Jenny McCarthy

Infobox Playboy Playmate
name = Jenny McCarthy

---

imagesize =
caption =
issue = October 1993
birthname =
birthplace = Chicago, Illinois
birthdate = birth date and age|mf=yes|1972|11|1
deathdate =
bust = convert|38|in|cm|abbr=on
waist = convert|24|in|cm|abbr=on
hips = convert|34|in|cm|abbr=on
natural bust =
height = height|ft=5|in=7|wiki=no
weight = convert|120|lb|kg|abbr=on
preceded = Carrie Westcott
succeeded = Julianna Young
pmoy-year = 1994
pmoy-preceded = Anna Nicole Smith
pmoy-succeeded = Julie Lynn Cialini

Jennifer Ann "Jenny" [cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000189/bio|title=Biography for Jenny McCarthy|accessdate=2008-05-09|publisher=IMDb.com, Inc.] McCarthy (born November 1, 1972) [http://www.eonline.com/celebrities/profile/index.jsp?uuid=f1be2dea-9225-4813-a53c-2e14660ffbd3 "Jenny McCarthy Profile"] E! Online. Retrieved 2007-09-19.] is an American model, comedian, actress, author and activist. She first appeared in "Playboy" magazine in October 1993 and was named Playmate of the Year in its June 1994 issue. She later began a career in television and film and has recently started writing books.

Early life

McCarthy was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her father is of Irish descent and her mother is of German descent. McCarthy comes from a middle-class Catholic family that lived in the West Elsdon neighbourhood. She is the second of four daughters; her sisters are named Joanne, Amy, and Lynette. 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. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazine4/articles/mccarthy.html Heroine Worship: Jenny McCarthy, The McCarthy Era ] ] [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/52/Jenny-McCarthy.html Jenny McCarthy Biography (1972-) ] ] 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 cheerleader at both Brother Rice High School and St. Laurence High Schools, [Austin, Michael and Jennifer Wehunt, "Before They Were Famous," "Chicago", pg. 76, February 2007, Volume 56, number 2.] although she has referred to herself as an "outcast" at her school. [ [http://www.usaweekend.com/98_issues/980719/980719talk_mccarthy.html USA WEEKEND Magazine ] ] 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.

Career

Modeling and acting career

After getting accepted by "Playboy" in 1993, the magazine wanted her to pose for the October issue. McCarthy was paid $30,000 for the photo shoot. McCarthy became the Playmate of the Month and later the Playmate of the Year. In 1994, thanks to this newfound attention and popularity, McCarthy moved to Los Angeles and, for a time, hosted "Hot Rocks", a Playboy TV show featuring uncensored music videos.

In 1995, MTV chose McCarthy to be the host of a new dating show called "Singled Out", for which she left "Hot Rocks". Her job as a host was a success, and Playboy wanted her to do more modeling. That same year, she also appeared at "WrestleMania XI" as a guest valet for Shawn Michaels. She left after the match with the victor, WWF Heavyweight Champion Diesel. She returned to the WWE on August 2, 2008 for Saturday Night's Main Event to thank the fans for supporting Generation Rescue. In 1996, McCarthy landed a small part in the comedy "The Stupids". In 1997 McCarthy launched two shows. The first one was an MTV sketch comedy show called "The Jenny McCarthy Show", which was popular enough that NBC signed her to do a sitcom later that year called "Jenny". The latter show is generally considered a disappointment and was quickly canceled. Also in 1997, she appeared on one of two covers for the September issue of "Playboy", the other cover featured Pamela Anderson. McCarthy also released an autobiography: "Jen-X".

In 1998, McCarthy starred in "BASEketball". In 1999, she starred in "Diamonds", a movie which was directed by her husband John Mallory Asher. The next year, she appeared in the horror movie "Scream 3". Since 2001, McCarthy has guest-starred in such shows as "Stacked", "Charmed", "The Drew Carey Show", "Wings", "Fastlane" and "Just Shoot Me!".

In 2003, McCarthy appeared in "Scary Movie 3" along with model and actress Pamela Anderson. In 2005, McCarthy produced, wrote and starred in "Dirty Love" along with Carmen Electra. The same year, McCarthy hosted a new show on E! called "Party at the Palms". The reality show, which is filmed at The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas, features hotel guests, party goers and celebrities. In March 2006, she was given Razzie Awards for "Worst Actress," "Worst Screenplay," and "Worst Picture" for her work on "Dirty Love", which also netted her then-husband, John Asher, a Razzie for "Worst Director."

McCarthy has continued her work with Playboy over the years, both as a model and in other capacities. She appeared on the cover of the magazine's January 2005 issue wearing a leopard skin bunny suit and was featured in a pictorial shot at Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion in the same issue. She was the second woman (Carmen Electra was the first) and first Playmate to become a celebrity photographer for the Playboy Cyber Club, getting behind the camera to photograph model Jennifer Madden, who is not a Playmate.

Jenny's younger sister, Amy, has also posed for Playboy. She was a Cyber Girl of the Week and the Cyber Girl of the Month for January 2005. [cite web|url=http://www.playboy.com/girls/cybergirls/month/200501/|accessdate=2007-09-18|title=Amy McCarthy|publisher=Playboy.com|year=2005|month=January]

She is the current voice of Six in the third season of Canadian CGI Sci-Fi cartoon "Tripping the Rift".

McCarthy currently stars in an online five episode series, called "In The Motherhood", along with Chelsea Handler and Leah Remini. The show is on MSN and is based on being a mother where users could submit their stories to have it made into real webisodes.

Public persona

In June, 2007, Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) named McCarthy as its spokesperson. [ [http://www.tacanow.org/jenny TACA Talk About Curing Autism Spokesperson - Jenny McCarthy ] ] Her stated goal is to educate the public that autism is treatable. She will be participating in fundraisers, online chats and other activities for the not-for-profit organization to help families affected by autism spectrum disorders. Her first fundraiser for TACA, Ante Up for Autism, [ [http://www.anteupforautism.org Ante Up For Autism : : Taca ] ] was held on October 20, 2007, in Irvine, California.

Though McCarthy initially rose to fame because of her sexual image, a frequent source of her celebrity derives from toilet humor. McCarthy once modeled for Candie's, a shoe company. In one magazine ad, McCarthy posed on a toilet seat, with her underwear near her ankles. Cultural scholar Collin Gifford Brooke wrote that the ad's "taboo nature" brought it attention, while noting that the ad itself helped to weaken that taboo. [cite book
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZivAGEvtpDcC&pg=PA136&dq=jenny+mccarthy+candies+toilet&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=B_5OJwt2AQtChGbXBiJ7c8InxB4
title=Sex in Advertising: Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal
author=Collin Gifford Brooke
chapter=Sex(haustion) Sells: Marketing in a Saturated Mediascape
editor=Tom Reichert and Jacqueline Lambiase
publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
year=2003
isbn=0805841180] Another Candie's ad depicted McCarthy passing gas in a crowded elevator.

A sketch on her MTV show centered on her character, a well-coifed business woman, answering the question of "What did you have for lunch?" by seeming to force herself to vomit all over a table which she then ate on-screen. This was faked using special effects. The direct contrast of McCarthy's reputation as a sex symbol and this often grotesque humor is closely associated with her image. This image was taken to a new extreme in her film "Dirty Love", which featured McCarthy's character sitting in a massive pool of her own menstrual blood. [ [http://www.hecklerspray.com/glory-at-the-razzies-for-tom-cruise-nicole-kidman/20062393.php Glory At The Razzies For Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman - Hecklerspray: Music, Movies, TV, Celebs, Games and Gossip ] ]

Personal life

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 Asher. [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,990114,00.html|title=JENNY COME BACK |accessdate=2008-10-05|date=1999-02-01|publisher=Time Inc.|work=Time|author=Orecklin, Michele] The couple became engaged in January 1999, and married that year on September 11, 1999. They have a son, Evan Joseph, born on May 18, 2002. Evan suffers from autism. 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. [ [http://www.marksfriggin.com/news06/1-30.htm#wed MarksFriggin.com - Stern Show News - Archive ] ] 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. During the appearance, McCarthy also admitted to having performed oral sex on women and that she cheated on her ex-husband with both men and women. [ [http://marksfriggin.com/news06/4-24.htm#tue MarksFriggin.com - Stern Show News - Archive ] ] However, in a later appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live", she claimed they didn't cheat on each other because it was agreed upon.

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".

Her brother-in-law is NHL hockey player Dan Hinote of the St. Louis Blues. Dan is married to her younger sister Amy.Fact|date=August 2008

She is also an avid Chicago White Sox fan. [cite web |url=http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2005/10/05/famous_faces_among_white_sox_fans/ |title=Famous faces among White Sox fans |accessdate=2008-08-18]

Activism

In May 2007, McCarthy announced that her son was diagnosed with autism in 2005. In June, she was named as the TACA spokesperson for families affected by Autism. "Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism" was published September 17, 2007. McCarthy told Oprah Winfrey that her son was developing normally until he received his measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (at 15 months of age). [http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200709/20070918/slide_20070918_350_105.jhtml "Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Peete—Their Fight to Save Their Autistic Sons"] , Jenny McCarthy on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", 2007-09-18. Retrieved 2007-09-24.] She has stated in her book, and on her appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that her husband was unable to deal with their son's autism, which led to their divorce. She went on to say that her relationship with Jim Carrey has made it easier on her and that finding someone who loves her and her son is great.

On April 2, 2008, she appeared on the Larry King Live special dedicated to autism.

Critics of her unscientific attitude toward vaccinations, including Steven Novella, have attributed the rise in measles cases directly to her activism. [http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=363]

Other interests

McCarthy began her writing career in 1997 with her first book, "Jen-X: Jenny McCarthy's Open Book", an autobiography.

In recent years, McCarthy has written a successful series of books about her experiences with pregnancy and raising her son, Evan.
* "Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth" (ISBN 978-0-7382-0949-4)
* "Baby Laughs: The Naked Truth about the First Year of Mommyhood" (ISBN 978-0-525-94883-4)
* "Life Laughs: The Naked Truth about Motherhood, Marriage, and Moving On" (ISBN 978-0-525-94947-3)
* "Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism" (ISBN 978-0-525-95011-0) [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0525950117 Amazon.com: Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism: Books: Jenny McCarthy ] ]
* "" (ISBN 978-0-525-95069-1) [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0525950699 Amazon.com: Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds: Books: Jenny McCarthy ] ]
* "Healing and Preventing Autism" (Forthcoming from Dutton - On sale March 31, 2009)

McCarthy is also an occasional columnist for "FHM" magazine and has also recently appeared in a commercial for Weight Watchers after successfully losing and maintaining her post-pregnancy weight by following the program. She is also working with Talk About Curing Autism Now (TACA).

Appearances in "Playboy" special editions

* "Playboy's Playmate Review" Vol. May 10, 1994 - front & back covers, pages 82-91.
* "Playboy's Girls of Summer '94" June 1994.
* "Playboy's Book of Lingerie" Vol. July 38, 1994.
* "Playboy's Playmates at Play" July 1994 - pages 6-7.
* "Playboy's Book of Lingerie" Vol. September 39, 1994 - page 25.
* "Playboy's Wet & Wild Playmates" September 1994 - page 73.
* "Playboy's Book of Lingerie" Vol. 4November 0, 1994.
* "Playboy's Nudes" November 1994 - cover.
* "Playboy's Playmates in Bed" Vol. January 1, 1995.
* "Playboy's Supermodels" February 1995.
* "Playboy's Book of Lingerie" Vol. 4July 4, 1995 - cover.
* "Playboy's Nudes" October 1995.
* "Playboy's Winter Girls" February 1996.
* "Playboy's Celebrating Centerfolds" Vol. December 1, 1998 - pages 6-7.

Filmography

Television work

* "Mr. Show" (1995)
* "Singled Out" (host from 1995-1997)
* "Wings" (1996)
* "The Jenny McCarthy Show" (1997-1998)
* "Jenny" (1997-1998)
* "Home Improvement (Guest Star) (1998)
* "The Big Breakfast" (1998)
* "Honey Vicarro" (2001) (unsold pilot)
* "Untitled Jenny McCarthy Project" (2003) (unsold pilot)
* "Charmed" (2003)
* "Hope & Faith" (2004)
* "The Bad Girl's Guide" (2005) (canceled after 6 episodes)
* "Party @ the Palms" (2005-2006)
* "One on One" (2003-2004)
* "My Name is Earl" (2006)
* "Tripping the Rift (Voice of Six) (2007-)
* "Two and a Half Men" (2007)
* "Just Shoot Me" (season 5 episode 6)
* "WWE Saturday Night's Main Event (August 2, 2008)

See also

* List of people in Playboy 1990-1999

References

External links

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*tvtome person|id=26294|name=Jenny McCarthy