from 2005 to 2010. Since then, she's been romantically linked to professional football player Brian Urlacher.

McCarthy is cousins with comedian and Academy Award-nominee Melissa McCarthy.