Jim Carrey is well-known for his rubber-faced humor and ability to manipulate reality through his facial expressions. However, before he rose to fame as Hollywood’s favorite comedian, he was a homeless youngster living in a van and using comedy as his sole means of escape from a harsh world.

James Eugene Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, on January 17, 1962, and did not have the luxury of having lofty aspirations as a child. Percy, his father, was a gifted saxophonist who gave up his musical career to work as an accountant and provide for the family. The Carreys went from middle-class luxury to barely surviving after Percy lost his job. They were homeless at one time, living in a Volkswagen van and working as industrial janitors to make ends meet.

Jim, however, had comedy as a weapon against hopelessness.

He began creating jokes at the age of ten. He began doing stand-up in Toronto at the age of 15, and by the time he was 17, he had left high school to pursue his goal full-time. More times than he could remember, he blew up on stage, yet he persisted. Unquestionably talented, he relocated to Los Angeles in the early 1980s, when he performed at The Comedy Store and attracted the attention of Rodney Dangerfield, who hired him as an opening act.

Then followed the sketch comedy series In Living Color (1990), which made Carrey a huge star. It was impossible to overlook him because of his outrageous, unrestrained performances as Vera De Milo and Fire Marshall Bill. Jim Carrey had the most explosive year of any actor in history in 1994 after Hollywood took notice. He starred in three hugely successful films in less than a year: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. He became a household name very immediately.

After dominating the comedy industry, Carrey earned an unprecedented $20 million per film at the time. But beyond the jokes, he struggled with personal issues and melancholy. In search of purpose outside of celebrity, he turned to philosophy, art, and even spiritual inquiry. He demonstrated his versatility in the late 1990s and early 2000s with Man on the Moon (1999) and The Truman Show (1998), both of which won him a Golden Globe and critical praise.

Carrey has frequently shied away from the limelight despite his success, opting for side ventures over lucrative salaries. He is an artist, a thoughtful man, and he knows that laughter is survival, not simply amusement.