Jenny McCarthy

McCarthy was born on November 1, 1972, at Little Company of Mary Hospital located in the southwest Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park, Illinois.{{cite web |url=http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/sweethomecookcounty/documents/2007sweethome.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=October 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528132937/http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/sweethomecookcounty/documents/2007sweethome.pdf |archive-date=May 28, 2016 }} She was born to a working-class Catholic family, and has German, Irish, and Polish ancestry.{{cite news|author=Sweeney, Meghan|url= http://www.irishcentral.com/ent/And-now-for-the-Worst-Performance-by-an-Irish-American-2780.html |title=Irish-American actors (dis)honored with a Razzie|work= IrishCentral|date= March 10, 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2010/09/28/jenny_mccarthys_genitals_compared_to_r |title=Jenny McCarthy's Genitals Compared To 'Roadkill' – Starpulse.com |work=Starpulse |publisher=www.starpulse.com |access-date=October 7, 2010 |date=September 28, 2010 |quote=I see them talk to the make-up artist and the make-up artist comes walking over and she goes, 'They said they'd never saw anyone as hairy as you their entire life.' I said, 'Well, I'm half Polish!' |archive-date=October 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101002001139/http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2010/09/28/jenny_mccarthys_genitals_compared_to_r }} She lived in the West Elsdon neighborhood of Chicago.{{cite news|last=Linke|first=Denise|title=Trip to Chicago brings back memories|date=April 9, 2016|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|location=Chicago, Illinois|access-date=September 4, 2017|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/lifestyles/ct-ecn-donnie-loves-jenny-st-0411-20160408-story.html}} She is the second of four daughters – her sisters are named Lynette, Joanne, and Amy; actress Melissa McCarthy is her cousin.{{cite web|url= http://ca.eonline.com/news/true_false_new_emmy_winner_melissa/264647|title= So True? So False? Is New Emmy Winner Melissa McCarthy Really Related to Jenny McCarthy?!|first= Gina|last= Serpe|work= ca.eonline.com|date= September 19, 2011|access-date= January 2, 2012|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120709232808/http://ca.eonline.com/news/true_false_new_emmy_winner_melissa/264647|archive-date= July 9, 2012|df= mdy-all}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/melissa-mccarthy/bio/190575 |title=Melissa McCarthy Biography|work=TVGuide.com|access-date= April 29, 2008}} Her parents, Dan and Linda McCarthy of Orland Park, encouraged all of their kids to be active in high school sports: Lynette ran track; Jenny played softball; and both Amy and Joanne chose basketball. The sisters did gymnastics and bowling as youths.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-10-25-9810240023-story.html|title=Condor reserve hopes spotlight has room for another McCarthy|work=Chicago Tribune|author=O'Brien, Ken|access-date=January 23, 2024|date=October 25, 1998}} McCarthy's mother, Linda, was a housewife and courtroom custodian, and her father, Dan McCarthy, was a steel mill foreman.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazine4/articles/mccarthy.html |work=The New York Times |title=The McCarthy Era |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061223215034/http://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazine4/articles/mccarthy.html |archive-date=December 23, 2006 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/52/Jenny-McCarthy.html |title=Jenny McCarthy Biography (1972– ) |publisher=Film Reference|access-date=July 18, 2011}}

As a teenager McCarthy attended Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, whose school sweater she donned in the pages of Playboy, and was a cheerleader at both Brother Rice High School and St. Laurence High School,{{cite journal|last1= Austin|first1= Michael |last2= Wehunt |first2=Jennifer |title=Before They Were Famous|journal=Chicago|page= 76|date= February 2007|volume= 56| number= 2}} although she has referred to herself as an "outcast" at her school[http://www.usaweekend.com/98_issues/980719/980719talk_mccarthy.html USA WEEKEND Magazine]{{dead link|date=July 2011}} and has said she was repeatedly bullied by classmates.{{cite news|last=Pinsky|first=Drew|author-link=Drew Pinsky|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBfJn0UZ4oI | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/hBfJn0UZ4oI| archive-date=October 28, 2021|title=Jenny McCarthy: I was bullied|series=Dr. Drew|work= HLN|date= October 10, 2011}}{{cbignore}} She spent two years at Southern Illinois University.

{{Infobox Playboy Playmate

| name = Jenny McCarthy

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| issue = October 1993

| birth_name =

| birth_place =

| birth_date =

| death_date =

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=7}}

| preceded = Carrie Westcott

| succeeded = Julianna Young

| pmoy-year = 1994

| pmoy-preceded = Anna Nicole Smith

| pmoy-succeeded = Julie Lynn Cialini

}}

In 1993, Playboy magazine offered McCarthy $20,000 to pose for its October issue. McCarthy became the Playmate of the Month for October 1993. Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner cited McCarthy's "wholesome Catholic girl" persona as the unique quality for which she was selected out of 10,000 applicants."Jenny McCarthy" Biography. The Biography Channel. December 24, 2007{{cite web |last1=Abramowitz |first1=Rachel |title=Jenny McCarthy, The McCarthy Era |url=https://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazine4/articles/mccarthy.html |website=The New York Times Archive |access-date=December 6, 2019 |date=1996}} Her layout emphasized her Catholic upbringing with a schoolgirl theme. According to McCarthy, the pictorial caused an uproar in her Catholic neighborhood, and resulted in her house being pelted with eggs, her sisters being taunted at school, and McCarthy, who counted Catholic nuns among her aunts, being lectured about her future damnation by those close to her. McCarthy was later made the Playmate of the Year, and was paid a $100,000 salary. In 1994, because of her newfound public attention, McCarthy moved to Los Angeles and, for a time, hosted Hot Rocks, a Playboy TV show featuring uncensored music videos.{{Cite news|url=http://abc7.com/archive/8665847/|title=Jenny McCarthy to pose for Playboy again|work=ABC7 Los Angeles|access-date=January 15, 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116135056/http://abc7.com/archive/8665847/|archive-date=January 16, 2018}}

In 1995, when MTV chose McCarthy to co-host a new dating show called Singled Out, she left Hot Rocks. Her job as a co-host was a success, and Playboy wanted her to do more modeling. That same year she also appeared at the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) pay-per-view event WrestleMania XI as a guest valet for Shawn Michaels in his match against WWF Champion, Diesel. She left after the match with the victorious Diesel.{{Cite news |last=Vannini |first=Chris |date=2024-04-08 |title=Ranking every WrestleMania show: Was the 40th edition the best of all time? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5369652/2024/04/08/wrestlemania-rankings-wwe-philadelphia/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} McCarthy returned to the promotion, now renamed WWE on the August 2, 2008 Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVI to thank the fans for supporting Generation Rescue, a non-profit organization that promoted the scientifically disproven view that there is a causal link between vaccines and autism and claimed autistic children could "recover" with treatment.{{Cite web |title=Fear Factor |url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/09/26/vaccines-thimerosal-autism-biz-sci-cx_mh_rl_0927vaccines.html |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Women's Champ joins the fight against autism with Jenny McCarthy |url=https://www.wwe.com/inside/superstartosuperstar/exclusives/mickiejennymccarthy |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=WWE |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2008-08-01 |title=ACCESS EXCLUSIVE: Jenny McCarthy Responds To Michael Savage's Autism Comments |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/local/access_exclusive__jenny_mccarthy_responds_to_michael_savage_s_autism_comments_all__national_/1840572/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |work=NBC New York |language=en-US}} In 1996, she landed a small part in the comedy The Stupids. In 1997, McCarthy launched two shows. The first one was an MTV sketch comedy show The Jenny McCarthy Show, which was sufficiently popular for NBC to sign her for an eponymous sitcom later that year, Jenny. Also in 1997, she appeared on one of two covers for the September issue of Playboy (the other cover featured Pamela Anderson). McCarthy also released an autobiography: Jen-X: Jenny McCarthy's Open Book.{{cite book|title = Jen-X: Jenny McCarthy's Open Book|isbn = 978-0-06-039233-8|last1 = McCarthy|first1 = Jenny|last2 = Karlen|first2 = Neal|year = 1997| publisher=ReaganBooks |url = https://archive.org/details/jenxjennymccarth00mcca}}

In 1998, McCarthy's first major movie role was alongside Trey Parker and Matt Stone in the comedy BASEketball. The following year, she starred in Diamonds. In 2000, she had a role in the horror movie Scream 3, and three years later she parodied that role in horror film spoof Scary Movie 3 along with fellow Playmate and actress Anderson. In 2005, McCarthy produced, wrote, and starred in the film Dirty Love, which was directed by her husband at the time, John Asher.{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1510149/from-pinup-to-pen-pusher-jenny-mccarthy-does-screenwriting-in-dirty-love/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223191608/http://www.mtv.com/news/1510149/from-pinup-to-pen-pusher-jenny-mccarthy-does-screenwriting-in-dirty-love/|archive-date=February 23, 2020|title=From Pinup to Pen Pusher-Jenny McCarthy Does Screenwriting in Dirty Love|work=MTV|first=Corey|last=Moss|date=September 22, 2005}} In March 2006, she was given Razzie Awards for Worst Actress, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Picture for her work on Dirty Love, which also earned Asher a Razzie for "Worst Director".{{cite web|title=26th Annual Golden Raspberry (Razzie©) Award 'Winners'|url=http://www.razzies.com/history/05winners.asp|author=John Wilson and The Golden Raspberry Award Foundation|year=2006|access-date=August 4, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705030031/http://www.razzies.com/history/05winners.asp|archive-date=July 5, 2008}}

In addition to her early TV fame on MTV and her short-lived, self-titled NBC sitcom, McCarthy has guest-starred in a variety of other television shows, including Stacked, Charmed, The Drew Carey Show, Wings, Fastlane, Two and a Half Men and Just Shoot Me!.{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jenny-mccarthy/credits/190142/|title=Jenny McCarthy|access-date=April 24, 2019|work=TV Guide}} She was the voice of Six in the third season of Canadian animated science-fiction cartoon Tripping the Rift. In 2005, McCarthy hosted a show on E! called Party at the Palms. The reality show, which was filmed at The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas, featured hotel guests, party goers, and celebrities.{{cite web|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Jun-06-Mon-2005/living/1997484.html|title=Las Vegas Review-Journal|website=Las Vegas Review-Journal|access-date=May 17, 2017}}

McCarthy has continued her work with Playboy over the years, both as a model and in other capacities. She appeared on the cover of the magazine's January 2005 issue wearing a leopard skin version of the company's iconic "bunny suit" and was featured in a pictorial shot at Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion in that same issue. She was the second woman (following Carmen Electra) and first former Playmate to become a celebrity photographer for the Playboy Cyber Club, where she photographed model Jennifer Madden.

Her younger sister, Amy McCarthy, also has posed for Playboy. She was Cyber Girl of the Week for September 27, 2004, and Cyber Girl of the Month for January 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.playboy.com/girls/cybergirls/month/200501/|access-date=September 18, 2007|title=Amy McCarthy|publisher=Playboy.com|date=January 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011030807/http://www.playboy.com/girls/cybergirls/month/200501/|archive-date=October 11, 2007}}

File:Jenny McCarthy at E3 2006.jpg

In 2007, McCarthy starred in a five-episode online series, called In the Motherhood, along with Chelsea Handler and Leah Remini.{{cite web|url=http://www.inthemotherhood.com/ |title=ABC.com – Television Shows & Programming |publisher=Inthemotherhood.com |access-date=July 18, 2011}} The show aired on MSN and was based on being a mother where users could submit their stories to have it made into real webisodes.

She also appeared in two video games: playing the role of Agent Tanya in the video game Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, replacing Kari Wührer, and the fitness video game Your Shape Featuring Jenny McCarthy.{{cite journal|periodical=Playboy|publisher=Playboy Inc.|title=Playmate News|volume=56|date=December 2009|pages=166–167}}

On December 31, 2010, McCarthy began her decade-long tenure as correspondent in Times Square for ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest. Until her marriage, McCarthy was known for kissing a member of the U.S. Armed Forces at the stroke of midnight; the kiss was reserved for her husband after her marriage.{{cite web | url=https://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2019/10/08/jenny-mccarthy-will-not-co-host-new-years-eve-dick-clark-abc-ryan-seacrest/23831695/ | title=Jenny McCarthy will not co-host New Year's Eve broadcast in Times Square after 10 years on air | work=AOL | date=October 8, 2019| access-date=November 26, 2019 | author=Kline, Jennifer}}

In 2020, she chose not to participate in this event.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/lucy-hale-ryan-seacrest-dick-clarks-new-years-rockin-eve/ | title=Lucy Hale Replaces Jenny McCarthy as Co-Host of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2020 | magazine=TV Guide | date=November 26, 2019 | access-date=November 26, 2019 | author=Bell, Amanda}}

She was the host of season 2 of Love in the Wild, which aired in the summer of 2012 on NBC.{{cite news|url=http://www.parade.com/celebrity/news/2012/04/19-jenny-mccarthy.html|title=Jenny McCarthy: 'I'm Taking Baby Steps' with New Romance|access-date=May 5, 2012|date=April 19, 2012|work=Parade|author=Margaret, Mary}}

She was on the cover of Playboy in the July/August 2012 issue after saying she wanted to pose for it again before her 40th birthday.{{cite web|last=Shira |first=Dahvi |url=https://people.com/bodies/jenny-mccarthy-playboy-photo-of-cover-jenny-mccarthy-naked-picture/|title=Jenny McCarthy's Sexy-at-39 Playboy Cover: Sneak Peek |work=People|date=June 25, 2012|access-date=February 25, 2018}}

In 2013, McCarthy appeared in a series of commercials for Blu electronic cigarettes.{{cite web|url=https://adage.com/article/media/jenny-mccarthy-star-latest-blu-e-cig-commercials/243420|title=Jenny McCarthy to star in latest Blu e-cig commercials|publisher=Ad Age|date=August 1, 2013|access-date=August 21, 2020}}

After 17 guest appearances, in July 2013, McCarthy was announced as a new co-host on ABC's The View, replacing former co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. To tone down her looks, McCarthy always wore glasses on the show. Barbara Walters praised McCarthy's intelligence, warmth, humor and fresh point of view, and calling her a great addition to the show.{{cite web|title=Jenny McCarthy to replace Elisabeth Hasselbeck on The View|url=http://www.13abc.com/story/22842397/jenny-mccarthy-to-replace-eli|work=ABC News |date=July 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908024329/http://www.13abc.com/story/22842397/jenny-mccarthy-to-replace-eli |archive-date=September 8, 2013 }}{{cite magazine| title = Jenny McCarthy officially named 'The View' co-host

| url = http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/07/15/jenny-mccarthy-the-view/| last = Hibberd| first = James| date = July 15, 2013| magazine=Entertainment Weekly| access-date = July 16, 2013}} She debuted as a co-host on September 9, 2013. The departures of McCarthy and co-host Sherri Shepherd from The View were announced in June 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/sherri-shepherd-and-jenny-mccarthy-leave-the-view-2014266|title=Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy Leave The View|date=June 27, 2014|website=usmagazine.com|access-date=May 17, 2017}} The Wrap reported that ABC had decided not to renew McCarthy's contract.{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/inside-the-view-exits-sherri-shepherd-rejected-abcs-final-offer-jenny-mccarthys-contract-not-renewed/|title=Inside 'The View' Exits: Sherri Shepherd Rejected ABC's Final Offer; Jenny McCarthy's Contract Not Renewed|date=June 27, 2014|website=TheWrap|access-date=May 17, 2017}} In an interview with Access Hollywood, McCarthy denied being fired from the show.{{cite web|url=https://www.accessonline.com/articles/jenny-mccarthy-i-wasnt-fired-from-the-view-it-was-mutual-149821|title=Jenny McCarthy: I Wasn't Fired From 'The View' – It Was 'Mutual'|first=Erin|last=O'Sullivan|date=July 15, 2014|website=Access Online|access-date=February 25, 2019}}

McCarthy became a SiriusXM series host of a show called Dirty, Sexy, Funny with Jenny McCarthy on October 27, 2014. The title of the show was changed to The Jenny McCarthy Show on July 12, 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-jenny-mccarthy-interview-20191004-zdtkhn4bbfavphq5x6md7huosa-story.html|title='Midwest is where it's at': Jenny McCarthy talks about her career, family and why she loves Illinois|first=Jessica |last=Villagomez|date=October 4, 2019|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=December 2, 2019}}

She is one of the panelists on The Masked Singer.{{cite web |last1=Venable |first1=Malcolm |title=Jenny McCarthy Says The Masked Singer Season 3 Clues Are Harder to Guess Than Ever |url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/masked-singer-season-3-clues-jenny-mccarthy/ |publisher=TV Guide |date=January 21, 2020}} The show premiered on January 2, 2019.{{cite news |last1=Bloom |first1=Mike |title=The Masked Singer Season 2: Everything You Need to Know (Including the Shocking Winner!) |newspaper=Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays |url=https://parade.com/928217/mikebloom/the-masked-singer-season-2/ |publisher=Parade |date=December 19, 2019}}

McCarthy once modeled for Candie's, a shoe company. In one magazine ad, McCarthy posed on a toilet seat with her underwear near her ankles. Cultural scholar Collin Gifford Brooke wrote that the ad's "taboo nature" brought it attention, while noting that the ad itself helped to weaken that taboo.{{cite book

|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZivAGEvtpDcC&q=jenny+mccarthy+candies+toilet&pg=PA136

|title=Sex in Advertising: Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal

|author=Collin Gifford Brooke

|chapter=Sex(haustion) Sells: Marketing in a Saturated Mediascape

|editor1=Tom Reichert

|editor2=Jacqueline Lambiase

|publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

|year=2003

|isbn=978-0-8058-4118-3

}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Another Candie's ad depicted McCarthy "passing wind" in a crowded elevator.Boehning, Julie C. Footwear News. July 28, 1997.{{Cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19632413.html |title=Positively shocking? Candie's ads are once again, a point of contention. - Footwear News | HighBeam Research |date=July 28, 1997 |access-date=July 18, 2011 |archive-date=November 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106065927/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19632413.html }}. retrieved July 17, 2011.

{{overly detailed|section|date=August 2023}}

File:Jenny McCarthy Addresses Audience.jpg

In May 2007, McCarthy announced that Evan had been diagnosed with autism in 2005. McCarthy wrote that he was gifted, a "crystal child", and that she was an "indigo mom".{{cite web|title=Insights of an indigo mom: a mother's awakening |author=McCarthy J |year=2006 |access-date=April 2, 2009 |url=http://childrenofthenewearth.com/free.php?page=articles_free/mccarthy_jenny/article1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402112107/http://childrenofthenewearth.com/free.php?page=articles_free%2Fmccarthy_jenny%2Farticle1 |archive-date=April 2, 2009 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rvdf6g|title=@JennyMcCarthy status update|quote=Stories circulating online, claiming that I said my son Evan may not have autism after all, are blatantly inaccurate and completely ridiculous. ... The implication that I have changed my position, that my child was not initially diagnosed with autism (and instead may suffer from Landau-Kleffner Syndrome), is both irresponsible and inaccurate. ... "|publisher=TwitLonger.com|last=McCarthy|first=Jenny|access-date=October 28, 2014|date=January 4, 2014}}

In a 2014 Daily Beast article she said that her son, then 12, was doing okay: "Evan's amazing, ... He doesn't meet the diagnostic characteristics for autism. He definitely has quirks and issues from the seizures. He has a little bit of brain damage due to his seizures. He doesn't qualify for any more services, but he does have issues in his school."{{cite news |first=Lloyd| last=Grove|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/24/jenny-mccarthy-i-am-not-anti-vaccine.html |title=Jenny McCarthy: I Am Not Anti-Vaccine |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=October 24, 2014|access-date=October 26, 2014 }} McCarthy served as a spokesperson for Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) from June 2007 until October 2008.{{cite web|url=http://tacanow.org/jenny/ |title=TACA & Jenny McCarthy |date=October 5, 2008 |access-date=November 4, 2008 |author=Ackerman L }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} She participated in fundraisers, online chats, and other activities for the non-profit organization to help families affected by autism spectrum disorders. Her first fundraiser for TACA, Ante Up for Autism,{{cite web|author=zekedesign.com |url=http://www.anteupforautism.org |title=Taca |publisher=Ante Up For Autism |access-date=July 18, 2011}} was held on October 20, 2007, in Irvine, California. She was a prominent spokesperson and activist for Generation Rescue{{cite journal |doi=10.1136/bmj.b2435 |pmid=19546136 |title=Vaccine disputes |journal=BMJ |volume=338 |pages=b2435 |year=2009 |last1=Coombes |first1=R. |s2cid=37280530 }} and served on its board of directors {{as of|2011|January|lc=y}}.{{cite web |url= http://www.generationrescue.org/about/leadership |title= Leadership:Board of Directors |publisher= Generation Rescue |year= 2011 |access-date= January 7, 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101216022002/http://generationrescue.org/about/leadership |archive-date= December 16, 2010 |df= mdy-all }} McCarthy was president of the organization when it ceased operations in December 2019.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-04 |title=The 'Flu Shot Cheerleader' is back — with a warning about the anti-vaccine movement |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/desiree-jennings-flu-shot-anti-vaccine-media-rcna97724 |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite news |author=Andrea Suozzo |author2=Ken Schwencke |author3=Mike Tigas |author4=Sisi Wei |author5=Alec Glassford |author6=Brandon Roberts |title=GENERATION RESCUE INC - Form Form 990 for period ending Dec 2019 - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/202063267/01_2021_prefixes_20-22/202063267_201912_990_2021012117622846 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230724134906/https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/202063267/01_2021_prefixes_20-22%2F202063267_201912_990_2021012117622846 |archive-date=2023-07-24 |access-date=2025-05-07 |work=ProPublica |language=en}}

McCarthy's book dealing with autism, Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism, was published September 17, 2007. She said both in her book and during her appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show that her husband was unable to deal with their son's autism, which led to their divorce. In 2008, she appeared on a Larry King Live special dedicated to the subject and argued that vaccines can trigger autism.{{cite journal |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000114 |pmid=19478850 |pmc=2682483 |title=A Broken Trust: Lessons from the Vaccine–Autism Wars |journal=PLOS Biology |volume=7 |issue=5 |pages=e1000114 |year=2009 |last1=Gross |first1=Liza |doi-access=free }}{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/02/lkl.01.html |title=Jenny McCarthy's Autism Fight |department=Larry King Live|work=CNN |date=April 2, 2008|access-date= May 11, 2009}} As of 2008, her son's physician was vaccine critic Jay Gordon.[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/02/lkl.01.html Jenny McCarthy's Autism Fight] In an April 27, 2010, PBS Frontline documentary, she was interviewed about the debate between vaccine opponents and public health experts.{{cite news|first=Don | last=Aucoin|url=https://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2010/04/27/measured_doses_of_fact_friction_in_vaccine_war/ |title=Measured doses of fact, friction in 'Vaccine War'| newspaper=The Boston Globe | date=April 27, 2010}}[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/vaccines/ "The Vaccine War"], PBS Frontline documentary, April 27, 2010

In addition to conventional, intensive applied behavior analysis, McCarthy prescribed for her son a gluten-free and casein-free diet, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, chelation, aromatherapies, electromagnetics, spoons rubbed on his body, multivitamin therapy, B-12 shots, and numerous prescription drugs. "Try everything", she advises parents. "It was amazing to watch, over the course of doing this, how certain therapies work for certain kids and they completely don't work for others... When something didn't work for Evan, I didn't stop. I stopped that treatment, but I didn't stop."{{cite magazine|last=Greenfeld|first=Karl Taro|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1968100,00.html|title=The autism debate: who's afraid of Jenny McCarthy?|magazine=Time|date=February 25, 2010|access-date=December 6, 2019|archive-date=August 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805041329/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1968100%2C00.html|url-status=bot: unknown}} She has denied that her son was misdiagnosed.{{cite tweet|user=JennyMcCarthy|number=419393734128975872|title=Stories circulating online, claiming that I said my son Evan may not have autism after all, are blatantly (cont) |publisher=Twitter|last=McCarthy|firstJenny|access-date=December 6, 2019|date=January 4, 2014}} McCarthy has claimed on talk shows and at rallies that chelation therapy helped her son recover from autism.{{cite news|last=Rochman|first=Bonnie|title=Jenny McCarthy, Vaccine Expert? A Quarter of Parents Trust Celebrities|url=https://healthland.time.com/2011/04/26/jenny-mccarthy-vaccine-expert-a-quarter-of-parents-trust-celebrities/ |access-date=May 6, 2011 |magazine=Time |date=April 26, 2011}} The underlying rationale for chelation, the speculation that mercury in vaccines causes autism, has been roundly rejected by scientific studies, with the National Institute of Mental Health concluding that children with autism are unlikely to receive any benefit to balance the risks of heart attack, stroke and cardiac arrest posed by the chelating agents used in the treatment.{{cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.321.5887.326 |pmid=18635766 |title=MEDICINE: Stalled Trial for Autism Highlights Dilemma of Alternative Treatments |journal=Science |volume=321 |issue=5887 |page=326 |year=2008 |last1=Stokstad |first1=E. |s2cid=206581219 |doi-access=free }}

McCarthy's public presence and vocal activism on the vaccination-autism controversy, led, in 2008, to her being awarded the James Randi Educational Foundation's Pigasus Award, which is a tongue-in-cheek award granted for contributions to pseudoscience, for the "Performer Who Has Fooled the Greatest Number of People with the Least Amount of Effort". Randi stated in a video on the JREF's website that he did sympathize with the plight of McCarthy and her child, but admonished her for using her public presence in a way that may discourage parents from having their own children vaccinated.{{cite web |url=http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/jref-news/500-pigasus-awards-for-2008-announced.html |title=Pigasus Awards for 2008 Announced |access-date=April 16, 2010 |date=April 1, 2009 |publisher=James Randi Educational Foundation}} In 2019 Rolling Stone magazine published a list of seventeen anti-vaccination celebrities,{{cite magazine |last1=Got |first1=Gossen |title=A Guide to 17 Anti-Vaccination Celebrities |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/celebrities-anti-vaxxers-jessica-biel-847779/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=December 9, 2021}} from which according to Stuart Vyse McCarthy was one of the most active anti-vaccine celebrities.

McCarthy's claims that vaccines cause autism are not supported by any medical evidence, and the original paper by Andrew Wakefield that formed the basis for the claims (and for whose book McCarthy wrote a foreword){{cite magazine |url= https://healthland.time.com/2011/01/06/study-linking-vaccines-to-autism-is-fraudulent/ |title= Study linking vaccines to autism is 'fraudulent' |magazine= Time |date= January 6, 2011 |access-date= January 7, 2011}} was based on manipulated data and fraudulent research.{{cite journal |doi=10.1136/bmj.c7452 |pmid=21209060 |title=Wakefield's article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent |journal=BMJ |volume=342 |pages=c7452 |year=2011 |last1=Godlee |first1=F. |last2=Smith |first2=J. |last3=Marcovitch |first3=H. |s2cid=43640126 }}{{cite journal |doi=10.1136/bmj.c5347 |pmid=21209059 |title=How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed |journal=BMJ |volume=342 |pages=c5347 |year=2011 |last1=Deer |first1=B. |s2cid=46683674 |doi-access= }}{{cite news |url= https://www.npr.org/2011/01/05/132692497/journal-study-linking-vaccine-to-autism-was-fraud |publisher=NPR | agency= Associated Press |title= Study linking vaccine to autism was fraud |date= January 5, 2011 |access-date= January 6, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110107085338/http://www.npr.org/2011/01/05/132692497/journal-study-linking-vaccine-to-autism-was-fraud |archive-date= January 7, 2011}}{{cite news |publisher=CNN |title= Retracted autism study an 'elaborate fraud,' British journal finds |url= http://edition.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/05/autism.vaccines/index.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110106075649/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/05/autism.vaccines/index.html |archive-date= January 6, 2011 |date=January 6, 2011 |access-date=January 6, 2011| location=Atlanta}} The BMJ published a 2011 article by journalist Brian Deer, based on information uncovered by Freedom of Information legislation after the British General Medical Council (GMC) inquiry into allegations of misconduct against Wakefield that led to him being struck off from the medical register (and thus unable to practice medicine in the UK) and his articles retracted, saying that Wakefield had planned a venture to profit from the MMR vaccine scare.{{cite journal |doi=10.1136/bmj.c5258 |pmid=21224310 |title=How the vaccine crisis was meant to make money |journal=BMJ |volume=342 |pages=c5258 |year=2011 |last1=Deer |first1=B. |s2cid=37724643 }}{{cite news|url= http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2011/01/wakefield_tried_to_capitalize.html |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130105185258/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2011/01/wakefield_tried_to_capitalize.html |archive-date= January 5, 2013 | title= Wakefield tried to capitalize on autism-vaccine link, report says |author= Stein, Rob |date= January 11, 2011|newspaper= The Washington Post |access-date= January 12, 2011}}{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/11/autism.vaccines/?hpt=Sbin |title= Vaccine study's author held related patent, medical journal reports| publisher=CNN |date= January 11, 2011 |access-date= January 12, 2011 }}{{cite web |url= http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20110111/mmr-doctor-planned-make-millions-journal-claims |title= MMR Doctor 'Planned to Make Millions,' Journal Claims |author= Russell, Peter |work=WebMD |date= January 11, 2011 |access-date= January 12, 2011 }}

Generation Rescue released a statement saying that the "media circus" following the revelation of Wakefield's fraud and manipulation of data was "much ado about nothing", which led USA Today to report that McCarthy had "taken a beating on Twitter".{{cite news |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/01/jenny-mccarthy-under-fire-on-twitter-/1 |newspaper= USA Today |date= January 6, 2011 |access-date= January 7, 2011 |title= Jenny McCarthy under fire on Twitter |first=Gary |last=Levin}} Mary Elizabeth Williams responded to Generation Rescue's statement:

"It's high time the woman who once said that 'I do believe sadly it's going to take some diseases coming back to realize that we need to change and develop vaccines that are safe' took a step back and reconsidered the merits of that increasingly crackpot stance. And it's time she acknowledged that clinging to research that's been deemed patently fraudulent does not make one a 'mother warrior.' It makes her a menace."{{cite web |url= http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/06/jenny_mccarthy_autism_debate/ |author= Williams, Mary Elizabeth |title= Jenny McCarthy's autism fight grows more misguided |date= January 6, 2011 |access-date= January 7, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110110132939/http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/06/jenny_mccarthy_autism_debate |archive-date= January 10, 2011 |df= mdy-all }}

In January 2011, McCarthy defended Wakefield, saying that he had listened to parents, reported what they said, and recommended further investigation:

"Since when is repeating the words of parents and recommending further investigation a crime? As I've learned, the answer is whenever someone questions the safety of any vaccines. For some reason, parents aren't being told that this 'new' information about Dr. Wakefield isn't a medical report, but merely the allegations of a single British journalist named Brian Deer."{{cite news |url= https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenny-mccarthy/vaccine-autism-debate_b_806857.html |author = McCarthy, Jenny | title= Jenny McCarthy: In the Vaccine-Autism Debate, What Can Parents Believe? |date= January 10, 2011 |work=Huffington Post |access-date= January 12, 2011}}

Having written three books on the subject after her son was diagnosed with the syndrome, "by dint of sheer energy and celebrity, McCarthy became the nation's most prominent purveyor of anti-vaxxer ideology", and has reiterated that she is not against vaccines. In an earlier October 2013 interview for TV Guide, McCarthy is quoted as saying:

"It's been three years now since I've even talked about autism or vaccines — I was taken aback when people freaked out that I was going to come on The View and preach. ... I will clarify my stance, which is still the same: That parents are in charge. Space it out, slow it down and do your homework. But I am not at all against vaccines."{{cite magazine|first= Ingela |last=Ratledge|url=https://www.tvguide.com/News/Jenny-McCarthy-View-1071940.aspx|title=A Day Out with The View's Jenny McCarthy|magazine=TV Guide|publisher=NTVB Media|location=Portland, Oregon|date=October 10, 2013|access-date=November 11, 2018}}

Jeffrey Kluger, senior writer at Time, has criticized McCarthy several times. In an open letter article referring to their past conflicts, he reproved her and rejected her denials:

"Jenny, as outbreaks of measles, mumps and whooping cough continue to appear in the U.S.—most the result of parents refusing to vaccinate their children because of the scare stories passed around by anti-vaxxers like you—it's just too late to play cute with the things you've said. You are either floridly, loudly, uninformedly antivaccine or you are the most grievously misunderstood celebrity of the modern era. Science almost always prefers the simple answer, because that's the one that's usually correct. Your quote trail is far too long—and you have been far too wrong—for the truth not to be obvious."{{cite magazine|last=Kluger|first=Jeffrey|title=That Moment When You Must Have a Word With Jenny McCarthy|date=April 12, 2014|url=https://time.com/60416/jenny-mccarthy-anti-vaccine-whitewash/|magazine=Time|access-date=October 26, 2014}}

One month later in May 2014, McCarthy published an opinion-editorial addressing her position on vaccines, which specifically mentions Kluger:

"I am not 'anti-vaccine.' This is not a change in my stance nor is it a new position that I have recently adopted. For years, I have repeatedly stated that I am, in fact, 'pro-vaccine' and for years I have been wrongly branded as 'anti-vaccine.' ... Blatantly inaccurate blog posts about my position have been accepted as truth by the public at large as well as media outlets (legitimate and otherwise), who have taken those false stories and repeatedly turned them into headlines."{{Citation |last=McCarthy |first=Jenny |date=May 14, 2014 |title=The Gray Area on Vaccines |work=Chicago Sun-Times |url=http://chicago.suntimes.com/uncategorized/7/71/195868/jenny-mccarthy-the-gray-area-on-vaccines/ |access-date=January 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226002443/http://chicago.suntimes.com/uncategorized/7/71/195868/jenny-mccarthy-the-gray-area-on-vaccines/ |archive-date=December 26, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}

During a subsequent Daily Beast interview she said:

"I am not anti-vaccine, ... I'm in this gray zone of, I think everyone should be aware and educate yourself and ask questions. And if your kid is having a problem, ask your doctor for an alternative way of doing the shots. ... The ironic thing is my position has always remained the same. People just never listened to it."

In a 2015 Medscape article about celebrities who "speak out about illness", Jeffrey A. Lieberman criticized McCarthy and her views on vaccines, thimerosal, and autism. He had this to say about her influence: "She has no idea what she is talking about. What she said is misleading and harmful, and the measles outbreak is a clear indication of the response to the spread of such pseudoscientific myths."{{cite web |last=Lieberman |first=Jeffrey |date=March 12, 2015 |title=Should Celebrities Speak Out About Illness? |work=Medscape |url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/841049 |access-date=March 17, 2015 }}

McCarthy's appointment to The View called forth many protests. Amy Pisani of Every Child By Two wrote a letter to The View's Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie saying that McCarthy's "unfounded claims that vaccines cause autism have been one of the greatest impediments to public health in recent decades", and that McCarthy's assertions "[have] spread fear among young parents, which has led to an increased number of children who have not received life-saving vaccines."{{cite news

|url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2013/07/15/abc-the-view-jenny-mccarthy-barbara-walters/2517659/

|title = Jenny McCarthy joins 'The View'|last = Levin| first = Gary|work=USA Today| date = July 15, 2013| access-date = July 16, 2013}}

James Poniewozik, a television critic for Time magazine, criticized McCarthy's addition to the series and Walters' endorsement of McCarthy, arguing that The View is largely aimed at parents, on whom the public health system is dependent, and that the credibility that McCarthy's hiring will give her will endanger the public. Poniewozik argued that McCarthy's views, which might be brought up in discussions with the other hosts, would have the effect of framing the issue of whether vaccines cause autism as a matter of opinion, rather than a firmly refuted idea.{{cite magazine| title = Viruses Don't Care About Your View: Why ABC Shouldn't Have Hired Jenny McCarthy| url = https://entertainment.time.com/2013/07/15/viruses-dont-care-about-your-view-why-abc-shouldnt-have-hired-jenny-mccarthy/| last = Poniewozik| first = James| magazine=Time|date=July 15, 2013}}

David Freeman, senior science editor for The Huffington Post, wrote about the concerns of Bill Nye who said: "I believe Ms. McCarthy's views will be discredited."{{cite news| title = Bill Nye: Jenny McCarthy's Errant Views On Childhood Vaccines May Be Discredited On 'The View'| url = https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/15/bill-nye-jenny-mccarthy-childhood-vaccines-autism-the-view_n_3600666.html| last = Freeman| first = David| work=The Huffington Post|date=July 15, 2013}}

Alex Pareene also protested and published a letter to ABC in Salon, entitled "Anti-vaccine conspiracist and 'View' co-host Jenny McCarthy isn't just quirky—she spreads lies that hurt people."{{cite web| title = Dear ABC: Putting Jenny McCarthy on "The View" will kill children. Anti-vaccine conspiracist and "View" co-host Jenny McCarthy isn't just quirky – she spreads lies that hurt people|url=http://www.salon.com/2013/07/16/dear_abc_putting_jenny_mccarthy_on_the_view_will_kill_children/| last = Pareene| first = Alex| work=Salon| date = July 16, 2013}}

Michael Specter, writing in The New Yorker stated:

"Jenny McCarthy... will be the show's first co-host whose dangerous views on childhood vaccination may—if only indirectly—have contributed to the sickness and death of people throughout the Western world. McCarthy, who is savvy, telegenic, and pulchritudinous, is also the person most visibly associated with the deadly and authoritatively discredited anti-vaccine movement in the United States."{{cite magazine| title = Jenny McCarthy's Dangerous Views| url = https://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/07/jenny-mccarthys-dangerous-views.html|last = Specter| first = Michael| magazine=The New Yorker| date = July 16, 2013}}

Brendan Nyhan, writing in Columbia Journalism Review, commented: "ABC's announcement yesterday that actress/comedian Jenny McCarthy will become a co-host of The View brought forth a torrent of condemnation from doctors, science journalists, opinion writers, and even entertainment commentators who oppose giving the anti-vaccine activist a high-profile platform to spread misinformation." After an extensive review of news coverage of the hiring, Nyhan concluded that "[t]here is no perfect way to cover McCarthy's hiring, of course, but giving 'balanced' coverage to fringe beliefs is the worst approach to covering misinformation."{{cite web| title = When 'he said,' 'she said' is dangerous. Media errs in giving "balanced" coverage to McCarthy's discredited views.|url=https://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/media_errs_giving_balanced_coverage_to_jenny_mccarthys_discredited_views.php?page=all|last = Nyhan| first = Brendan| work=Columbia Journalism Review| date = July 16, 2013}}

Toronto Public Health officially denounced the appointment and "launched a Twitter campaign to get... McCarthy fired from the ABC show The View", tweeting "Jenny McCarthy's anti-vaccine views = misinformation. Please ask The View to change their mind", and "Jenny McCarthy cites fraudulent research on vaccines & it's irresponsible to provide her with The View platform."{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/07/22/jenny_mccarthy_in_the_crosshairs_toronto_public_health_takes_aim.html|title=Jenny McCarthy in the crosshairs: Toronto Public Health takes aim|last=Dale|first=Daniel|date=July 22, 2013|work=Toronto Star}}

Katrina vanden Heuvel, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Editor of The Nation, objected to the appointment and wrote about "Jenny McCarthy's Vaccination Fear-Mongering and the Cult of False Equivalence":

"One of the most prominent promoters of this falsehood [that vaccines cause autism] is actress Jenny McCarthy, who was recently named as Elisabeth Hasselbeck's replacement on ABC's hit daytime talk-show, The View. Once she's on air, it will be difficult to prevent her from advocating for the anti-vaccine movement. And the mere act of hiring her would seem to credit her as a reliable source. ... By giving science deniers a public forum, media outlets implicitly condone their claims as legitimate. ... False equivalency is one of journalism's great pitfalls, and in an effort to achieve 'balance', reporters often obscure the truth. What's the merit in 'he said, she said' reporting when he says the world is round and she insists it is flat. Indeed, there is an enormous cost to society when the truth could save lives."{{cite journal| title = Jenny McCarthy's Vaccination Fear-Mongering and the Cult of False Equivalence| url = http://www.thenation.com/blog/175388/jenny-mccarthys-vaccination-fear-mongering-and-cult-false-equivalence| last = vanden Heuvel| first = Katrina| journal=The Nation| date = July 22, 2013}}

McCarthy finished as co-host of the show in 2014, nine months after her debut.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Psychologist Stuart Vyse in an article for Skeptical Inquirer regarding the false cause between vaccination and autism and also the false cures said:

"McCarthy became the face of the anti-vaccination movement, and the subsequent rise in vaccine hesitancy has been called "The Jenny McCarthy Effect" (Dominus 2011). It is important to recall that correlation does not mean causation, but the Google Trends[...] data shows a sustained increase in Google searches for "autism & vaccines" following McCarthy's book launch media blitz. It's also impossible to know who was searching and why, but for a time Jenny McCarthy was the undisputed leader of the anti-vaxx movement."{{cite web |last1=Stuart |first1=Vyse|author-link=Stuart Vyse|title=From False Cause to False Cure: Autism and the Rich and Famous |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/from-false-cause-to-false-cure-autism-and-the-rich-and-famous/ |website=skepticalinquirer.org |date=May 19, 2021 |access-date=9 December 2021}}

McCarthy dated manager Ray Manzella from 1994 until 1998 and began dating actor/director John Mallory Asher late in 1998.{{cite magazine|author=Orecklin, Michele|date=February 1, 1999|title=Jenny Come Back|magazine=TIME|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,990114,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206121418/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,990114,00.html|archive-date=December 6, 2008|access-date=October 5, 2008}} The couple was engaged in January 1999 and married on September 11 of that year. They have a son, Evan, born in May 2002, who was diagnosed with autism in May 2005.{{cite news|author=McCarthy, Jenny|date=March 28, 2008|title=Jenny McCarthy: The day I heard my son had autism|publisher=CNN|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/24/jenny.autism/|access-date=July 17, 2013}} McCarthy and Asher divorced in September 2005.{{cite web|title=The John Asher and Jenny McCarthy Divorce|url=http://recordssitereviews.com/divorcerecords/john-asher-jenny-mccarthy-divorce.html|access-date=October 2, 2011|publisher=recordssitereview.com}}

In December 2005, McCarthy began dating actor Jim Carrey. They did not make their relationship public until June 2006. She announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 2, 2008, that she and Carrey were living together but had no plans to marry, as they did not need a "piece of paper".{{cite web|last=Dreben|first=Jeb|date=November 3, 2008|title=Jenny McCarthy Doesn't 'Need Piece of Paper to Prove My Love'|url=https://people.com/celebrity/jenny-mccarthy-doesnt-need-piece-of-paper-to-prove-my-love/|access-date=August 27, 2019|work=People}} Carrey almost made a mock proposal to McCarthy as a promotion for the film Yes Man (2008) for Ellen's Twelve Days of Christmas. In April 2010, McCarthy and Carrey announced that they had split up.{{cite news|last=Levin|first=Gary|date=April 6, 2010|title=Jim Carrey, Jenny McCarthy announce split|work=USA Today|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/04/carrey-mccarthy-announce-split/1|access-date=April 6, 2010}}

In July 2013, McCarthy stated that she was dating singer and actor Donnie Wahlberg, known for being a member of New Kids on the Block and the television series Blue Bloods.{{cite news|last=Kornowski|first=Liat|date=July 13, 2013|title=Jenny McCarthy, Donnie Wahlberg Dating: New Couple Reportedly Spent July 4th Together|work=Huffington Post|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/13/jenny-mccarthy-donnie-wahlberg_n_3591385.html|access-date=July 16, 2013}} On April 16, 2014, McCarthy announced on The View that she and Wahlberg were engaged,{{cite news|last=Tan|first=Michelle|title=Jenny McCarthy Engaged to Donnie Wahlberg|url=https://people.com/celebrity/jenny-mccarthy-engaged-to-donnie-wahlberg/|access-date=February 25, 2019|work=People}} and they married on August 31, 2014.{{cite news|last=Corriston|first=Michele|date=September 3, 2014|title=Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg Share Their First Newlywed Selfie|work=People|url=https://people.com/celebrity/jenny-mccarthy-and-donnie-wahlberg-share-their-first-newlywed-selfie/|access-date=February 25, 2019}}{{cite news|last=Rothman|first=Michael|date=September 4, 2014|title=Exclusive: Donnie Wahlberg Talks Love of Photography, 'Exciting' Wedding to Jenny McCarthy|work=ABC News|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/exclusive-donnie-wahlberg-talks-love-photography-exciting-wedding/story?id=25235858|access-date=September 7, 2014}}{{cite journal|last=Webber|first=Stephanie|date=September 5, 2014|title=Jenny McCarthy, Donnie Wahlberg Wedding: Exclusive Pictures, More Details|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/jenny-mccarthy-donnie-wahlberg-wedding-exclusive-pictures-details-201459|journal=Us Weekly|access-date=September 7, 2014}}

• Jen-X: Jenny McCarthy's Open Book, an autobiography (Harpercollins November 1997, {{ISBN|978-0-06-039233-8}}).
• Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth (DaCapo Press, December 13, 2005, {{ISBN|978-0-7382-0949-4}})
• Baby Laughs: The Naked Truth about the First Year of Mommyhood (Plume, April 4, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-525-94883-4}})
• Life Laughs: The Naked Truth about Motherhood, Marriage, and Moving On (Plume, March 27, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-525-94947-3}})
• Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism (Plume, September 17, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-525-95011-0}})
• Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds (Plume, September 23, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-525-95069-1}})
• Healing and Preventing Autism Co-written with Dr. Jerry Kartzinel. (Dutton Adult, March 31, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-525-95103-2}})
• Love, Lust & Faking It: The Naked Truth About Sex, Lies, and True Romance (Harper, September 28, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-06-201298-2}})
• Bad Habits: Confessions of a Recovering Catholic (Hyperion, October 2, 2012, {{ISBN|0-06-039233-9}}),

• List of people in Playboy 1990–1999

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{Twitter|jennymccarthy}}
• {{Playmate|jenny-mccarthy|Jenny McCarthy}}
• {{IMDb name|189|Jenny McCarthy}}

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