Who is the Oscars 2024 host Jimmy Kimmel? Meet comedian as he prepares to present Academy Awards for a FOURTH time

Jimmy Kimmel is set to host the 96th Academy Awards for a fourth time on Sunday. 

The ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 and sees the late night talk show host take the reigns yet again after previously stepping up to the task in 2017, 2018 and 2023.

Last year TV host, 56, rose viewership 'to nearly 19 million' from 16.6 million the year before, when Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall and Amy Schumer hosted, according to the New York Times.

In 2021, when the show did not have a host, viewership dipped to the lowest of all time, with just 10.4 million viewers. 

So who is Jimmy Kimmel and how has he landed the coveted gig for a fourth time? Read on to find out more.  

Jimmy Kimmel is set to host the 96th Academy Awards for a fourth time on Sunday. The ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 

Who is Jimmy Kimmel?

Jimmy Kimmel is a TV talk show host, television producer, writer and comedian best-known as the host of the late night TV talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!

He was born in New York City on November 13, 1967.

After his family relocated to Las Vegas, Kimmel got his start in radio broadcasting while still in high school and later attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for one year and Arizona State University for two years.

Kimmel worked for several radio stations in the following years before landing a role as the cohost of the Comedy Central Show Win Ben Stein’s Money in 1997, raising his profile nationally. Upon leaving the TV show in 2001, he cohosted and coproduced The Man Show on the network while also working to produce other shows such as The Andy Milonakis Show, Sports Show with Norm McDonald and Crank Yankers.

After being hired by ABC, Kimmel debuted his TV talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! in January 2003, which has since become the longest-running late night TV talk show in the network’s history.

On his show, Kimmel has often clashed with President Donald Trump politically, extending a tongue-in-cheek congratulations to the President for ‘convicting himself’ on Twitter regarding Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 US election while also feuding with conservative Fox News TV personality Sean Hannity.

In addition to his politically-charged feuds, Kimmel has also found success with a number of recurring segments on his show, including the annual Halloween prank in which parents falsely claim to have eaten their children’s candy as well as segments like Mean Tweets and This Week in Unnecessary Censorship.

Over the course of his long career in the entertainment industry, Kimmel has won and been nominated for many notable accolades, including the Emmy Awards, People’s Choice Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards and many others.

Jimmy Kimmel is a TV talk show host, television producer, writer and comedian best-known as the host of the late night TV talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Who is Jimmy Kimmel's wife?

Jimmy Kimmel has been married to Molly McNearney since 2013. 

The couple began dating in 2009 after Jimmy parted ways with his girlfriend of many years, comedian Sarah Silverman in March that year.

Kimmel and McNearney wed in July 2013 and welcomed their daughter, Jane, in July 2014 and son William, in 2017.

McNearney joined the staff of Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2003 as an assistant to the executive producer. 

She began writing for the show in 2006, before becoming a co-head writer in 2008.

McNearney didn't have a great first impression of her future husband, telling Glamour: 'When I first met him, he insulted me! The executive producer brought me into his office and said, "This is Molly; She's my new assistant."

#Jimmy barely looked up from his desk until my EP said, "She competes in triathlons," and then Jimmy looked up at me and said, "That is really stupid! What a waste of time."

'That was the first and only thing he probably said to me the entire first year of working there.'

Previously, Kimmel was married to Gina Maddy from 1988 to 2002. The couple share son Kevin, born in 1993, Katie, born in 1991,

Jimmy Kimmel has been married to Molly McNearney since 2013. The couple welcomed their daughter, Jane, in July 2014 and son William, in 2017 (pictured in 2018)

What is Jimmy Kimmel's history with the Oscars?  

Kimmel has been present on stage during some of the Academy Awards' most dramatic incidents, including 'envelope-gate' in 2017, when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were handed the wrong results card. 

As a result, the pair announced the Best Picture award and incorrectly announced La La Land as the winner rather than Moonlight. 

Kimmel, then, had to come forward to inform the cast that Moonlight had indeed won, showing the inside of the envelope as proof.

'I knew I would screw this up,' Kimmel joked, at the time. 'I promise to never come back.' 

Despite the remark, the star ended up returning to host the following year. 

In 2022, after he was selected to host the 2023 ceremony, the father-of-four said 'being invited to host the Oscars for a third time' was 'either a great honor or a trap.' 

'Either way, I am grateful to the academy for asking me so quickly after everyone good said no,' he mused. 

In addition to having to navigate dwindling viewership, the role became less coveted after comedian Chris Rock was slapped onstage by Will Smith during his opening monologue for a joke made at his estranged wife Jada Pinkett Smith's expense. 

Ahead of his most recent Oscars hosting gig, he told The Hollywood Reporter how he would react if anyone attempted to rush the stage to hit him over a joke. 

'Well, I size them up, and, if I'm bigger than they are, I beat the s**t out of them on television. And if it's the Rock, I run,' he mused.

He went on to describe the shocking slap as 'disappointing in a lot of ways' because it 'knocked down' the envelope-gate to the second 'biggest f**k-up' ever at the Oscars.

'If you're gonna be part of a f**k-up, it might as well be the biggest f**k-up ever. Being part of the second-biggest f**k-up doesn't carry as much cachet,' he quipped.

In 2017, Kimmel surprised fans by revealing he was only paid $15,000 for his first time hosting.

'I think it's illegal to pay nothing,' Kimmel said on KROQ's Kevin & Bean. 'I'm not sure I was supposed to reveal this. But nobody told me not to. I consider this their fault.' 

Kimmel has been present on stage during some of the Academy Awards' most dramatic incidents so will no doubt be hoping for a smoother night on Sunday