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	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)
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Jennifer McCarthy Wahlberg (née Jennifer Ann McCarthy; born November 1, 1972) is an American actress, model, and television personality. She began her career in 1993 as a model. McCarthy then had a television and film acting career, beginning as a co-host on the MTV game show Singled Out (1995–1997) and afterwards starring in the eponymous sitcom Jenny (1997–1998), as well as films including BASEketball (1998), Scream 3 (2000), John Tucker Must Die (2006), and Santa Baby (2006). In 2013, she hosted her own television talk show The Jenny McCarthy Show, and became a co-host of the ABC talk show The View, appearing on the program until 2014. Since 2019, McCarthy has been a judge on the Fox musical competition show The Masked Singer.

McCarthy has written several books about parenting and has promoted research into environmental causes and alternative medical treatments for autism. She has promoted the disproven idea that vaccines cause autism.

Early life

McCarthy was born on November 1, 1972, at Little Company of Mary Hospital located in the southwest Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park, Illinois. She was born to a working-class Catholic family, and has German, Irish, and Polish ancestry. She lived in the West Elsdon neighborhood of Chicago. She is the second of four daughters – her sisters are named Lynette, Joanne, and Amy; actress Melissa McCarthy is her cousin. McCarthy's mother, Linda, was a housewife and courtroom custodian, and her father, Dan McCarthy, was a steel mill foreman.

As a teenager McCarthy attended Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School and was a cheerleader at both Brother Rice High School and St. Laurence High School, although she has referred to herself as an "outcast" at her school and has said she was repeatedly bullied by classmates. She spent two years at Southern Illinois University.

Film career

In 1998, McCarthy's first major movie role was alongside Trey Parker and Matt Stone in the comedy BASEketball. The following year, she starred in Diamonds. In 2000, she had a role in the horror movie Scream 3, and three years later she parodied that role in horror film spoof Scary Movie 3.

In addition to her early TV fame on MTV and her short-lived, self-titled NBC sitcom, McCarthy has guest-starred in a variety of other television shows, including Stacked, Charmed, The Drew Carey Show, Wings, Fastlane, Two and a Half Men and Just Shoot Me!. She was the voice of Six in the third season of Canadian computer-animated science-fiction cartoon Tripping the Rift. In 2005, McCarthy hosted a show on E! called Party at the Palms. The reality show, which was filmed at The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas, featured hotel guests, party goers, and celebrities.

McCarthy in 2006

In 2007, McCarthy starred in a five-episode online series, called In the Motherhood, along with Chelsea Handler and Leah Remini.

On December 31, 2010, McCarthy began her decade-long tenure as correspondent in Times Square for ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.

After 17 guest appearances, in July 2013, McCarthy was announced as a new co-host on ABC's The View, replacing former co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. To tone down her looks, McCarthy always wore glasses on the show. Barbara Walters praised McCarthy's intelligence, warmth, humor and fresh point of view, and calling her a great addition to the show. She debuted as a co-host on September 9, 2013. The departures of McCarthy and co-host Sherri Shepherd from The View were announced in June 2014. The Wrap reported that ABC had decided not to renew McCarthy's contract.

Activism

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. McCarthy participated in fundraisers, online chats, and other activities for the non-profit organization to help families affected by autism spectrum disorders. Her first fundraiser for TACA, Ante Up for Autism, was held on October 20, 2007, in Irvine, California. She is a prominent spokesperson and activist for the Generation Rescue foundation.

McCarthy's book dealing with autism, Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism, was published September 17, 2007. She said both in her book and during her appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show that her husband was unable to deal with their son's autism, which led to their divorce. In 2008, she appeared on a Larry King Live special dedicated to the subject and argued that vaccines can trigger autism.

McCarthy's claims that vaccines cause autism are not supported by any medical evidence, and the original paper by Andrew Wakefield that formed the basis for the claims (and for whose book McCarthy wrote a foreword) was based on manipulated data and fraudulent research.

In May 2014, McCarthy published an opinion-editorial addressing her position on vaccines:

"I am not 'anti-vaccine.' This is not a change in my stance nor is it a new position that I have recently adopted. For years, I have repeatedly stated that I am, in fact, 'pro-vaccine' and for years I have been wrongly branded as 'anti-vaccine.' ... Blatantly inaccurate blog posts about my position have been accepted as truth by the public at large as well as media outlets (legitimate and otherwise), who have taken those false stories and repeatedly turned them into headlines."

During a subsequent Daily Beast interview she said:

"I am not anti-vaccine, ... I'm in this gray zone of, I think everyone should be aware and educate yourself and ask questions. And if your kid is having a problem, ask your doctor for an alternative way of doing the shots. ... The ironic thing is my position has always remained the same. People just never listened to it."

Personal life

McCarthy dated manager Ray Manzella from 1994 until 1998 and began dating actor/director John Mallory Asher late in 1998. The couple was engaged in January 1999 and married on September 11 of that year. They have a son, Evan, born in May 2002, who was diagnosed with autism in May 2005. McCarthy and Asher divorced in September 2005.

In December 2005, McCarthy began dating actor Jim Carrey. They did not make their relationship public until June 2006. She announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 2, 2008, that she and Carrey were living together but had no plans to marry, as they did not need a "piece of paper". In April 2010, McCarthy and Carrey announced that they had split up.

In July 2013, McCarthy stated that she was dating singer and actor Donnie Wahlberg, known for being a member of New Kids on the Block and the television series Blue Bloods. On April 16, 2014, McCarthy announced on The View that she and Wahlberg were engaged, and they married on August 31, 2014.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Jenny McCarthy para niños