Jimmy Kimmel is an American television personality, comedian, writer, and producer whose career spans radio, cable television, and late-night network television. Born November 13, 1967, in New York City and raised in Las Vegas, he developed an early interest in broadcasting and began working in radio while still in high school. After attending Arizona State University, he pursued radio full-time,  gaining national attention as “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ-FM’s Kevin & Bean show. 

His television breakthrough came from co-hosting Comedy Central’s Win Ben Stein’s Money from 1997 to 2002, earning a Daytime Emmy, followed by co-creating and co-hosting The Man Show from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, he launched Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC — a show that grew from a struggling underdog to one of the highest-rated late-night programs. He has also hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards three times (2012, 2016, 2020) and the Academy Awards four times (2017, 2018, 2023, 2024). 

Off-screen, Kimmel is married to Molly McNearney and has four children — two from his first marriage and two with McNearney. His son Billy was born in 2017 with a rare congenital heart defect, tetralogy of Fallot — an experience that transformed Kimmel into one of Hollywood’s most vocal healthcare advocates.