Little fact-enthusiasts, let me tell you about James Eugene Carrey or Jim Carrey.
He is an American and Canadian actor and comedian!
He is world-famous for his amazing and energetic slapstick performances.
Moreover, Jim has offered many amazing movies 🎥performances that stole the heart of many film lovers!
So, let us discuss some really wonderful facts about this talented actor’s life and his work!
Interesting Jim Carrey Facts
Jim Carrey was born in the Toronto suburb of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Hey there, little fact-explorers, have you heard that Carrey was born in Canada?
Yes, this amazing comedian was born 👶 in the Toronto suburb of New Market, Ontario, Canada.
Carrey was born on January 17, 1962, to a homemaker, Kathleen, and a musician and accountant, Percy Carrey.
Jim has three older siblings, John, Patricia, and Rita. He was raised a Roman Catholic!
Carrey’s dad was of French-Canadian ancestry, while his mom was of Irish, French, and Scottish descent!
Carrey was mischievous as a child
When Jim was in seventh grade🧒, he was always put for 25 minutes in front of the class!
This is not because he was a great entertainer but because he was a very naughty boy!!
He was quite famous for always being on his feet and preferred to work on something that he hadn’t tried before!
In an interview with Rolling Stone in the year 1995, Carrey even said that “Even then, I was ruffling feathers.”
When Jim was just 10, he wrote to Carol Burnett
I am really amazed to learn this surprising fact about Carrey! What about you, my friends?
When Jim Carrey was just ten years old, he wrote to the well-known American actress, writer, comedian, and singer Carol Burnett. Can you imagine?
He wrote 📫 Carol that he would be well suited for The Carol Burnett Show because of his knack for impressions!
Also, he was very happy and excited when he received a reply! Interesting, isn’t it?
He quit school at 16
In high school, Carrey had to go through hard times.
Also, all children had to report to work after school for several hours at the Titan Wheels factory!
There, Carrey’s dad Percy worked as well!
While working, Carrey became quite exhausted and miserable. So, when he was just 16, he had to quit school 🏫and work hard!
Carrey starred in the hit How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Love Grinch?? Then you will surely love this interesting fact!
A character created by Dr. Seuss, the Grinch, rose to popularity when again in the film How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Besides, Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor, Taylor Momsen, Bill Irwin, Christine Baranski, and even Molly Shannon all started in the film!
The film was a great success and reintroduced the Grinch to a new generation, and brought some other opportunities for Carrey!
With a budget of $123 million, the movie made $363.4 million at the box office!
Also, Carrey took home a whopping 20 million dollars!!
Jim married actress Melissa Wormer
After meeting aspiring actress Melissa Wormer, Carrey fell in love 💞 with her! Wormer used to work as a waitress at the Comedy Store.
Later, they got married in 1987. Later that year, their daughter, Jane, was born.
Me, Myself, & Irene was another big hit
In the movie Me, Myself & Irene in 2000, Carrey offered another hit! There he starred opposite Chris Copper, Renee Zellweger, Richard Jenkins, and Robert Forster.
This 116-minute-long movie made around $149 million in revenue, which was surely another home run for Carrey!
Jim Carrey and Tupac Shakur are very good friends
Carrey is the favorite comedian of the late American actor and rapper Tupac Shakur!
In 1995, during Shakur’s imprisonment, Shakur and Jim became pen pals, and Jim continuously sent letters ✉️ to cheer him up!
Unfortunately, in the year 1996, Tupac was fatally shot and died less than a year after he was released from prison! So depressing, right?
Jim Carrey got one of the 30 largest paychecks in film history for Yes Man
If you are a fan of Carrey like me, then you will surely enjoy this awesome secret about this highly-talented actor 🎭!
Yes Man is a comedy film directed by Peyton in the year 2008.
The film starred Carrey himself, along with Bradley Copper, Zooey Deschanel, Terence Stamp, and John Michael Higgins.
Carrey got over 25% of the profits, which brought his total income to 35 million dollars! 💰!!
The earning Carrey received from the movie were on the list of one of the 30 largest paychecks in the history of the film industry!
Carrey had to live in a van
Carrey grew up in the area of Scarborough, Ontario, and went to North York’s Blessed Trinity Catholic Elementary School.
After his family moved to Burlington, Ontario, he studied high school in Aldershot.
During that time, Jim and his family faced more struggles and were forced to live in a Volkswagen van 🚐!
Jim and his brother had to reside in a tent for several months at Charles Daley Park! It was on the shore of Lake Ontario!
Carrey worked as a Stand-up Comedian
Before quitting school, Jim attended Agincourt Collegiate Institute.
Later, he began working as a stand-up comedian in Yuk Yuk’s comedy 😄 club in Toronto!
His father was very supportive and encouraged him to perform once a week in the club!
Aside from that, Jim continued working in a factory to help his family financially!
However, as a stand-up comedian, Jim did not have a perfect start.
He was booed off by crowds, which even forced him to doubt himself and his skills!
However, Jim still preserved and developed a more polished act and became a successful comedian by 1979!
Jim tried to continue his career in Hollywood when he was 21
Little fact-lovers, did you know this surprising fact about Jim Carrey? No? Let me tell you.
In the early 80s, Carrey wanted to move to Hollywood and look for some better opportunities!
Although he had a stable job in West Hollywood, California, which was at The Comedy Store, his ultimate dream was to be a part of a highly-rated late-night 🌃 show!
So, trying to become successful in Hollywood, Jim returned to Toronto in early 1983!
He remained there as a famous comedian 🤣!
NBC selected Charles Rocket in place of Carrey
As Jim Carrey’s popularity as an impressionist stand-up comedian started to increase in Toronto, Canada, he tried to push his boundaries!
Hence, he auditioned to be a cast member of Saturday Night Live on NBC in 1980!
However, Carrey was not chosen by the executive producer of the show, Jean Doumanian!
Instead of Jim, they selected Charles Rocket, the 31-year-old American comedian and musician! Surprising, right?
In 1983, Jim got the main role in The Duck Factory
Determined to make his career flourish, Carrey went back to California in 1983. There, he got the main role in The Duck Factory, an American sitcom.
In late 1983, Jim even became a part of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
Carrey became the first actor to receive $20 million as payment
In the year 1996, Carrey became the first actor to get $20 million!!
He got this through the movie The Cable Guy, an American black comedy directed by Ben Stiller!
Despite mixed reception by critics, the movie was a box office success!
Carrey real career started in 1994
The years between 1983 and 1994 were those years when Carrey polished his acting skills!
He became a regular cast member of In Living Color, a comedy television series 📺.
Even though it was a short series, it gave Carrey really good exposure!
Thus, it became his stepping stone for the big films that we still remember today!
Jim Carrey guest-starred in Saturday Night Live three times
If you are a big fan of Carrey like me, then you will surely love this wonderful fact about him!
Years after being rejected by Saturday Night Live, Jim finally came to the show in May of 1996.
Later, this is followed by his guest appearances another two times. Those are January 2011 and October 2014.
Actually, Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy series! The series featured some famous comedic actors.
So, Jim had to make a name for himself first prior to being featured in the show!
Jim has just one child
Jane Erin Carrey👩 is the only child of Jim with Wormer.
She was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 6, 1987, and is a singer-songwriter.
Aside from her very short stint on American Idol, she has a band 🥁 named The Jane Carrey Band! The band even released a self-titled album in the year 2009.
Their song “Sticky Situation” appeared in her father’s movie as well!
Jane currently has a child of her own called Jackson Riley Santana.
Jim and his daughter have a good relationship, as Jane is the only one who Jim Carrey follows on Twitter.
Jim is quite active on Twitter
Currently, Jim has more than 18 million followers on Twitter, though he joined in 2009.
He has the handle @JimCarrey with a bio that says, “The ONLY official social media account for Actor and Author Jim Carrey.”
Carrey suffered from depression
In contrast to Carrey’s humorous persona in various movies, Jim once suffered from depression.
He once had to fight this issue and had to take Prozac, an antidepressant that prevented the symptoms!
According to Carrey himself, “I was on Prozac for a long time. It may have helped me out of a jam for a little bit, but people stay on it forever. I had to get off at a certain point because I realized that, you know, everything’s just OK.”
Later, Carrey became a vocal campaigner for mental health due to his own experiences!
Jim and Renee Zellweger met on set and started dating
From 1999 to 2000, Jim was engaged to Renee Zellweger, his co-star in “Me, Myself and Irene.”
After his second divorce, Jim moved on with Zellweger.
The couple were briefly engaged but never made it down the aisle.
Jim still has fond memories of his short-lived relationship 💘 with Zellweger!
Almost two decades later, he and Renee called it quits. Carrey even stated that he considered Renee “the great love of (his) life.”
Renee, for her part, previously reflected on her ‘unexpected’ connection with the writer of Memoirs and Misinformation.
Carrey is vocal about his political views
Have you heard this amazing fact about Carrey?
Carrey has never been shy in expressing his own political opinions! Some of the memorable opinions of him are about former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Carrey even posted a clip on his Twitter account!
The post was titled “How Do You Spell Relief?” pertaining to Trump’s loss in the recent Presidential elections in America!
Carrey has appeared in more than 50 movies
Carrey has appeared in more than 50 films.
His most successful and best-known films 🎬 are The Mask, Bruce Almighty, Lian Liar, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Ace Ventura; When Nature Calls, and The Truman Show.
Carrey’s most recent film appearance is in the 2020 Sonic The Hedgehog.
Carrey has the record for the Most MTV Movie Awards
Though Carrey doesn’t get an Oscar nomination yet, he still holds the record for most MTV Movie Awards 🏆, with a whopping 11.
Also, Carrey is the only actor in history to win Golden Globes in both Drama and Musical/Comedy categories.
Along with his 11 awards, Carrey has another 12 nominations for MTV Movie Awards.
His latest victory came in 2009 with the honor of Best Comedic Performance for Yes Man.
Carrey has received the awards since the station started awarding them in the year 1992.
Jim Carrey and his first Children’s book
I am really surprised to explore this astounding secret about Carrey!
In 2013, famous actor Jim Carrey released a children’s book named How Roland Rolls!
It is about a wave 🌊, Roland, who frets about the consequences of hitting the beach!
Carrey drew the concept art and wrote the book 📖, while the illustrations were done by artist Rob Nason.
According to Carrey, this book is all about understanding the “oneness of all life.”
He even said, “I want the book to alleviate children’s fears about loss and what would happen to them if they were left alone.”
Carrey was featured on a Postage Stamp
In 2014, Carrey became one of the comedians to grace a special limited-edition set of postage stamps issued by the Canada Post.
The Canadian post office issued a special set of stamps to celebrate the “Great Canadian Comedians,” and Carrey was one of the five remarkable people.
The other four were Catherine O’Hara, Mike Myers, Martin Short, and Olivier Guimond.
Summing up
So, little knowledge lovers, now you know a lot about Jim Carrey! 😲!
We will be eagerly waiting for your feedback…as only after knowing your views can we start thinking about our future content! 😲!
See you soon…!!!
I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. Here to help you with play-based learning activities for kids. ( Check my Next startup Cledemy.Com)
