Jenny McCarthy

Background

Jenny McCarthy was born Jennifer Ann McCarthy on November 1, 1972, to a working-class Catholic family. Linda, her mother, was a housewife, and Dan McCarthy, her father, worked in a steel mill. McCarthy became a cheerleader at high school before attending Southern Illinois University for two years.

She began her modeling career in 1993, when “Playboy” magazine selected her from among 10,000 candidates to pose as the ‘October Playmate of the Month.’ McCarthy was photographed in her high school sweater, and Hugh Hefner, publisher of “Playboy,” noted that her “Catholic school girl” persona set her apart from everyone else. Despite disapproval from the religious and local communities, McCarthy became an incredibly successful model. She was named the “Playboy” ‘Playmate of the Year’ in 1994, and later hosted the magazine’s television show “Hot Rocks,” which aired uncensored music videos.

In 1995, McCarthy co-hosted the M.T.V. dating game show “Singled Out,” and was approached by the World Wrestling Federation (W.W.F.) to appear in the pay-per-view event, “WrestleMania XI.” She quickly received numerous offers from film and television producers, including for a star role in “The Stupids,” a 1996 British-Canadian-American adventure comedy film. Later that year, she made an appearance in two episodes of “Baywatch,” and as Dani in the sitcom “Wings.” McCarthy returned to M.T.V. for the variety program “The Jenny McCarthy Show,” which landed her an NBC sitcom, “Jenny.” She appeared in the third installment of the horror film “Scream” in 2000, and in its parody, “Scary Movie 3,” in 2003. In 2004, McCarthy was hired as a substitute for Elisabeth Hasselbeck to co-host ABC’s “The View.” She also starred as Jenny in the comedy television series “Return of the Mac,” in 2017 and, from 2019 to 2022, hosted the reality game show “The Masked Singer,” the Korean-inspired singing contest.