James Eugene "Jim" Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. Carrey began stand-up comedy in 1979 while under the management of Leatrice Spevack, performing at Yuk Yuks in Toronto, Ontario. After becoming a major hit in 1981 he began working at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles where he was soon noticed by comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who immediately signed him to open his tour performances. Carrey soon became interested in film and television, and after developing a close friendship with comedian Damon Wayans landed a role in his brothers sketch comedy hit, In Living Color in which he portrayed various characters during 1990. Having not had much success in television movies and several low budget films, Carrey was soon cast as the title character (Ace Ventura) in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective which premiered in February, 1994 making $159,537,178 domestically and over $400 million worldwide. Despite mixed reviews, this film has been considered the pinnacle of his film career and stardom. The film even spawned a sequel, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), in which he reprised the role of Ventura. These higher-profile roles eventually led to his being cast as Stanley Ipkiss in The Mask (The Mask (film)) (1994) for which he gained a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and as Lloyd Christmas in the comedy film, Dumb and Dumber (1994).

Between 1996 and 1999, Carrey continued to build on his success after earning lead roles in several highly successful films including The Cable Guy (1996), Liar Liar (1997), in which he was nominated for another Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and in the critically acclaimed films The Truman Show and Man on the Moon, in 1998 and 1999, respectively. Both films earned Carrey two Golden Globe awards, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Since earning the two Golden Globe awards, the only two in his three decade career, Carrey continued to star in highly acclaimed comedy films, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas (How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film)) (2000) where he played the title character (The Grinch), Bruce Almighty (2003), where he portrayed the role of unlucky TV reporter Bruce Nolan, Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) and Yes Man (Yes Man (film)) (2008). Carrey has also taken on more serious roles including Joel Barish in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) alongside Kate Winslet and Kirsten Dunst which earned him another Golden Globe nomination, and Steven Jay Russell in I Love You Phillip Morris (2010) alongside Ewan McGregor.