Kevin James Biography

Kevin James is the second son of Janet and Joseph Valentine Knipfing. His mother worked in a chiropractor’s office while his father owned an insurance agency. He has one brother and one sister.

He graduated from Ward Melville High School in 1983. As a big sports fan, he used to play football and also participated in wrestling matches.

He went to the State University of New York at Cortland to study sports management. However, he quit before graduation.

While he was studying at the university he auditioned for a comic role in a Shoreham-Wading River Community Theater production during his semester break. He was selected and his first performance was a success. He realized his passion for comedy and dropped out of college to become a comedian.

His brother Gary Valentine had an improv group which Kevin joined. The group performed regularly at Long Island’s East Side Comedy Club. He became friends with the club owner Richie Minervini and adopted the stage name, Kevin James.

He got the opportunity to perform a solo five-minute stand-up act at the club in 1989, which was a big success. He was invited to perform there regularly. During this time he also did a part-time job at a local warehouse.

He made his transition into the world of television as the announcer for the MTV sports game show ‘SandBlast’ in 1994. He hosted the show for two seasons till 1996. He guest starred on eight episodes of the hit television sitcom ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ from 1996 to 1999.

He got a big opportunity in 1998 when he was chosen to play the main lead Doug Heffernan in the CBS sitcom ‘The King of Queens’. His portrayal of a smart aleck parcel delivery man endeared him to the audience and made him very popular. The show ran till 2007.

In 2005, he made his film debut by playing Albert Brennaman in the romantic comedy ‘Hitch’ which also starred Will Smith, Eva Mendes, and Amber Valletta. Kevin’s performance was highly appreciated and the film was a hit.

The year 2006 was a very productive one for him. He served as a voice actor in ‘Monster House’, ‘Barnyard’ and ‘Emperor’s New School’. He also starred in the comedy film ‘Grilled’ with his friend Ray Romano.

He co-wrote and starred as the title character in the action comedy ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop’ (2009), a film in which he played a middle-aged single dad. The film got mixed reviews but was a box office hit.

He hosted the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award in 2010 and was nominated for the Arm Fart Hall of Fames for the next year’s show though he lost out to Josh Duhamel.

In 2011, he co-produced the comedy film ‘Zookeeper’ in which he also starred as the zookeeper named Griffin Keyes. He co-produced and acted in ‘Here Comes the Boom’, a sports comedy film, in 2012.

He appeared in the buddy comedy ‘Grown Ups 2’ in 2013 alongside Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Salma Hayek. The film was heavily panned by critics but it performed very well at the box office and was a commercial success.

In 2015, he starred in films like ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2,’ ‘Little Boy,’ ‘Pixels,’ and ‘Hotel Transylvania 2.’ In 2016, he starred as ‘Sam Larson’ in the American action comedy film ‘True Memoirs of an International Assassin’ directed by Jeff Wadlow. The film received negative reviews from critics and scored a 0% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. That same year, he, along with Rock Reuben and Bruce Helford, launched the television sitcom ‘Kevin Can Wait’ where he also portrayed ‘Kevin Gable.’ The show ran for 2 seasons and aired its final episode in 2018.

He was next seen in films like ‘Sandy Wexler’ (2017), ‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’ (2018), ‘Becky’ (2020), and ‘Hubie Halloween’ (2020). In 2021, he joined the cast of the comedy series ‘The Crew’ as Kevin Gibson. The show was canceled after one season. He next portrayed ‘Sean Payton’ in the 2022 American biographical sports comedy film ‘Home Team’ directed by Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane. The film was largely panned by critics and received a 21% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes.

In 2023, he voiced the titular character in the animated musical comedy ‘Leo’ directed by Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, and David Wachtenheim. The film was released on Netflix and scored an 81% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. He will be seen in the heist comedy thriller film ‘Lift.’

Kevin James is best known for playing Doug Heffernan in the sitcom ‘The King of Queens’. The show ran successfully for nine seasons and is responsible for making Kevin James a popular household name.

 Kevin James was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for the show ‘The King of Queens’.

Kevin married actress Steffiana de la Cruz in 2004. The couple has four children.

He is a sports enthusiast and is a big fan of the New York Knicks and New York Jets.

He is close friends with the retired MMA fighter Bas Rutten.

He first met his wife on a blind date.