Who is Jimmy Kimmel? Everything you need to know about the Oscars 2017 host

As entertainer Jimmy Kimmel gears up to host the 89th Academy Awards, IBTimes UK gives you the lowdown on his life and career highlights to-date.

Born James Christian Kimmel on 13 November 1967, in Brooklyn, New York, he is the eldest of three children. The family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when he was nine.

During high school, he discovered a love for radio when he began hosting a Sunday night interview show on University of Nevada, Las Vegas's college station, KUNV. This later led to a slew of other on-air gigs which proved a lifeline after he decided to drop out of university.

Kimmel got his first break in TV as the comedic counterpart to Ben Stein on the game show Win Ben Stein's Money, which began airing on Comedy Central in 1997. Their efforts saw them pick up an Emmy Award for best gameshow host.

Kimmel left the show in 2001 and went on to create, produce and star in other shows for Comedy Central.

In January 2003, he landed his own late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, on ABC which is now in its 13th season. Many A-List stars have appeared on his show including Kanye West, Dolly Parton, Barack Obama and, controversially, Donald Trump during his presidential campaign.

Online, Kimmel's show has become known for its Mean Tweets segment, where he gets celebs to confront the trolls who mock them online by reading out brutal messages about them.

He also has an ongoing public joke feud with Matt Damon – 'banning' him from his show when he took part in a comedy song with then-girlfriend Sarah Silverman in 2009 titled I'm F*****g Matt Damon.

Kimmel later jokingly responded with his own song, titled I'm F*****g Ben Affleck – in a nod to Ben and Matt's close friendship and work partnership – and one-upped the previous song with a series of high-profile cameos in the viral video.

Last year, as Ben promoted Batman V Superman, he "smuggled" Matt onto the set to bury the hatchet by hiding him under a giant coat.

Kimmel has also worked as a voice actor, and his on-screen experience has allowed him to get involved with TV and film production and writing.

In 2013 Kimmel was recognised for his work in TV with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Kimmel was married to first wife Gina Maddy from 1988 until 2002. They have two children together – son Kevin and daughter Katherine.

He is currently married to second wife Molly McNearney. They tied the knot in 2013 and their daughter Jane was born a year later.

This year's Oscars, which takes place on Sunday, 26 February at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre, will not be the first major awards show he's hosted; he also hosted the 2016 and 2012 Emmy Awards, the 2007 ESPYS, and the American Music Awards five times.