Jay Leno

Leno has been married to Mavis Leno since 1980. He spends much of his free time working with his collection of cars and motorcycles, and he does not consume alcohol, smoke, or gamble. He is dyslexic.

In November 2022, Leno suffered serious burns to his face and hands when a vehicle caught fire at his Los Angeles garage. He later received a new ear as part of his treatment. He sustained multiple broken bones in a motorcycle accident in January 2023 and broke his right wrist after a fall in November 2024.

Leno began performing stand-up comedy while attending Emerson College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in speech therapy and started a comedy club in 1973. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked as an opening act for Johnny Mathis and Tom Jones and performed extensively in nightclubs. He also wrote for the television sitcom Good Times alongside David Letterman.

Leno made his first appearance on The Tonight Show in 1977. He became one of Johnny Carson's permanent guest hosts in 1987, and NBC selected him to replace Carson as host in 1992. His selection over David Letterman contributed to a rivalry between The Tonight Show and Late Show with David Letterman.

Leno developed an easygoing, audience-focused style as host of The Tonight Show. He added recurring comedy features including “Headlines,” which presented humorous newspaper headlines, and “Jaywalking,” which featured street interviews built around basic questions. The program also adopted a more casual image and featured a wider range of musical acts.

Leno left The Tonight Show in May 2009, when Conan O'Brien took over, and began hosting the prime-time program The Jay Leno Show that September. The program did not attract the expected audience, and NBC moved Leno back to late night in a plan that placed The Tonight Show after midnight. O'Brien rejected the arrangement and left NBC, after which Leno returned to The Tonight Show in March 2010.

Leno hosted his final episode of The Tonight Show on February 6, 2014. Billy Crystal and Garth Brooks appeared, while surprise guests included Oprah Winfrey, Carol Burnett, Jack Black, and Kim Kardashian. Jimmy Fallon succeeded him.

Leno became widely known as an automotive authority through his extensive collection of cars and motorcycles. He wrote about vehicles and restoration for Popular Mechanics and contributed automotive articles to The Sunday Times. His collection includes historic steam cars, antique electric cars, a Duesenberg Model X, a Chrysler Turbine Car, and tanks.

His interest in automobiles led to the web series and television program Jay Leno's Garage, which ran as a CNBC series from 2015 to 2022. He also played mechanic Joe Leonard in the sitcom Last Man Standing, provided voices for animated productions including The Fairly OddParents and Mickey and the Roadster Racers, and hosted the revival of You Bet Your Life from 2021 to 2023.

Leno has continued performing stand-up comedy at venues, charity events, and USO tours. He has also appeared as a guest judge on America's Got Talent and Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge.

Leno wrote several books based on his comedy, including Headlines, More Headlines, Headlines III, Headlines IV, and Jay Leno's Police Blotter. His 1996 autobiography, Leading with My Chin, was followed by the children's books If Roast Beef Could Fly and How to Be the Funniest Kid in the Whole Wide World (or Just in Your Class).

He won Primetime Emmy Awards for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2000. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2014 and received the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor that year. Emerson College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 2014.

Since 1985, Leno has served as grand marshal of the Love Ride, a motorcycle charity event that has supported muscular dystrophy research, Autism Speaks, and other causes. He and Mavis Leno also donated to a Feminist Majority Foundation campaign focused on women in Afghanistan.