Jimmy Fallon has been the star of one of America’s most iconic chat shows for 14 years, with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon launching way back in 2009.
When Late Night ended in 2014, Jimmy went right into hosting The Tonight Show.
The star of the show started out with a comedy career on shows like Saturday Night Live, before launching into a film career in movies like Fever Pitch and Taxi.
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But he nearly turned his back on fame altogether to become a priest.
Jimmy’s wild life doesn’t end with that revelation, however, as back in 2015 the star was forced to take a leave of absence from work after nearly chopping his finger off.
From his famous wife to his eye-watering net worth, Daily Star takes a look into the esteemed presenter’s life away from the spotlight.
Nearly became a priest
(Image: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock)
Although Jimmy Fallon’s life has been all glitz and glamour for decades, in his younger years the star had very different lofty ambitions – and wanted to become a priest.
The 48-year-old confessed: “I loved it. I loved the whole idea of it. I loved dressing up. I loved the smell of incense. I mean, I loved the whole idea.”
Jimmy was an altar-boy growing up, with a “very religious” grandfather.
He explained: “I used to go to Mass with him at like 6:45 in the morning, serve Mass. And then you made money, too, if you did weddings and funerals.
“You’d get like five bucks. And so I go, ‘OK, I can make money too’. I go, ‘This could be a good deal for me’. I thought I had the calling,” he told NPR’s Fresh Air.
His close pal and colleague Stephen Colbert was just as into church as Jimmy – and the pair chatted about “reliving their altar boy days” and showing up to Mass at the height of their fame.
Famous wife
(Image: Matt Sayles/AP/REX/Shutterstock)
Jimmy first met his co-star wife Nancy Juvonen on the set of SNL, and became the pair became friends when they starred in hit film Fever Pitch together.
He married film producer Nancy in December 2007 after proposing on her family’s dock at their New Hampshire family home.
The pair share two daughters, Winnie and Frances, who were both born via surrogate after “struggling for a good five years” to conceive.
Jimmy told People in 2014: “Being a father is the most exciting, amazing thing that ever happened to me. My life has never been this cool.”
Gruesome injury
(Image: Felipe Ramales / SplashNews.com)
In 2015, Jimmy was forced to take two weeks off his chat show after suffering a gruesome injury which almost saw him lose a finger.
The host tripped and fell over, only to discover his finger was pointing “sideways” when he landed on it.
He had suffered from “ring avulsion”, caused by his wedding ring becoming caught on a kitchen counter as he fell. Rushed to hospital, Jimmy underwent a gruelling six hours of micro-surgery.
Doctors took a vein from his foot and put it inside his finger to save it from amputation.
At the time, Fallon was left without sensation in the digit for eight weeks and spent 10 days in intensive care.
Blackface row
(Image: NBC)
Jimmy hasn’t been free from controversy in his long career, either, and came under fire in 2020 for his use of blackface in a 2000 SNL skit.
He later apologised for the “terrible decision”, which involved impersonating comedian Chris Rock.
Taking to Twitter to take accountability for his actions, Jimmy wrote: “In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this.
“I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable.”
Chris also weighed in on the scandal, branding Jimmy a “great guy”.
He said: “He didn’t mean anything. A lot of people want to say intention doesn’t matter, but it does. And I don’t think Jimmy Fallon intended to hurt me. And he didn’t.”
Eye-watering net worth
(Image: Andrew H. Walker/REX/Shutterstock)
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According to Celebrity Net Worth, Jimmy is sitting on a veritable gold mine.
He earns around $16million per year – the equivalent of £13.3million – and has a whopping estimated net worth of $60million (£50.1million).
The star also owns a stunning home in the Hamptons with his wife, which they purchased in 2011 for $5.7million (£4.7million), along with a six-bedroom apartment complex in New York City worth $15million (£12.5million).
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
