His critically acclaimed performances include the title role in The Truman Show (1998) and Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon (1999), winning Golden Globe Awards for each film.

"[13] Carrey spent his early years in the borough of Scarborough, Ontario, part of Metropolitan Toronto, where he attended Blessed Trinity Catholic Elementary School in North York.

[18][20] With more domestic stability, Carrey returned to the stage in 1979 with a more polished act that led to his first paid gig: a 20-minute spot at the Hay Loft club on Highway 48 in Scarborough for a reported Can$20 compensation on a bill with the Mother of Pearl performer from The Pig and Whistle.

[21] He soon faced his fears and went back downtown to the site of his debacle from two years earlier—Yuk Yuk's that had in the meantime moved into a permanent location on Bay Street in the fashionable Yorkville district.

Parallel to his increasing local Toronto-area popularity as an impressionist stand-up comic, Carrey tried to break into sketch comedy, auditioning to be a cast member for the 1980–81 season of NBC's Saturday Night Live.

[23][24] After not getting Saturday Night Live, Carrey took a voice acting job performing Clutch Cargo-inspired bits on The All-Night Show, an overnight program airing locally on the CFMT-TV channel branded as Multilingual Television (MTV).

[27][28] Save for a brief mention in the Barrie Examiner, it was the first time Carrey received significant mainstream corporate media coverage and the glowing praise in one of Canada's highest-circulation dailies created demand for his impressionist stand-up act throughout the country.

[29] That summer, he landed one of the main roles in Introducing... Janet, a made-for-TV movie that premiered in September 1981 on the CBC drawing more than a million viewers for its first airing in Canada.

[33] Touring venues throughout North America as the opening act for Rodney Dangerfield, Carrey made a stop at home in Toronto on June 19, 1982, performing two sold-out shows at Massey Hall.

[34] Though struggling to replicate his success in Los Angeles, Carrey continued being a big hit in his hometown Toronto where he returned during late April 1983 to perform at the short-lived B.B.

For his Tonight Show appearance that aired on American Thanksgiving, 21-year-old Carrey went through his most popular impressions—Elvis Presley, Leonid Brezhnev, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Michael Landon, James Dean, E.T.

[40] Carrey would continue getting film roles; throughout late summer and early fall 1985, he shot a supporting part in Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married which went into a long post-production process.

[40] In parallel, he decided to try out for Saturday Night Live again, this time ahead of the show's 1985–86 season being prepared by returning executive producer Lorne Michaels who was looking to hire an all-new cast.

[41] Unlike his previous SNL rejection, Carrey now had a bit of a film career to fall back on in addition to his impressionist stand-up act; Once Bitten was released in mid November 1985 and turned out to be a modest box-office hit despite drawing poor reviews.

Finally managing to perform for the show's executive producer Lorne Michaels at a Burbank studio, with returning cast members Dennis Miller, Jon Lovitz, and Nora Dunn also watching the audition, Carrey was rejected again.

[49] Carrey received his first Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor for his work in The Mask and was voted second on Quigley's Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll, behind Tom Hanks.

Janet Maslin of The New York Times said: "Well into his tumultuous career, Mr. Carrey finally turns up in a straightforward comic vehicle, and the results are much wilder and funnier than this mundane material should have allowed.

[66] For his next feature film, Carrey starred opposite Jennifer Aniston and Morgan Freeman in Tom Shadyac's international hit comedy Bruce Almighty (2003).

The film received mixed reviews upon release[67] but still became a financial success, earning over $484 million worldwide, and going on to become the seventeenth highest-grossing live action comedy of all time.

Despite reviews being mixed, Rene Rodriquez of The Miami Herald stated, "Yes Man is fine as far as Jim Carrey comedies go, but it's even better as a love story that just happens to make you laugh.

[77] Since 2009, Carrey's work has included a leading role in Glenn Ficarra and John Requa's I Love You Phillip Morris, premiering in January 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival before receiving a wide release in February 2010.

Carrey portrayed Steven Jay Russell, a con artist, imposter, and multiple prison escapee who falls in love with his fellow inmate, Phillip Morris (played by Ewan McGregor).

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film also starred Robin Wright Penn, Bob Hoskins, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman, and Cary Elwes.

The song and video, titled "Cold Dead Hand" and set as a musical act during the variety program Hee Haw, lampoons American gun culture, and specifically former NRA spokesperson Charlton Heston.

[88] Carrey delivered the commencement address at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, in May 2014 and received an honorary doctorate for his achievements as a comedian, artist, author, and philanthropist.

[95] Later that year another documentary, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond—Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton, premiered at The Venice Film Festival and was later picked up by Netflix.

[105][106] However, many felt Carrey's high-energy comedy style clashed with the real-life Biden's low-key persona, producing an imitation that lacked authenticity, and failed to impress viewers and critics.

[148] The rally was criticized by David Gorski, an American surgical oncologist on Science-Based Medicine blog, for being anti-vaccine and not "pro-safe vaccine",[149] and by Steven Parker on the WebMD website for being "irresponsible".

Carrey was criticized for being "ignorant when it comes to vaccines" by Arthur Caplan, head of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York University,[152] and by Jeffrey Kluger, senior writer at Time, who described his anti-vaccination statements as "angry, dense and immune to reason".

[158] Carrey has shared his own political cartoon drawings since August 2017, including controversial renderings of then-White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and then-President Donald Trump.