Jenny McCarthy Bio, Age, Height, Husband Donnie Wahlberg, The Masked Singer Career, Net Worth & 2026 Update

Jenny McCarthy has been a familiar face on American screens for more than three decades — first as a Playboy Playmate, then as an MTV host, a sitcom star, a daytime talk co-host, and now as a long-running judge on Fox’s The Masked Singer. In October 2026 she made headlines again after revealing on her podcast that she has been living in a tent while recovering from mold poisoning. This biography covers her early life in Chicago, her career, her marriage to Donnie Wahlberg, her net worth, and what she is doing in 2026.

Quick Facts

Related Names: Donnie Wahlberg, Jim Carrey, Melissa McCarthy, Mark Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong, Nick Cannon, Pamela Anderson, Kelly Ripa, Whoopi Goldberg.

Early Life & Education

Jennifer Ann McCarthy was born on November 1, 1972, at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, Illinois, just outside Chicago. She grew up in the West Elsdon neighborhood of the city in a working-class Catholic family. Her mother, Linda, was a housewife who later worked as a courtroom custodian, and her father, Dan McCarthy, was a steel mill foreman. She is the second of four daughters — her sisters are Lynette, Joanne and Amy — and actress Melissa McCarthy is her cousin.

Sports were the center of the household. Her parents pushed all four girls into athletics: Lynette ran track, Jenny played softball, and Amy and Joanne both played basketball. Joanne went on to play college and professional basketball. Jenny also did gymnastics and bowling as a kid. She attended Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, where she was a cheerleader at Brother Rice and St. Laurence high schools, though she has said she felt like an “outcast” and was bullied by classmates.

After graduating, McCarthy spent two years at Southern Illinois University before leaving to pursue modeling. She has been open about not finishing her degree, and about how quickly her life changed once Playboy came calling in 1993.

Career Journey

From Playboy to MTV (1993–1997)

Playboy offered McCarthy $20,000 to pose for its October 1993 issue, and she became Playmate of the Month. Publisher Hugh Hefner reportedly chose her from roughly 10,000 applicants because of her “wholesome Catholic girl” persona, and the schoolgirl-themed pictorial caused a stir in her old neighborhood — her family’s house was pelted with eggs and her sisters were taunted at school. She was named Playmate of the Year in 1994, earning a $100,000 salary, and moved to Los Angeles.

After hosting Hot Rocks on Playboy TV, McCarthy got the break that made her a household name: co-hosting MTV’s dating game show Singled Out alongside Chris Hardwick from 1995 to 1997. Her goofy, self-deprecating style clicked with young audiences, and MTV gave her her own sketch comedy series, The Jenny McCarthy Show, in 1997.

Sitcom and Film Years (1997–2010)

NBC signed her for the eponymous sitcom Jenny (1997–1998), and she quickly moved into movies. Her credits include BASEketball (1998) with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Diamonds (1999), Scream 3 (2000), Scary Movie 3 (2003), John Tucker Must Die (2006) and the holiday comedy Santa Baby (2006).

In 2005 she wrote, produced and starred in Dirty Love, directed by her then-husband John Asher. The film was a critical flop and swept the 2006 Razzie Awards for Worst Picture, Worst Actress and Worst Screenplay — a moment McCarthy has since joked about rather than hidden from. Alongside acting she released a string of books, including Jen-X (1997), Belly Laughs (2004) and Baby Laughs (2005).

Talk Shows and The View (2010–2018)

Starting on December 31, 2010, McCarthy spent a decade as the Times Square correspondent for ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, a role that made her a New Year’s Eve fixture for millions of viewers. She hosted season 2 of NBC’s Love in the Wild in 2012 and posed for Playboy again in 2012, just before turning 40.

In September 2013 she joined The View as a co-host, replacing Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Her hiring drew heavy criticism because of her controversial views on vaccines, and ABC did not renew her contract; she left in 2014. That October she launched a SiriusXM show, Dirty, Sexy, Funny, which was renamed The Jenny McCarthy Show in 2016.

The Masked Singer and Podcast Era (2019–2026)

Since January 2019, McCarthy has been a panelist on Fox’s The Masked Singer, sitting alongside Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong and, in recent seasons, Rita Ora, with Nick Cannon hosting. The show’s 14th season aired from January 7 to April 1, 2026, and was won by Ashlee Simpson as “Galaxy Girl.” The judging job has become her steadiest and most visible gig of the past decade.

In 2026 she has also been focused on her health and her podcast. She and Wahlberg listed their longtime Illinois home for $2.8 million in September 2026, and in late October she told listeners she was seven months into detoxing from mold poisoning and was sleeping in a tent in her yard because she no longer trusted indoor spaces.

Career Stats

• Playboy Playmate of the Month (October 1993); Playmate of the Year (1994)
• Co-host, MTV’s Singled Out (1995–1997)
• Star of NBC’s Jenny (1997–1998)
• Co-host, ABC’s The View (2013–2014)
• Judge, Fox’s The Masked Singer (2019–present; season 14 in 2026)
• Times Square correspondent, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (2010–2019)
• Six published books, including Louder Than Words (2007)

Personal Life

• Husband: Donnie Wahlberg, New Kids on the Block singer and Blue Bloods star, married August 31, 2014.
• Ex-husband: actor and director John Asher, married September 11, 1999; divorced in 2005.
• Son: Evan, born in May 2002; diagnosed with autism in 2005.
• Stepchildren: Donnie’s sons Xavier and Elijah from his first marriage.
• Family: One of four sisters; cousin of actress Melissa McCarthy and sister-in-law of Mark Wahlberg.

Dating History and Affairs

McCarthy dated manager Ray Manzella from 1994 to 1998 before getting involved with John Asher late that year. They were engaged in January 1999 and married that September; their son Evan arrived in 2002, and they divorced in 2005.

In December 2005 she began dating Jim Carrey, and the pair went public in 2006. They lived together for years without marrying — McCarthy said on Ellen in 2008 that they did not need “a piece of paper” — before announcing their split in April 2010.

By July 2013 she was dating Donnie Wahlberg. She announced their engagement on The View in April 2014, and they married on August 31, 2014. The couple have been together since and have appeared on reality TV together in Donnie Loves Jenny.

Controversies

McCarthy’s most discussed controversy is her long record of questioning vaccine safety. After her son Evan’s autism diagnosis, she became a prominent voice for the scientifically discredited claim that vaccines cause autism, served as president of Generation Rescue until the group shut down in December 2019, and wrote books promoting alternative autism treatments including chelation therapy. Medical organizations, science journalists and public health experts have repeatedly criticized her statements as dangerous, and her 2013 hiring at The View triggered protests from doctors and advocacy groups. McCarthy has always denied being “anti-vaccine,” saying she favors a slower, more researched vaccine schedule.

Her 2005 film Dirty Love became a Razzie punchline, winning Worst Picture, Worst Actress and Worst Screenplay in 2006. In 2026 her mold-poisoning claims and her decision to live in a tent have drawn a mix of sympathy and skepticism online. She has not been accused of any legal wrongdoing.

Awards & Achievements

• Playboy Playmate of the Year (1994)
• Helped make MTV’s Singled Out a mid-1990s pop-culture hit
• Starred in her own NBC sitcom, Jenny
• Longest-running judge on The Masked Singer, since season 1 in 2019
• New York Times bestselling author for her parenting and autism books
• Razzie Awards (2006) for Dirty Love — Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Screenplay

Physical Statistics

• Height: 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm)
• Weight: Private
• Hair Color: Blonde
• Eye Color: Blue
• Build: Athletic, slim
• Dress Size: Private

Quotes

“Because I am paranoid now about basically sleeping anywhere, I live in a tent. I’m not even joking.” — on her podcast, October 29, 2026

“It’s really, really hard, and they talk about people with mold poisoning having PTSD. I’m still in the traumatic part.” — on her podcast, October 29, 2026

“I am not anti-vaccine. This is not a change in my stance nor is it a new position that I have recently adopted.” — op-ed, May 2014

Favorites

• Hometown: Chicago, Illinois — she remains a proud Chicago native
• Sport: Softball, which she played growing up in a sports-mad family
• Career role: She has called her Masked Singer judging job one of the most fun gigs she has had
• Causes: Autism families and children’s health research

Earnings

Jenny McCarthy’s net worth is estimated at $25 million in 2026, according to celebrity wealth rankings including Parade. Her biggest income source is The Masked Singer, where judges reportedly earn between $1.25 million and $2.5 million per season; she has appeared on every season since 2019. She has also earned from Playboy, MTV, her NBC sitcom, film roles, book deals, SiriusXM, brand deals and podcast advertising. She and Wahlberg listed their Illinois home for $2.8 million in 2026.

Interesting Facts

• She wore her Mother McAuley high school sweater in her first Playboy pictorial.
• She is a cousin of Oscar-nominated actress Melissa McCarthy.
• Her older sister Joanne McCarthy played professional basketball.
• She appeared at WrestleMania XI in 1995 as a guest valet for Shawn Michaels.
• She was a Times Square correspondent for New Year’s Rockin’ Eve for ten years.
• She voiced Agent Tanya in the video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3.
• She has written six books, including the bestselling Belly Laughs and Louder Than Words.

Did You Know Already?

• She was paid $20,000 for her first Playboy shoot in 1993.
• She and Donnie Wahlberg married in 2014 and have been one of Hollywood’s longest-running couples since.
• She has judged every season of The Masked Singer since it launched in 2019.
• Her son Evan was born in 2002 and is now in his twenties.
• She spent part of 2026 living in a tent in her backyard while detoxing from mold exposure.

Social Media Links

• Instagram: @jennymccarthy
• X (Twitter): @JennyMcCarthy
• IMDb: Jenny McCarthy

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

From a Chicago cheerleader to Playmate of the Year, MTV star, View co-host and a decade-long Masked Singer judge, Jenny McCarthy has reinvented herself more times than most celebrities manage in one career. In 2026 she is dealing with a serious health scare while keeping her TV and podcast work going. If you found this biography helpful, please share it with fellow Masked Singer and pop-culture fans!