Jenny McCarthy - Carlo Allegri Portraits during the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2005

Jennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy (born November 1, 1972) is an American model, comedian, actress, author, activist, and game show host. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a successful television and film acting career. Most recently, she has written books about parenting, and has become an activist promoting the claims that vaccines cause autism and that chelation therapy helps cure it—both claims are considered unsubstantiated by the medical community.