Jim Carrey : Biography

Born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada in 1962, Carrey found his calling at an early age, performing in front of classmates in elementary school -- and making them laugh. At age 15 he began performing at Yuk Yuk's, a famous Toronto comedy club, and continued performing in clubs all over Canada until age 19, when he packed his bags and moved to Los Angeles. Soon after becoming a regular at Mitzi Shore's Comedy Store, he was put on tour by comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who had caught his act and was impressed by the young talent.

Jim Carrey : Career

Carrey's big screen debut came with 1984's Finders Keepers, but hedidn't have a big success until 1994's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Fromthere, Carrey's expressive face, expert mimicry skills, and physical brandof comedy kept the hits coming. He followed with The Mask (1994), Dumb andDumber (1994), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), Batman Forever (1995),The CableGuy(1996), and Liar Liar (1997). Carrey took a successful dramatic turn as Truman Burbank in Peter Weir's The Truman Show (1998), for which he won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor. He teamed up with legendary director Milos Forman for the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon (1999), co-starring Courtney Love; for his dead-on portrayal of Kaufman, Carrey took home a second straight Golden Globe. Despite his Golden Globe success, Carrey has never been nominated for an Academy Award, perhaps due to the Academy’s traditional lack of recognition for comedic actors. Carrey has become one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, with an reported asking price of $20 million.

Films

Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Bruce Almighty (2003), Pecan Pie (2003), The Majestic (2001), Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) , Me, Myself Irene (2000), Man on the Moon (1999), Simon Birch (1998), he Truman Show (1998), Liar Liar (1997), The Cable Guy (1996), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), Batman Forever (1995), Dumb and Dumber (1994), High Strung (1994), The Mask (1994), Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), The Itsy Bitsy Spider (1992), Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992), Pink Cadillac (1989), Earth Girls Are Easy (1989), The Dead Pool (1988), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Once Bitten (1985), Finders Keepers (1984), Copper Mountain (1983), Introducing... Janet (1983), The Sex and Violence Family Hour (1983), All In Good Taste (1983)