Jenny McCarthy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jenny McCarthy
McCarthy at Fame at the Mansion in 2012
Born	Jennifer Ann McCarthy (1972-11-01) November 1, 1972 (age 52) Evergreen Park, Illinois, U.S.
Other names	Jennifer Wahlberg
Alma mater	Southern Illinois University
Occupation	Actress model television personality activist writer
Years active	1993–present
Television	Singled Out (1995) The Jenny McCarthy Show (1997) Jenny The Jenny McCarthy Show (2013) Donnie Loves Jenny The Masked Singer
Spouse(s)	John Asher ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2005)​ Donnie Wahlberg ​ (m. 2014)​
Partner(s)	Jim Carrey (2005–2010)
Children	1
Relatives	Joanne McCarthy (sister) Melissa McCarthy (cousin) Paul Wahlberg (brother-in-law) Jim Wahlberg (brother-in-law) Robert Wahlberg (brother-in-law) Mark Wahlberg (brother-in-law) Rhea Durham (sister-in-law)
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Jennifer Ann McCarthy-Wahlberg (born November 1, 1972) is an American actress, model, and television personality. She started her career in 1993 as a model for ... magazine. She later became their ... of the Year.

McCarthy then began acting in TV and movies. She co-hosted the MTV game show Singled Out (1995–1997). She also starred in her own sitcom, Jenny (1997–1998). Her films include BASEketball (1998), Scream 3 (2000), Dirty Love (2005), John Tucker Must Die (2006), and Santa Baby (2006).

In 2013, she hosted The Jenny McCarthy Show. She also became a co-host of the ABC talk show The View until 2014. Since 2019, McCarthy has been a judge on the Fox show The Masked Singer.

McCarthy has written books about parenting. She has also talked about environmental causes and alternative medical treatments for autism. She has promoted the idea that vaccines cause autism, which has been shown to be incorrect by scientific studies. She has also said that chelation therapy, a treatment not supported by science, helped her son with autism. Many experts have criticized her views on vaccines. She says she prefers the term "pro-safe-vaccine-schedule" instead of "anti-vaccine".

Early Life and Education

McCarthy was born on November 1, 1972. She was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She grew up in a working-class Catholic family. Her background includes German, Irish, and Polish roots.

She lived in the West Elsdon neighborhood of Chicago. She is the second of four daughters. Her sisters are Lynette, Joanne, and Amy. Actress Melissa McCarthy is her cousin. Her mother, Linda, was a housewife. Her father, Dan McCarthy, worked as a steel mill foreman.

As a teenager, McCarthy went to Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School. She was a cheerleader at Brother Rice High School and St. Laurence High School. She has mentioned feeling like an "outcast" and being bullied in school. She studied for two years at Southern Illinois University.

Career Highlights

Modeling and Early TV Roles

Template:Infobox ... ... In 1995, MTV chose McCarthy to co-host a new dating show. The show was called Singled Out. She also appeared at the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) event WrestleMania XI. She was a guest for Shawn Michaels' match.

In 1996, she had a small part in the comedy The Stupids. In 1997, McCarthy launched two shows. The first was an MTV sketch comedy show, The Jenny McCarthy Show. It was popular enough for NBC to sign her for her own sitcom. This show, Jenny, aired later that year. McCarthy also released her autobiography, Jen-X: Jenny McCarthy's Open Book.

Film and Television Work

In 1998, McCarthy had her first big movie role. She starred with Trey Parker and Matt Stone in the comedy BASEketball. The next year, she was in Diamonds.

In 2005, McCarthy produced, wrote, and starred in the film Dirty Love. Her husband at the time, John Asher, directed it. In March 2006, she received Razzie Awards for "Worst Actress" and "Worst Screenplay" for her work on Dirty Love. The film also won "Worst Picture".

McCarthy has guest-starred in many other TV shows. These include Stacked, Charmed, The Drew Carey Show, and Two and a Half Men. She was the voice of Six in the animated show Tripping the Rift. In 2005, McCarthy hosted a show on E! called Party at the Palms. This reality show was filmed at The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas.

McCarthy in 2006

In 2007, McCarthy starred in an online series called In the Motherhood. She appeared with Chelsea Handler and Leah Remini. The show was about being a mother.

She also appeared in two video games. She played Agent Tanya in Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3. She also appeared in the fitness game Your Shape Featuring Jenny McCarthy.

On December 31, 2010, McCarthy began working as a correspondent in Times Square. This was for ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. She continued this role for ten years.

In 2012, she hosted season 2 of Love in the Wild on NBC. In 2013, McCarthy appeared in commercials for Blu electronic cigarettes.

After many guest appearances, McCarthy became a co-host on ABC's The View in July 2013. She debuted as a co-host on September 9, 2013. Her departure from The View was announced in June 2014.

She is one of the panelists on The Masked Singer. The show first aired on January 2, 2019.

Public Image

McCarthy once modeled for Candie's, a shoe company. Some of her ads were designed to get attention.

Activism and Health Views

Views on Autism and Vaccines

McCarthy speaking at the 2008 Ante Up for Autism benefit

In May 2007, McCarthy announced that her son, Evan, had been diagnosed with autism in 2005. She wrote that he was a "crystal child" and she was an "indigo mom".

In 2014, she said her son was doing well. She mentioned he had some "quirks and issues" from seizures. McCarthy was a spokesperson for Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) from June 2007 to October 2008. She helped with fundraisers and online chats for the group. She is also a spokesperson and activist for the Generation Rescue foundation.

McCarthy's book about autism, Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism, came out in 2007. She has said that her son's autism led to her divorce. In 2008, she appeared on Larry King Live and suggested that vaccines might cause autism. Her son's doctor at the time was vaccine critic Jay Gordon.

McCarthy tried many treatments for her son. These included a gluten-free and casein-free diet, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, and chelation. She advises parents to "Try everything." She has claimed that chelation therapy helped her son recover from autism. However, the idea that mercury in vaccines causes autism has been rejected by scientific studies. Chelation treatments can also be risky.

McCarthy's public statements about the vaccination-autism controversy have drawn criticism. In 2008, she received the James Randi Educational Foundation's Pigasus Award. This award is given for promoting pseudoscience. The foundation said they sympathized with her, but warned against discouraging parents from vaccinating their children.

Scientific studies do not support McCarthy's claims that vaccines cause autism. The original paper by Andrew Wakefield that started these claims was based on manipulated data and fraudulent research. This paper was later taken back.

Despite the controversy, McCarthy has said she is not against vaccines. She states she is for a "pro-safe-vaccine-schedule." Many health experts have criticized her views. Jeffrey A. Lieberman said her statements were "misleading and harmful."

Concerns About Her Role on The View

When McCarthy was appointed to The View, many people protested. Amy Pisani of Every Child By Two wrote a letter to the show's producers. She said McCarthy's "unfounded claims that vaccines cause autism have been one of the greatest impediments to public health."

James Poniewozik, a TV critic for Time magazine, criticized her hiring. He argued that her views could make the issue of vaccines seem like a matter of opinion, rather than a scientifically settled fact. Bill Nye also expressed concern, saying he believed McCarthy's views would be "discredited."

Toronto Public Health officially spoke out against her appointment. They started a Twitter campaign asking The View to change their decision. They tweeted that McCarthy's views were "misinformation" and that giving her a platform was "irresponsible."

McCarthy left The View in 2014, about nine months after she started.

Personal Life

McCarthy married actor/director John Mallory Asher on September 11, 1999. They had a son named Evan in May 2002. Evan was diagnosed with autism in May 2005. McCarthy and Asher divorced in September 2005.

In December 2005, McCarthy began dating actor Jim Carrey. They announced their relationship in June 2006. They lived together but did not plan to marry. In April 2010, McCarthy and Carrey announced they had split up.

In July 2013, McCarthy stated she was dating singer and actor Donnie Wahlberg. He is known for being a member of New Kids on the Block. On April 16, 2014, McCarthy announced their engagement on The View. They married on August 31, 2014.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Jenny McCarthy para niños