Jim Jefferies

Jim Jefferies (born Geoffrey James Nugent, 14 February 1977 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He created and starred in the FX sitcom Legit (2013-2014) and the Comedy Central late-night show The Jim Jefferies Show (2017-2019), and in 2023 began hosting The 1% Club. His mother worked as a teacher and his father was a cabinet maker; he grew up in St Ives, Sydney before moving to Perth to study musical theatre and classical music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, leaving several months before graduating.

Jefferies began his stand-up career after dropping out of university, initially in Sydney before relocating to the United Kingdom. He briefly performed under his birth name until an MC mispronounced it as "Godfrey Nugget," prompting him to adopt the stage name Jim Jefferies, a reworking of his first and middle names. He first achieved international attention in 2007 when he was attacked onstage at the Manchester Comedy Festival, with footage incorporated into his 2008 DVD Contraband. He became known in the United States in 2009 after the release of his debut HBO special I Swear to God. At the 2019 Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, he was honoured as Stand-up Comedian of the Year.

His Comedy Central series The Jim Jefferies Show ran from 2017 to 2019, with Jefferies tackling culture and politics from behind a desk and travelling to cover top stories. His earlier FX sitcom Legit received positive attention among the disabled community for its portrayal of people with mental and physical disabilities. He has performed at festivals including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Just for Laughs, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and Glastonbury.

Jefferies co-hosted the podcast Jim and Eddie Talkin' Shit with comedian Eddie Ifft, and appeared on panel shows including Have I Got News for You and 8 Out of 10 Cats. In 2015 he starred in the Australian film Me and My Mates vs the Zombie Apocalypse.