James was born Kevin George Knipfing in Mineola, New York to Janet B., who worked in a chiropractor's office, and Joseph Valentine Knipfing, who owned an insurance company. He was raised in the "S-Section" of Stony Brook, New York and graduated from Ward Melville High School in 1983, where one of his teammates on the wrestling team was professional wrestler Mick Foley. James has two siblings, Gary Joseph Knipfing, known as Gary Valentine, also a comedian, and Leslie Knipfing. Leslie Knipfing works for James, helping raise money through charity events for retinitis pigmentosa, with which she is afflicted, while Gary Valentine plays his cousin, Danny, on The King of Queens. James was a student at, but did not graduate from, the State University of New York at Cortland. James began as a stand-up, gaining popularity through numerous appearances on various talk shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Dennis Miller Live, The Late Late Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. James was #89 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians. James has done his stand-up routine on Just for Laughs, a huge comedy festival held every year in Montreal, Quebec. In 2001, James did his own stand up special called, Kevin James: Sweat the Small Stuff for Comedy Central. A close friend of fellow comedian Ray Romano, James guest-starred on a few episodes of the hit television show Everybody Loves Raymond. These appearances led to the development of his own sitcom, The King of Queens that debuted on September 21, 1999 and ended on May 14, 2007 with a one-hour series finale. James was cast as the lead character, Doug Heffernan. Leah Reminiwas cast as his wife Carrie while Jerry Stiller was cast in the supporting role of Carrie's live-in father, Arthur Spooner. In 2006, James received his first Emmy nomination, as Outstanding Lead Actor in a television series. James made his film debut in the 2004 romantic comedy, 50 First Dates, as a factory worker. He next co-starred alongside Will Smith and Eva Mendesin the box office smash Hitch. The film grossed more than $179 million in the United States. In 2006, James starred with old friend Ray Romano in the poorly received comedy Grilled and voiced a character in the animated hit Barnyard.James also voiced a character in 2006 movie Monster House. In 2007, he starred with Adam Sandler in the comedy film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. James married model Steffiana De La Cruz on June 19th, 2004, after meeting her on a blind date. They have two daughters, Sienna-Marie, born September 30, 2005 and Shea Joelle, born on June 14, 2007. On July 22, 2007, TMZ.com reported James named his second daughter after Shea Stadium saying, "I honestly...honestly did. I have been a Mets fan my whole life and have such good memories of going to Shea Stadium," he told Chris Yandek of TheSportsInterview.com "Her middle name is Joelle after my dad Joe who passed away. I brought it in because he used to take me to Shea all the time. I can't believe this got by my wife. She ended up liking the name just for the name itself." On July 20, 2007, James introduced Shea on the morning talk show program Live! With Regis and Kelly. Wikipedia.