Biography

Actress, comedian, and writer Jennifer McCarthy was born in 1972 in Evergreen Park, Illinois. McCarthy grew up in the West Elsdon neighborhood, attending an all-female Catholic high school in her teenage years. After two years attending Southern Illinois University, Jennifer began to pursue a career as a model. It wasn’t long before she was offered a gig posing for Playboy magazine, ultimately resulting in her recognition as Playmate of the Year in 1994.


McCarthy moved to Los Angeles to further pursue a career as a model and actress, landing her first on-air job with the MTV network as host for a variety of different shows, including Hot Rocks, Singled Out, and then her own comedy show, The Jenny McCarthy Show. In 1997, NBC launched McCarthy’s own series, Jenny, and within a year she began appearing in small film roles.


Jenny McCarthy’s big screen debut was in the 1998 comedy BASEketball. Roles which followed include: Diamonds (1999), Scream 3 (2000), Crazy Little Thing (2002), Dirty Love (2005), and John Tucker Must Die (2006.) McCarthy also appeared in guest roles on television shows such as: Home Improvement (1999), Just Shoot Me! (2000), What I Like About You (2005), My Name Is Earl (2006), and she enjoyed a recurring role on Two and a Half men, appeared as one of Charlie’s girlfriends (2007-2011.)


In recent years, Jenny McCarthy has become as well-known for her activism on the growing epidemic of autism as she is for her photo spreads and television appearances. After McCarthy’s own son was diagnosed with autism in 2005, Jenny McCarthy became an active spokesperson for a number of organizations, including Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) and she frequently participates in fundraisers and other events related to raising awareness and funding for research. A book which focuses on her experiences, Louder than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism, was published in 2007. Addition books she has written on the subject include Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds (2008) and Healing and Preventing Autism (2009.)


Jenny McCarthy most recently joined the television series The View as a co-host in 2013, but left the show after one season. She and her husband, musician and actor Donny Wahlberg, currently appear together on the television series, Donnie Loves Jenny, which debuted in 2015 on the A&E network.