Best Known As: Television Actor

Gist:  Jennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy (born November 1, 1972) is an American model, comedian, actress, author, and activist. She began her career as a Playboy magazine model in 1993, before launching a television and film acting career. Most recently, she has written books on parenting issues and has become an activist promoting the avoidance of vaccines.

Life Facts:  McCarthy was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her middle-class Irish-Catholic family lived in the West Elsdon neighborhood of Chicago. She is the second of four daughters; her sisters are named Lynette, Joanne and Amy. Her cousin is Melissa McCarthy of Gilmore Girls fame. McCarthy's mother, Linda, was a housewife and courtroom custodian, and her father, Dan McCarthy, was a steel mill foreman. She attended St. Turibius Grade School on Chicago's South Side. As a teenager, McCarthy attended Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School (whose school sweater she donned in the pages of Playboy) and was a cheerleader at both Brother Rice High School and St. Laurence High Schools, although she has referred to herself as an "outcast" at her school. After McCarthy graduated from high school, she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale to study nursing. She needed money to pay for college, so she decided to submit her picture to Playboy magazine to make money. She was accepted and became a model.

In 1993, McCarthy underwent breast augmentation to enhance her look as a model for Playboy. McCarthy had the implants downsized in 1998.

McCarthy dated her manager Ray Manzella for a short time in 1998. After breaking up with Manzella, McCarthy began dating actor/director John Mallory Asher. The couple became engaged in January 1999, and married on September 11 of that year. They have a son, Evan Joseph, born on May 18, 2002. Evan is autistic. In August 2005, McCarthy and Asher filed for divorce.

In a February 2006 interview with Howard Stern, adult actress Jenna Jameson said she had two sexual encounters with McCarthy. When McCarthy visited Stern's show in April 2006, she denied having sex with Jameson, but said she "made out" with her during the two encounters. McCarthy also took a lie detector test and passed the questions regarding Jameson.

In December 2005, McCarthy began dating 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 are now living together, but have no plans to marry, as they do not need a "piece of paper." Carrey almost made a mock proposal to McCarthy as a promotion to the film, Yes Man, in which Carrey's character has to say "yes" to everything.

Her brother-in-law is NHL hockey player Dan Hinote of the St. Louis Blues. Dan is married to her younger sister, also a former playboy model Amy McCarthy.