Jeannie Louise Gaffigan (néeNoth) is an American actress, producer, and comedy writer. She is best known as a writer and executive producer for The Jim Gaffigan Show, a show loosely based on her own family life with her husband, Jim Gaffigan.
Gaffigan began her career as a stage actress in regional theater and upon moving to New York, performed in sketch comedy groups and small theater companies where playwrights developed original plays.[3] Gaffigan founded the not-for-profit theater company Shakespeare on the Playground, dedicated to teaching literacy and production to urban youth through the performance of full Shakespearean plays.[4] She began writing and producing comedy with her friend and future husband Jim Gaffigan.[5] Since then, Gaffigan has helped write and produce all five of Jim's comedy specials, also serving as the director of his fifth special.[6]
Gaffigan co-wrote an animated series called Pale Force, starring Jim Gaffigan and Conan O'Brien, for which she received an Emmy Nomination.[7] She worked on it with her brothers Paul Noth, a New Yorker cartoonist,[8] and Patrick Noth, a comedy writer and composer.[9]
In 2013, Gaffigan began developing a pilot with her husband titled The Jim Gaffigan Show. After working with NBC and CBS, the show landed at TV Land where Gaffigan co-wrote and executive produced all 22 episodes with Jim.[10] She directed the finale episode of Season 2.[6] In August 2016, Jim and Jeannie decided not to continue with Season 3 of the show so they could spend more time with their family.[11]
In July 2015, the Gaffigans appeared on the NPR program Ask Me Another, where Gaffigan played a version of the Newlywed Game; she got all the answers right.[12]
Since April 8, 2016, Gaffigan has appeared in a marketing campaign for the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica starring Jim Gaffigan and the couple's children.[13]
In March 2016, she received a Christopher Award for the Season 1 episode of The Jim Gaffigan Show, "My Friend the Priest".[14] She also received the Eloquentia Perfecta award from Fordham University for her work in Television and Media.[15]
In June 2018, the Gaffigans released a short video written and directed by Gaffigan, starring Jim, Marre, Jack, Katie, Michael, and Patrick Gaffigan called A Short Film by @JeannieGaffigan.[17]
Personal life
Gaffigan started dating Jim Gaffigan in 2000 after they had met in New York.[18] They were married at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in New York on July 26, 2003.[19][18] Together, they have two daughters and three sons. The couple chose home births for all five children.[20] The family lives in Manhattan.[2] Gaffigan is Catholic[5] and Jim has jokingly referred to her as a "Shiite Catholic" relative to him.[21]
On April 14, 2017, Gaffigan was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor known as papilloma of the choroid plexus.[22] The tumor was the size of a pear, and was successfully removed in a nine-hour surgery at Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital.[23][24][25] Gaffigan's left vocal fold remained paralyzed, and she underwent type 1 thyroplasty to restore her voice in 2019.[22]
Gaffigan wrote a book about her diagnosis, her recovery, and the life lessons she learned from this experience. When Life Gives You Pears: The Healing Power of Family, Faith, and Funny People was published on October 1, 2019.[26]
^"The Christophers, Inc". www.christophers.org (Press release). New York. March 30, 2016. Archived from the original on July 11, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
