Jeffrey Patrick "Jeff" Kinney is an American game designer, cartoonist, producer, actor
and author of children's books including the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series.
He is also attributed as the creator of the child-oriented website Poptropica.
He also appeared in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film.
Kinney was born and grew up in Fort Washington, Maryland, United States.
He had an older brother, an older sister and a younger brother.
He attended the University of Maryland at College Park in the early 1990s.
It was in college that Kinney created a popular comic strip, Igdoof, that ran in the campus
newspaper, The Diamondback.
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series In 2004, FunBrain and Jeff Kinney released
an online version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
The website made daily entries until June 2005.
The book became an instant hit, with the online version receiving about 20 million views as
of 2007.
When many online readers requested a printed version, Kinney agreed and in 2007, Diary
of a Wimpy Kid was published.
To date, eleven Wimpy Kid books have been released, including a do-it-yourself book
and a movie diary.
In 2009, Kinney was named one of Time magazine's 100 "Most Influential People" in the world.
Professional work Kinney works full-time as a writer and designer
of online games.
He also created the kid-friendly website Poptropica, which is known by many children around the
world.
Poptropica includes two islands called "Wimpy Wonderland" and "Wimpy Boardwalk", where the
Diary of a Wimpy Kid characters and events are featured in the Poptropica universe.
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has 58 million copies in print worldwide as of 2010 and was
developed into feature films for which Kinney served as executive producer and, in the case
of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, as an actor.
Kinney wrote a section for Guys Read which is a book series written by a number of authors.
His contribution contains elements from his Wimpy Kid books.
For example, one character gave his little brother cold spaghetti and told him it was
hot.
Personal life Kinney attended Bishop McNamara High School
in Forestville, Maryland and lives in Plainville, Massachusetts with his wife and two sons.
Movies Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Books Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: #2 Rodrick Rules Diary of a Wimpy Kid:#3 The Last Straw
Diary of a Wimpy Kid #4: Dog Days " Diary of a Wimpy Kid#5: The Ugly Truth
Diary of a Wimpy Kid#6: Cabin Fever Diary of a Wimpy Kid#7: The Third Wheel
Diary of a Wimpy Kid#8: Hard Luck Diary of a Wimpy Kid#9: The Long Haul
The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary The Wimpy Kid Do It Yourself Book
Films
A film based on the first book was released on March 19, 2010.
It was produced by 20th Century Fox and directed by Thor Freudenthal.
The film starred Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley, Robert Capron as Rowley Jefferson, Rachael
Harris as Susan Heffley, Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley, Devon Bostick as Rodrick Heffley,
Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley, Chloë Grace Moretz as a new character named
Angie, Grayson Russell as Fregley, Laine MacNeil as Patty Farrell, and Karan Brar as Chirag
Gupta.
A second film, based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, was released on March 25, 2011.
Zachary Gordon returned as Greg Heffley.
Steve Zahn and Rachael Harris also returned.
The film was directed by David Bowers and the screenplay was written by Gabe Sachs and
Jeff Judah.
A few new people appeared in the film, including Peyton List as Holly Hills.
A third film, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, based on The Last Straw and Dog Days, was
released on August 3, 2012.
Kinney had a small role in the film as the father of Heather Hills.
Zombie lawsuit In 2011 Kinney filed a lawsuit against Antarctic
Press over a book titled Diary of a Zombie Kid.
The book title was later changed to Zombie Kid Diaries.
References
External links Official website
Jeff Kinney at Library of Congress Authorities, with 12 catalog records