• Faith: Christian - Catholic
• Career: Comedian
• Birthday:  November 13, 1967

Jimmy Kimmel is a comedian, television host, producer, and writer. He was the executive producer and host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” a late-night talk show, from 2003 to 2025.. He hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2012, 2016 and 2020. He also hosted the Academy Awards in 2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024. Before hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” Kimmel was the co-host of Comedy Central’s “The Man Show” and “Win Ben Stein’s Money.” He’s also produced shows, including “Crank Yankers,” “Sports Show with Norm Macdonald,” and “The Andy Milonakis Show.” In 2018, Time named him as one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People.” He’s hosted a late-night talk show, the longest of all current late-night television hosts in the U.S. after Conan O’Brien retired from hosting a late-night program.

Kimmel was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in the Mill Basin neighborhood. He’s the oldest of three children of Joan and James John Kimmel. The family moved to Las Vegas when he was nine years old. He graduated from Ed W. Clark High School and attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for one year before transferring to Arizona State University. In 2013, he received an honorary degree from UNLV. Kimmel’s uncle, Frank Potenza or “Uncle Frank,” appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” as a regular from 2003 until he died in 2011. His cousin, Sal Iacono, performed Kimmel’s former co-hosting duties during the last season of “Win Ben Stein’s Money” and then became a writer and sketch performer on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” His aunt, Chippy, is also a featured part of the show and his brother, Jonathan, works on the show as a director.

Inspired by David Letterman’s start in radio, Kimmel started working in radio while in high school. He was the host of a Sunday night interview show on UNLV’s college station, KUNV. While attending Arizona State University, he became a popular caller to the KZZP-FM afternoon show hosted by radio personalities Kent Voss and Mike Elliot in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1989, Kimmel landed his first paying job alongside Voss as morning drive co-host of “The Me and Him Show” at KZOK-FM in Seattle, Washington. Over the next 10 months, the hosts performed several stunts on air, including one that led to an $8,000 loss in advertising.

Kimmel often used his late-night platform to address political and cultural issues, sometimes sparking strong reactions.

On September 15, 2025, during his "Jimmy Kimmel Live" opening monologue, Kimmel commented on the political fallout following the killing of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. He said, “[w]e hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

At the time of these remarks, officials had not revealed a motive for the killing. FBI investigators refused to discuss the suspected assassin’s political leanings or possible motives, citing the ongoing investigation. However, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray told reporters that the suspect’s mother said her son had begun leaning more to the Left and was “becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights orientated.”

The following day, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called Kimmel’s comments “some of the sickest conduct possible” during an appearance on The Benny Show podcast and suggested that regulatory action against ABC and Disney might be considered. Hours later, Nexstar Media Group announced it would pull "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" from all of its ABC-affiliated stations. Shortly after, ABC itself announced that all broadcasts of the show would be suspended “indefinitely.”

According to The New York Times, the decision to halt the show was made by Disney chief executive Robert Iger and Dana Walden, Disney’s television chief.

What religion is Jimmy Kimmel?

Jimmy Kimmel was raised Catholic and served as an altar boy as a child. Kimmel got into a social media spat with Alabama politician Roy Moore after Kimmel sent one of his people to interrupt a Moore rally at a church. After that incident, Moore tweeted at Kimmel, “If you want to mock our Christian values, come down here to Alabama and do it man to man.” Kimmel responded, saying he’d be happy to come to Alabama to discuss Christian values.

He said, “It doesn’t fit your stereotype, but I happen to be a Christian too. I made my first holy communion, I was confirmed, I pray, I support my church, one of my closest friends is a priest, and I baptized my children. Christian is actually my middle name. I know that’s shocking, but it’s true. So, if you’re open to it, when we sit down, I will share with you what I learned at my church. At my church, forcing yourself on underaged girls is a no-no. Some even consider it to be a sin.”

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