He kicked off his comedy career back in 1997, and Jimmy Carr has gone on to become a regular on our TV screens.
The 52 year old star is known for hosting shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, with his deadpan delivery of one-liners proving to be popular with TV viewers.
Jimmy’s latest TV venture sees him appear on Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend, where the pair spend 48 hours together. The one-off programme will air on Friday, 23 May and see Jimmy give a rare insight into his personal life.
Here, we take a look into the comedian’s life off-screen, including his partner…
Jimmy’s early years
Jimmy, real name James Anthony Patrick Carr, was born in Hounslow, London. He has two brothers.
He spent most of his early years in Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire. Jimmy was diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age and could not read or write at his expected level until he was around ten years old.
He eventually went on to study social science and political scence at Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge, graduating with first-class honours.
This led Jimmy to land a role in the marketing department at Shell, but in 2000 he took voluntary redundancy. He performed his first stand-up shortly after.
In 2001, Jimmy’s mum Nora died of pancreatitis at the age of 57. Following her passing, his relationship with his father became strained and in 2021, Jimmy said he had not spoken to his father since 2000 and had only seen him in person at an autograph signing after a gig in 2015, but the duo did not speak.
Who is Jimmy’s partner?
Jimmy is in a longterm relationship Karoline Copping, who is a former commissioning editor for Channel 5.
Karoline is credited on two of Jimmy’s projects; Jimmy Carr Live and Jimmy Carr: In Concert. The couple met in 2001 at a TV interview during auditions and soon started dating.
Despite having been an item for over two decades, Jimmy and Karoline have not tied the knot. The comedian has revealed he is “not prepared” to get hitched.
Speaking to The Guardian, he said: “People ask why we’re not married, but it’s just not something that I’d like to talk about. Karoline is a wonderful girl, and it upsets her, and I’m not prepared to do it.”
Do Jimmy and Karoline have children?
The couple welcomed their first child, a baby boy, back in 2019. Jimmy later confirmed his son’s unique name to be Rockefeller.
The moniker was inspired by the American billionaire John D. Rockefeller, and Chris Rock, who Jimmy hailed as “the greatest ever comedian” in an interview.
Speaking about whether fatherhood could change him, Jimmy told Radio Times: “It could be a bit of a gear shift, because of the kind of comedy I do. But so far, I’m still telling the same jokes, I’ve got the same sense of humour. We’ll see because I’m sure I’m going to be writing a lot of material about him. In fact, I think he might be tax-deductible.”
Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend airs at 8.30pm on BBC One on Friday, 23 May
