Jennifer Ann McCarthy was born on 1 November 1972, in Chicago, Illinois USA, into a Catholic family of Irish, Polish and German descent with three sisters, and is known as an actress, photo model, activist, publisher, Playboy Girl and a porn star, perhaps still best remembered for posing nude for Playboy, especially as she posed again in 2012, almost 20 years after her first session.
So just how rich is Jenny McCarthy, as of mid-2017? Authoritative sources estimate that Jenny’s net worth reaches $17 million, collected through many varied activities during a career which began in the early 1990s.
Jenny McCarthy Net Worth $17 Million
Jenny’s father was a mill worker, and mother a courtroom custodian. Jenny matriculated from Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School in 1990, and then entered Southern Illinois University to gain a speciality in nursing, but she dropped out in her second year as she decided to start a modeling career, which she thought would be more remunerative.
In 1993 she participated in the audition for a model of Playboy’s calendar in the nude, and was chosen to be October’s model, apparently conquering 10,000 other models to be a lucky one. Jenny was initially paid $20,000 which considerably increased her net worth, but then $100,000 as Playmate of the Year. In 2012 Jenny completed a similar shoot – ‘before my 40th birthday’ – salary undisclosed!
In 1994 Jenny moved to Los Angeles, and the following year was cast in MTV’s popular dating show “Singled Out”, then over the next 10 years starred in the popular movies: “Scarry Movie 3” (with Anna Faris), “Scream 3” (with Rory Culkin), “The Stupids” (with Tom Arnold), “Dirty Love” (with Carmen Electra), “Diamonds” (with Kirk Douglas), ”John Tucker Must Die” (with Brittany Snow), which had a consistently positive influence on McCarthy’s net worth. Concurrently, after her participation on the show “Singled Out”, Jenny started hosting the TV broadcast “The Jenny McCarthy Show”, and also participated in the show “Jenny” but it was soon cancelled. Subsequently Jenny has appeared as a guest star in such TV shows as “The Drew Carey Show”, “Charmed” and “Two and a Half Man”, and more recently has appeared as herself in “Wahlburgers” and “Donnie Loves Jenny”, still adding to her bank account.
Aside from acting, McCarthy is an autism activist, a supporter of individuals and organizations related to the illness, as her son suffers from the disease. McCarthy has published several books for parents raising children with autism: “Healing and Preventing Autism”, “ “Louder than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism”, “Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds”. Recently, she is somewhat controversially one of the hosts of “The View” – because of her sometimes anti-vaccination statements – which is a popular TV talk show, and a current source of Jenny’s net worth.
Also in her personal life, Jenny McCarthy dated her manager Ray Manzella in the ’90s, but in 1999 Jenny married actor and manager John Mallory Asher, and in 2002 their son Evan was born, subsequently at the age of three being diagnosed with autism; the same year his parents divorced. In one of her interviews, Jenny stated that Asher left his family because he was not capable of dealing with his son’s diagnosis. In 2005 Jenny started dating Jim Carrey, then they lived together, with Jim promoting Jenny and her activity concerning autism, however, the couple separated in 2010, with rumours that Jim Carrey paid McCarthy between $25-$50 million. Since 2014 Jenny has been married to Donnie Wahlberg.
VGX Award for Big Name in the Game Female (2008), Playmate of the Year (1994)
Nominations
People's Choice Award for Favorite New Talk Show Host (2014), Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host/Outstanding Special Class Special (2014/2005)
Movies
Dirty Love (2005), Scary Movie 3 (2003), BASEketball (1998), John Tucker Must Die (2006), Santa Baby (2006), Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe (2009)
TV Shows
The View, Donnie Loves Jenny (since 2015), Wahlburgers (2014-), Singled Out (1995-1998, game show), Two and a Half Men, Love in the Wild (2011-2012), The Jenny McCarthy Show (2013), The Bad Girl's Guide (2005)
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Trademark
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Lisp, breathless voice
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Sparkling blue eyes
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Platinum blonde hair
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Curvaceous, buxom figure
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Quote
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There's this place in Chicago called Giordano's, which has the best deep dish pizza in the world. It's my therapist, my best friend, and my boyfriend on Friday nights.
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There was a problem with studios how to write for me. It's a complex kind of character I am, because I'm built like a bunny but I talk like a dude.
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"I think the whole computer geek thing is totally attractive...I mean, like all I'd get is total obedience." On finding Mr. Right.
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I don't sleep in anything. I have to be nude, and if I'm not, I end up ripping my clothes off in the middle of the night.
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I was a puke brunette.
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Sarah wants respect, and she's not getting it. I like her because she's got spirit and spunk. - on the character she plays in Scream 3 (2000)
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Fact
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One of four actors to appear in both the "Scream" franchise and its parody, the "Scary Movie" franchise. The other three are Anthony Anderson, Jerry O'Connell and Tori Spelling.
(August 31, 2014) Married for the 2nd time her boyfriend of 13 months Donnie Wahlberg following a 4-month-long engagement.
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Has 2 stepsons - Xavier Wahlberg (Xavier Alexander Wahlberg) (b. March 4, 1993) & Elijah Wahlberg (Elijah Hendrix Wahlberg) (b. August 20, 2001).
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Gave birth to her 1st child at age 29, son Evan Asher (Evan Joseph Asher), on May 18, 2002. Child's father is her now ex-husband, John Asher.
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Release of her book, "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism". [September 2007]
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Release of her book, "Baby Laughs: The Naked Truth About the First Year of Mommyhood". [2005]
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Release of her book, "Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds". [2008]
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Release of her book, "Life Laughs: The Naked Truth About Motherhood, Marriage and Moving On". [2006]
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Release of her book, "Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth". [2004]
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Writing a book called "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism". Her son, Evan, is autistic. [April 2007]
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She currently lives in Upper Saddle River New Jersey, amongst many other celebrities including Mary Higgins Clark, Burt Reynolds and Barbara Walters. She splits her time between New Jersey and California as her career is largely based in West Coast studios. [April 2007]