Joel McHale was born on November 20, 1971, in Rome, Italy, where his American father worked as dean of students at Loyola University’s Rome campus. The family soon relocated to Mercer Island, Washington, where he attended Mercer Island High School and later graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Washington.

After graduating, he performed with the improv group Unexpected Productions and appeared on the Seattle sketch comedy show Almost Live! before moving to Los Angeles. His big break came in 2004, when E! tapped him to host The Soup — a weekly show that humorously dissected reality TV and pop culture. He also landed the role of Jeff Winger in NBC’s cult sitcom Community and later hosted The Joel McHale Show on Netflix (2018) and Card Sharks on ABC (2019 to 2021).

Today, McHale hosts The 1% Club and Crime Scene Kitchen on Fox, while also starring as Frank Shaw in Fox’s Animal Control. He is also the host of House of Villains, a reality TV show that airs on E!