Background and career
James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an eight-time Grammy nominated American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is a two-time New York Times best-selling author, three-time Emmy winning performer and multiplatinum-selling recording artist. In 2025, Billboard named Gaffigan's tour as one of "The Top 10 Highest Grossing Comedy Tours" of the year.
Gaffigan is known for his unique brand of humor, which often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using little profanity in his routines, although he does use it from time to time. He has released thirteen successful long-form comedy specials.
Gaffigan is also an actor, appearing in comedic and dramatic roles in film, television and on Broadway. He is married to actress, producer and writer Jeannie Gaffigan, with whom he has five children.
Gaffigan was born on July 7, 1966, in Elgin, Illinois. He is the youngest of six children, born to charity worker and fundraiser Marcia Miriam (née Mitchell) and banker Michael Ambrose Gaffigan. Of Irish descent, his family's surname was Gavahan. His maternal grandfather was Iowa Supreme Court Justice Richard F. Mitchell. Gaffigan was raised in Chesterton in Northwest Indiana, a region that he has stated influenced his comedy because of its authenticity, and often jokes about growing up in a large family. His mother was accomplished at needlework and received a national award for original design and craftsmanship from the American Needlepoint Guild in 1985. She died of cancer in 1990 at age 53.
Gaffigan's father was the president and CEO of the Mercantile National Bank of Indiana for 15 years until his retirement in 1991. A former seminarian, he was also actively involved in local charity work. He died of lung cancer in 1999. Gaffigan's father was the first in his family to attend college, and encouraged his children to seek careers that promised job security. However, at about the age of five, Gaffigan announced that he wanted to be an actress unaware that it was the female noun for the occupation.
