Jim Gaffigan
James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using little profanity in his routines, although he does use it from time to time.[1] He has released several successful comedy specials, including Mr. Universe, Obsessed, Cinco, and Quality Time, all of which have received Grammy nominations.
"James Gaffigan" redirects here. For the conductor, see James Gaffigan (conductor).Jim Gaffigan
James Christopher Gaffigan
July 7, 1966
Elgin, Illinois, U.S.
- Stand-up
- film
- television
- books
1991–present
5
Richard F. Mitchell
(grandfather)
Gaffigan's memoir Dad Is Fat (2013) and his most recent book Food: A Love Story (2014) were both published by Crown Publishers. He co-created and starred in the TV Land series The Jim Gaffigan Show, based on his life. He collaborates extensively with his wife, actress Jeannie Gaffigan, with whom he has five children. They are Catholic, a topic that frequently comes up in his comedy shows.
Early life[edit]
Gaffigan was born on July 7, 1966,[2] in Elgin, Illinois,[3] the youngest of six children born to charity worker and fundraiser Marcia Miriam (née Mitchell) and banker Michael Ambrose Gaffigan.[4][5] Of Irish descent, his family's surname was Gavahan.[5] His maternal grandfather was Iowa Supreme Court Justice Richard F. Mitchell.[5] Gaffigan was raised in Chesterton, Indiana, and often jokes about growing up in a large family.[6] His mother was accomplished at needlework and received a national award for original design and craftsmanship from the American Needlepoint Guild in 1985.[7] She died of cancer in 1990 at age 53.[7]
Gaffigan's father was the president and CEO of the Mercantile National Bank of Indiana for 15 years until his retirement in 1991.[8] A former seminarian, he was also actively involved in local charity work.[9] He died of lung cancer in 1999.[9] Gaffigan's father was the first in his family to attend college,[10] and encouraged his children to seek careers that promised job security.[11] However, at about the age of five, Gaffigan announced that he wanted to be an actor.[12]
As a teenager, Gaffigan watched Saturday Night Live.[10] He attended La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana, where he played on the school's football team. He attended Purdue University for one year, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, before transferring to Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, where he graduated in 1988 with a degree in finance.[11][13] He played football at Georgetown and Purdue.[14][15] Although he "hated" studying finance, he worked as a litigation consultant for a short time after graduating and "was horrible at it".[16]
Personal life[edit]
Gaffigan married actress Jeannie Gaffigan (née Noth) in 2003.[4][11] They have two daughters and three sons. The family of seven lived in a two-bedroom apartment in the Manhattan borough of New York City[85] before moving to a larger Manhattan home in 2015. To stay connected to his family, Gaffigan tries to "maintain bedtime rituals while working in the city".[23] When on tour, he reportedly takes his family with him.
Gaffigan is a practicing Catholic who avoids working on Sundays,[23] though he has joked that his wife is so much more devout than him that she seems like a "Shiite Catholic" in comparison.[86][87][88] He and his family attend Mass at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Manhattan, which is also where he and his wife were married and where their children were baptized.[89][90][91] In May 2016, he and his wife delivered the commencement address at the Catholic University of America.[92] They also delivered the commencement address at his wife's alma mater, Marquette University, in May 2018. They both received honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees as part of the graduation ceremony.[93]
In 2019, Gaffigan apologised on social media after endorsing the "Moriori First" myth in one of his stand-up shows. The myth falsely claims that Māori displaced the Moriori as the first people of New Zealand, and has been used to justify white settler colonialism.[94] Gaffigan also made disparaging remarks about Māori people, which were described as "offensive" and "ignorant" on New Zealand social media.[95][96][97][98]
