If you have ever wondered about Jenny McCarthy's marriage to Donnie Wahlberg,
her friendship with Heather Dubrow, her past relationship with Jim Carrey,
or her somewhat less-than-friendly situation with Amy Schumer, then you might have also wondered
about her connection to another famous figure in her life. However, this time around, we are not
referring to one of Jenny's romantic partners or a bosom buddy, and we are not referring to a
celebrity foe or even an industry association. No, we are talking about Melissa McCarthy.
As you likely know, Melissa made her name in show business as a comedic star.
She won fans over as Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls from 2000 to 2007 and has left
countless fans in hysterics thanks to her roles in 2013's The Heat and 2015's Spy.
"Oh, it's on!"
"She's crazy!"
Beyond that, her career took a serious turn when she appeared in 2018's Can You Ever Forgive Me?.
As for Jenny, she has also scored her fair share of acting gigs over the years and even landed her
own sitcom in 1997, aptly called Jenny. Before that, she first broke into the business as a
Playboy model and went on to co-host MTV's Singled Out before eventually nabbing a
gig as a co-host on The View and a judge on The Masked Singer. While it's clear that both women
are successful Hollywood stars, as their shared last name might suggest, they are also related.
Melissa happens to be Jenny's older cousin.
In fact, Jenny took to Instagram in July 2015 to post a throwback photo with the caption,
"Me, my sis, and my cousin Melissa. 102 degrees at the zoo, not happy campers."
They might not have been thrilled when the pic was taken,
but fans loved seeing the two together, with one person writing,
"Funniest family ever!"
Jenny and Melissa both hail from Illinois and would connect at family events while
they were kids, according to Us Weekly. When they became adults, they both headed off to Hollywood
where Jenny apparently found success a little faster. When she landed her own
sketch comedy show, Jenny got her cousin a job as a production assistant. Melissa
also appeared in a sketch on the show, making it her very first acting job in the business.
"Yeah, that was my first, that was my first job in the,
like, in the business. I actually learned a lot from that."
While they both went on to establish themselves in different ways when it comes to their careers,
Us noted that they don't usually make public appearances together.
In fact, they may not even interact in private. For instance, when Jenny
married Donnie Wahlberg in 2014, Melissa was not one of the guests. That may be because,
as Melissa told Howard Stern, the two were living in, quote, "opposite worlds."
"Will you go to her wedding?"
"Probably not, but only because we're on, you know, we're just in opposite worlds now."
Jenny McCarthy not only helped Melissa McCarthy land her first acting gig back in the day,
but she's also ready and willing to stick up for her cousin when the need arises.
Jenny has used her platform to defend her cousin from some unjustified attacks in the press.
One incident in 2013 was sparked when film critic Rex Reed released a review of Melissa's film
Identity Thief, which came out that same year and co-starred Ozark leading man Jason Bateman.
"Get over here and give me your wrists."
"K."
"Now I have a plan—"
Reed's review in the New York Observer opined that, quote, "tractor-sized Melissa McCarthy" is a
"gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success."
At the same time, he called Jason "charming, talented, attractive, and versatile."
In response, Jenny told E! News,
"I don't have the whole story, but, I do know that, after being in this business 20 years,
it's really crummy that you get attacked in your personal life in general."
She continued,
"That's obnoxious in itself. For anyone to attack like that,
it's just wrong and hurtful, and it doesn't do anyone any good — not even Rex Reed, you know?"
As for Melissa, Jenny also had something to say about her cousin, telling E! News,
"She's very, very talented and people know that, so [Reed] can go to hell."
Message received: Attacking someone over their weight is
not okay and it's best not to go after the McCarthy family at all.
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