Comedian Jim Carrey is best known for his roles in Ace Ventura, Dumb and Dumber, The Truman Show, and Liar Liar. Famous for his crazy facial expressions and slapstick physical comedy, Carrey has come far from humble beginnings.
His family had very little money when Carrey was growing up. They moved around a lot to try to make ends meet, and Carrey attended part of high school while working 8-hour night shifts. He eventually dropped out before graduating to help his family earn income.
He had undiagnosed dyslexia, and struggled to read from a young age. He used his amazing memory to get through school, where he was known for being the class clown.
One of his teachers came up with a novel way to nurture his creativity while preventing class disruption. She allowed him 10 minutes at the end of class to perform a stand-up comedy routine if he agreed to pay attention for the rest of the lesson. So Carrey actually honed his comedy skills in the classroom!
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Sarah Forrest is a Reading Specialist for Oxford Learning Solutions, publishers of the Easyread System. Easyread is an online program for children with reading difficulties, dyslexia, auditory processing issues and more. Try 10 lessons for free at www.easyreadsystem.com
