Unveiled – The Secret of Kevin James’ Weight Loss, Acting Family and Huge Earnings

Quick Facts

Kevin James is currently famous as an American veteran actor, scriptwriter and film producer but he started his career as a standup comedian in 1989. He then became a household name when he acted in the nine seasons of CBS sitcom The King of Queens where he played the role of Doug Heffernan which gained him international acclaim.

More so, the Primetime Emmy Award nominee has gained wider recognition for his role of an MMA fighter in the 2012 comedy film Here Comes the Boom for which he transformed his body drastically. In the subsequent years, the actor who once weighed 302 pounds has put in enough effort into managing his weight. Get to learn how the skilled producer has successfully managed his weight, as well as the details of his family life and staggering financial value.

What We Know About Kevin James’ Weight Loss

Kevin James is an actor who has struggled to manage his weight over the past years. Throughout the course of his career, the esteemed comedian has either lost or gained some pounds. This, interestingly, has never affected his career success, instead, it has skyrocketed his height of fame, having been typecast in most of his movies which have helped in branding him as a funny and slightly overweight character, loved by his fans.

To the amazement of many people, Kevin James took up a challenging role in the 2012 comedy movie, Here Comes the Boom. He was required to shed some pounds in order to excellently portray his character of an MMA fighter, Scott Voss. With the aim of making his character appear very realistic, the famed scriptwriter was trained and treated as if he was going to have a real fight.

He had to lose 80 pounds in order to develop enough stamina that would sustain him in the ring for several rounds. He equally built his muscles to be worthy of a mixed martial arts fighter. While explaining the secret of his weight loss, Kevin James attributed the success to his trainer, Ryan Parsons who is a widely known MMA trainer. He serves as the owner of Radius Sports Management and also conducts fight training for Hollywood productions.

In preparation for his role, the movie star was whipped into fighting shape through rigorous exercise and dieting for fourteen months. He worked out three times a day; running and sparring, and also drinking greens. During this time, James would run for an hour, run up and down flights of hotel stairs or rent a bike and ride hard for an hour. He was also placed on a steady routine of medicine ball moves alongside push-ups, sit-ups and boxing.

This actually helped him become flexible as he built stamina, coordination and core strength. Having felt so good about keeping fit and staying healthy, Kevin James has never stopped trying to manage his weight, even though, he seemed to have regained some pounds after his appearance in Here Comes the Boom. His weight has continued to fluctuate in the past few years as he either dropped a few pounds or gained some. However, the Paul Blart actor has cited that he would love to keep fit for the sake of his health and family.

How Much is Kevin James Worth?

Kevin James has accumulated a good amount of wealth from his career and according to reports, he earns an estimated amount of $12 million just from films whereas he makes from $3 to $4 million for his TV shows. James is also ranked as one of the highest-paid stand-up comedians. He sits on a staggering net worth of about $80 million, having starred in commercially successful movies such as Pixel, Zookeeper, Hotel Transylvania, Grown Ups and it’s sequel Grown Ups 2.

He commenced his career in 1989 as a standup comedian and has moved on to build a TV and film career over the years. In the early stages of his television career, he starred in some episodes of the Hit CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. He also appeared in another CBS sitcom The King of Queens where he acted as Doug Heffernan and reportedly earned $500,000 per episode. This sitcom gained him an Emmy Award nomination and equally attained him international recognition.

Additionally, he has written and produced a handful of movies including Here Comes the Boom, Paul Blart: Mall Cop and it’s sequel, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, which he also starred in. In 2018, he dropped a new comedy special on Netflix titled, Kevin James: Never Don’t Give Up. He owns a 5,386 square feet luxury home in Los Angeles and had previously put on sale his 12,828 square feet Florida mansion at $29 million price tag in 2016.

Meet His Family

Most times, children follow in the footsteps of their parents. Well, that’s not the case with Kevin James and his brother, Gary Valentine whose father, Joseph Valentine Knipfing Jr. worked in an insurance company he founded and their mother, Janet James worked as a healthcare practitioner, specializing in chiropractic. Kevin and his brother have worked their way up to the apex of their careers in comedy and acting. They also have a younger sister called Leslie Knipfing who manages Kevin James’ charitable events.

Born Gary Joseph Knipfing, James’ elder brother is professionally known as Gary Valentine. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in 1993. He then went on to score roles in movies and TV shows such as The King of Queens, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Zookeeper, Here Comes the Boom, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and Kevin Can Wait, starring alongside his brother. His other acting credits include The Deported, Men of a Certain Age, Fargo, Alive N’ Kickin, and Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury, to mention a few.

Regarding his personal life, the comedian is married to Saffian de la Cruz who is an American actress. He met Cruz on a blind date and the duo walked down the aisle on the 19th of June 2014 at St. Edward Catholic Church located in Dana Point, California. Afterwards, the wedding reception was held at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach.

Steffian de la Cruz gave birth to her first child, a daughter who was christened Sienna-Marie James on 30th September 2005. Two years later, the couple welcomed their second daughter, Shea Joelle James on 14th June. Later on, their son Lennon Valentine James joined the family on 24th April 2011, followed by the birth of their fourth child and third daughter, Sistine Sabella James in January 2015.

It might interest you to know that Kevin James’ wife has some acting credits under her belt. Just like the actor’s brother, she has mostly featured alongside her husband. Her acting talent can be seen in TV shows and movies like Die Gang, Pacific Blue, Cement, Something to Sing About, Stealing Harvard, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Zookeeper, Kevin Can Wait, among others.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.