When Jimmy Kimmel obtained his begin in radio throughout his first 12 months of faculty, little did he realise he would at some point grow to be a family identify on one other medium: TV.
Greater than 20 years after he started internet hosting his personal speak present, Kimmel, 58, is just not solely one of many largest names in TV however has discovered himself the nemesis of US President Donald Trump, which intensified after he made a joke about his spouse, First Girl Melania.
Behind the scenes, he’s a faithful household man and father of 4 youngsters from two marriages, together with son Billy, whose battle with congenital coronary heart illness led him to take goal on the US authorities over inexpensive healthcare.
Watch the video above.
Rise to fame
Born James Christian Kimmel in Brooklyn on November 13, 1967, he was the eldest of three youngsters of Joan and James. Kimmel was raised Catholic and served as an altar boy.
When he was 9, the household moved to Las Vegas. He was nonetheless at highschool when the seed was first planted for a profession within the leisure business.
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He informed Selection in 2016, “I used to be in highschool and a child I knew … stated, ‘You need to be on the radio’.”
His uncle had been sending him tapes of Howard Stern, who was then on native radio, and he had learn that David Letterman obtained his begin on the airwaves.
“In order that began me considering,” he stated.
“I began doing a half-hour Sunday night time speak present on school radio station KUNV. That excited me greater than something I might ever carried out.
“I went via the Yellow Pages to seek out individuals who appeared fascinating. I might goof on these individuals, however they had been so excited to be on the radio that they did not even discover.”
A 12 months into his research on the College of Nevada, his household relocated to Arizona and he enrolled in Arizona State College. He grew to become a daily caller to radio station KZZP’s afternoon present, hosted by Mike Elliott and Kent Voss.
In 1989, he landed his first paying job alongside Voss as morning drive co-host of The Me and Him Present at KZOK-FM in Seattle, however they had been fired a 12 months later. They had been additionally reportedly fired from their subsequent job in Tampa, Florida.
In line with Selection, Kimmel landed his personal present at a station in Palm Springs, which led to a morning present in Arizona and eventually LA’s KROQ radio station, the place he spent 5 years as ‘Jimmy the sports activities man’ on the Kevin & Bean present.
Regardless of it by no means being his plan to get into tv, he began writing scripts totally free for the duo, who had been additionally on-air announcers at Fox. It led to him receiving a name from Fox asking if he wished to assist out.
“[This guy] stated, ‘Wish to do promos for us?’ He despatched a script for the promo of Celebration of 5, which was model new. He wished my ideas, I assumed, as a author. I stated, ‘I believe that is fairly good and it is best to go away it as is’.
“He stated, ‘OK, are available tomorrow’. Then I obtained a name asking for my clothes sizes. I believed perhaps they had been going to present me some free T-shirts.
“I went in and so they began placing make-up on me. I did not realise I used to be to be the on-air promo man.”
He grew to become often called ‘Jimmy the Fox Man’ and shortly began showing on different exhibits.
In 1997, he started co-hosting the quiz present Win Ben Stein’s Cash on US cable TV channel Comedy Central.
On the similar time he started engaged on comedy sketch program The Man Present.
From ‘promo man’ to late night time icon
In 2002, the ABC was searching for a brand new speak present to observe its present Nightline.
Kimmel informed Selection, “[TV producer] Michael Davies was taking part in golf with (then-ABC Leisure chairman) Lloyd Braun and referred to as me and stated ‘Make a tape for Lloyd Braun’.
“I despatched a tape to Lloyd at ABC and every week later, I obtained Jimmy Kimmel Stay!“
The present was the ABC’s first try at a standard late-night speak present because the Eighties and began to combined evaluations when it first aired on January 26, 2003.
The hour-long present aired weeknights, from 12.05am, and struggled to win an viewers, with some ABC associates refusing to air it, as a substitute taking part in reruns.
Kimmel was competing with The Late Present with David Letterman, The Tonight Present with Jay Leno, Late Evening with Conan O’Brien, and The Late Late Present with Craig Kilborn, however by 2004 he had taken half of Leno’s viewers.
Regardless of its identify, it has not been aired dwell since its first 12 months after an expletive made its method on air. As an alternative, it’s taped in entrance of an viewers on the El Capitan Leisure Centre (ECEC) in Hollywood.
There have been additionally controversies early on.
The ABC pulled an episode in 2004 throughout the NBA Finals in Detroit after Kimmel joked followers would “burn the town of Detroit down” in the event that they misplaced.
There was additionally a long-running gag that concerned Matt Damon approaching the present, just for Kimmel to inform the actor they had been out of time for his or her interview.
A decade after it first went on air, the present moved to the 11.35pm timeslot, the place it stays.
Round that point, a Children Desk section, wherein a toddler steered killing Chinese language individuals, led to protests and even a White Home petition.
Then in 2020, Kimmel apologised after skits he was a part of at The Man Present resurfaced displaying him in blackface. He was additionally criticised for racial slurs he as soon as used when imitating Snoop Dogg and for feedback he had made to Megan Fox.
Regardless of the controversies, he has grow to be a highly-paid entertainer, incomes a reported $22 million a 12 months simply from internet hosting his present.
Essentially the most awkward moments in TV speak present historical past
Host with probably the most
Whereas internet hosting his speak present, Kimmel additionally began taking over different roles, even showing in TV exhibits and films – typically as a chat present host and different instances as himself.
In 2006, he started internet hosting a quiz present, Set for Life, and he was quickly referred to as upon for different internet hosting duties, together with presiding over the ESPY Awards, the American Music Awards, the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Academy Awards, which he has hosted 4 instances.
Life off-screen
Kimmel has been married twice.
His first spouse was Gina Maddy, whom he met whereas they had been in school collectively in Arizona. They married in 1988 and welcomed two youngsters, daughter Katherine in 1991, and son Kevin in 1993, earlier than they divorced in 2002.
That 12 months, he began a relationship with comic Sarah Silverman. They’d met the earlier 12 months at a roast for Hugh Hefner that he was internet hosting and he or she was performing in.
They dated for six years earlier than splitting up in 2009.
That very same 12 months Kimmel started courting Jimmy Kimmel Stay! co-head author Molly McNearney. They grew to become engaged in 2012 and married the next July.
They’ve two youngsters, Jane, who was born in July 2014, and Billy, who arrived in April 2017.
Inside hours of his beginning, Billy was identified with a uncommon congenital coronary heart defect, tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) with pulmonary atresia, and underwent open coronary heart surgical procedure when he was three days outdated.
He has since undergone two extra surgical procedures.
The final operation happened in 2024, and Kimmel took to Instagram afterwards, writing, “We went into this expertise with quite a lot of optimism and almost as a lot worry and got here out with a brand new valve inside a contented, wholesome child,” he wrote.
“Strolling round this hospital, assembly mother and father at their most weak, youngsters in ache and the miracle employees who do every part of their appreciable energy to avoid wasting them is a humbling expertise.
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“There are such a lot of mother and father and youngsters who aren’t lucky sufficient to go house after 5 days.”
Kimmel grew to become a grandfather in Could final 12 months when Katherine gave beginning to somewhat woman.
Billy’s well being battles led Kimmel to grow to be vocal about defending the US Authorities’s Inexpensive Care Act – just like our Medicare – and he has been scathing of the Trump administration’s threats to dismantle it.
He used the opening monologue of his present in 2017 to criticise Republican Senator Invoice Cassidy after he co-authored a congressional healthcare invoice designed to get rid of main sections of healthcare legal guidelines.
He additionally helps at the very least two charities associated to paediatric coronary heart issues, the Mighty Oaks Coronary heart Basis and the Ollie Hinkle Coronary heart Basis.
The Trump feud
Kimmel’s famed opening monologues grew to become extra political across the time Donald Trump was introduced because the Republican candidate for the US Presidency in 2015.
By the point Trump took workplace in early 2017, after successful the 2016 election, Kimmel was important of a lot of his insurance policies, particularly round well being.
“It is about eliminating Obamacare, which he hates, primarily as a result of Obama’s identify is on it. At this level he would signal something if it meant eliminating Obamacare,” Kimmel stated on the time.
By March 2024, when Trump was not president, the confrontation had grow to be so heated that Trump would typically take to social media to criticise Kimmel, even when he was in the course of internet hosting the Oscars.
It prompted Kimmel to share his ‘overview’ dwell on air.
“Has there ever been a worse host than Jimmy Kimmel on the Oscars? His opening was that of a less-than-average individual making an attempt too exhausting to be one thing which he’s not and by no means might be,” Kimmel learn.
He then replied, “I am shocked you are still up, is not it previous your jail time?” – a response to Trump’s then-legal battles.
Then in 2025, after the cancellation of one other late night time present hosted by Stephen Colbert, Trump once more turned his sights on Kimmel.
“The phrase is, and it is a sturdy phrase at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go within the untalented late-night sweepstakes and, shortly thereafter, [Jimmy] Fallon might be gone,” Trump wrote on Reality Social, including he hoped he “performed a serious half” of their demise.
Throughout his opening monologue on September 15, 2025, Kimmel commented in regards to the assassination of right-wing commentator and conservation group founder Charlie Kirk.
Because of this, different proper wing commentators and the pinnacle of the Federal Communications Fee referred to as for retaliatory motion.
An ABC affiliate stated it might not broadcast the present on its stations, main the Disney-owned ABC to announce it might be “pre-empted indefinitely”, inflicting Trump to brag.
“Nice Information for America: The rankings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Present is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for lastly having the braveness to do what needed to be carried out,” he wrote on Reality Social, from his state go to within the UK.
“Kimmel has ZERO expertise, and worse rankings than even Colbert, if that is doable. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two whole losers, on Pretend Information NBC. Their rankings are additionally horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.”
There was a swift backlash, with many complaining in regards to the lack of freedom of speech, and there was a rush of individuals cancelling their Disney+ subscriptions and holidays, and even protests exterior the Disney-owned theatre the place the present it filmed, earlier than it was reinstated days later.
Information the present had been reinstated led Trump to once more explode, even admitting the White Home was concerned within the unique resolution and threatening authorized motion.
“I can not imagine ABC Pretend Information gave Jimmy Kimmel his job again. The White Home was informed by ABC that his Present was cancelled!” he wrote.
“One thing occurred between then and now as a result of his viewers is GONE, and his ‘expertise’ was by no means there.
“Why would they need somebody again who does so poorly, who’s not humorous, and who places the Community in jeopardy by taking part in 99 per cent constructive Democrat GARBAGE.”
In typical Jimmy Kimmel vogue, he didn’t again down, utilizing his first two exhibits to once more go after Trump.
“He tried his finest to cancel me. As an alternative, he compelled tens of millions of individuals to look at the present,” he stated.
“That backfired bigly. He may need to launch the Epstein information to distract us from this now.”
Months later, an episode that aired on April 23 attracted the eye of First Girl Melania Trump.
Kimmel had carried out a “gentle roast” within the spirit of the then-upcoming White Home Correspondents’ Dinner when he referred to Melania as an “expectant widow”.
“Our First Girl, Melania, is right here. Have a look at Melania, so lovely. Mrs Trump, you’ve gotten a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel stated throughout the sketch.
However the remark got here again to hang-out him when a gun-wielding man tried to enter the venue days later.
It led the First Girl to take to X to name for Kimmel to be sacked after calling him “a coward” who hides behind ABC”.
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is meant to divide our nation,” she wrote. “His monologue about my household is not comedy – his phrases are corrosive and deepens the political illness inside America.
“Folks like Kimmel should not have the chance to enter our houses every night to unfold hate.
“Sufficient is sufficient. It’s time for ABC to take a stand. What number of instances will ABC’s management allow Kimmel’s atrocious conduct on the expense of our neighborhood.”
President Trump additionally demanded Kimmel be “instantly fired by Disney and ABC” in a Reality Social put up.
However Kimmel defended the joke throughout his subsequent opening monologue, and argued his skit referred to the 23-year age distinction between the president and first girl.
“It was not by any stretch of the definition a name to assassination and so they know that. I have been very vocal for a few years talking out in opposition to gun violence specifically,” he stated.
“I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is one thing we must always reject. I believe an excellent place to begin to dial that again is having a dialog together with your husband about it.”
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