Jennifer Ann "Jenny"[1] McCarthy (born November 1, 1972)[2] is an American model, comedian, actress, author and activist. She first appeared in Playboy magazine in October 1993 and was named Playmate of the Year in its June 1994 issue. She later began a career in television and film and has recently started writing books.
McCarthy was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her father is of Irish descent and her mother is of German descent. McCarthy comes from a middle-class Catholic family that lived in the West Elsdon neighbourhood. She is the second of four daughters; her sisters are named Joanne, Amy, and Lynette. Her cousin is Melissa McCarthy of Gilmore Girls fame. McCarthy's mother, Linda, was a housewife and courtroom custodian, and her father, Dan McCarthy, was a steel mill foreman.[3][4] She attended St. Turibius Grade School on Chicago's South Side. As a teenager, McCarthy attended Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School (whose school sweater she donned in the pages of Playboy) and was cheerleader at both Brother Rice High School and St. Laurence High Schools,[5] although she has referred to herself as an "outcast" at her school.[6] After McCarthy graduated from high school, she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale to study nursing. She needed money to pay for college, so she decided to submit her picture to Playboy magazine to make money. She was accepted and became a model.