# Drew Carey
**Drew Carey** (born 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comedian, actor, and game show host who has hosted the CBS daytime series *The Price Is Right* since 2007, succeeding [Bob Barker](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-barker).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004804) • [2](https://www.cbs.com/shows/the_price_is_right/cast/612/) He first came to national attention as the star of the sitcom *The Drew Carey Show* and as host of the American version of the improv comedy show *Whose Line Is It Anyway?*[3](https://www.biography.com/actors/drew-carey)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958, Cleveland, Ohio[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004804) |
| Signature sitcom | *The Drew Carey Show*, ABC, 1995–2004, 192 episodes[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004804) |
| Improv hosting | Host and producer of the American *Whose Line Is It Anyway?*, 1998–2007[4](https://files.quizbowlpackets.com/2360/Round%2011.pdf) • [2](https://www.cbs.com/shows/the_price_is_right/cast/612/) |
| Game show tenure | Named host of *The Price Is Right* in July 2007; 20th season began September 21, 2026[2](https://www.cbs.com/shows/the_price_is_right/cast/612/) • [5](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/the-price-is-right/releases/http%3A/CBS.com) |
| Comedy start | Won a competition at the Cleveland Comedy Club in April 1986; competed on *Star Search '88*[6](https://nbc.priceisright.com/cast/drew-carey/) |
| Sports ownership | Owner of Seattle Sounders FC since the club's MLS inception in 2009; chairman of the Sounders FC Alliance[6](https://nbc.priceisright.com/cast/drew-carey/) |
| Honors | CableACE Award (1993), People's Choice Awards (1996, 2000, 2001), Hollywood Walk of Fame star (2003)[7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/carey-drew-1958) |
## Early life and military service
Carey grew up in Cleveland, the youngest of three brothers. His father, a draftsman for [General Motors](https://www.edgepedia.org/general-motors), died of a brain tumor in 1966, and Carey later described a withdrawn adolescence spent with humor books, comedian recordings, and cartoons.[3](https://www.biography.com/actors/drew-carey) He attended Rhodes High School, played trumpet and cornet in the marching band, and enrolled at [Kent State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/kent-state-university) after graduating in 1975, though he did not finish a degree.[3](https://www.biography.com/actors/drew-carey)
In 1980, while visiting his brother Neal in San Diego, he signed up for the Marine Corps Reserve. His six years in the reserves shaped both his outlook and his appearance: the military buzz cut and thick black glasses became his trademark look.[3](https://www.biography.com/actors/drew-carey) • [2](https://www.cbs.com/shows/the_price_is_right/cast/612/)
## Stand-up comedy career
**Cleveland beginnings.** In 1986, his childhood friend David Lawrence, then a morning radio DJ, asked Carey to write comedy bits for his show. With Lawrence's encouragement, Carey entered the local comedy circuit, and by April 1986 he had won a competition at the Cleveland Comedy Club and become its regular emcee.[3](https://www.biography.com/actors/drew-carey) • [6](https://nbc.priceisright.com/cast/drew-carey/)
**Television breaks.** Carey competed on *Star Search '88*, one of his first big breaks; he did not win the grand prize, but the performances led to his own HBO special three years later.[6](https://nbc.priceisright.com/cast/drew-carey/) • [8](https://time.com/7353385/star-search-famous-celebrities/) In 1991 he appeared on HBO's *14th Annual Young Comedians Special* and on *The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson*, an appearance that made his reputation with audiences and with Carson himself.[6](https://nbc.priceisright.com/cast/drew-carey/) • [3](https://www.biography.com/actors/drew-carey) His Showtime special *Drew Carey: Human Cartoon* won a CableACE Award for best writing in an entertainment special in 1993.[6](https://nbc.priceisright.com/cast/drew-carey/) • [7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/carey-drew-1958)
## The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway?
After small roles on series such as *The Good Life* and a development deal at Disney, Carey worked with writer-producer Bruce Helford to co-create a sitcom built around him. *The Drew Carey Show* debuted on ABC in 1995, with Carey playing an assistant director of personnel at a [Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland) department store; by its second season it was a ratings favorite, and it ran for nine seasons, from 1995 to 2004.[3](https://www.biography.com/actors/drew-carey) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004804) • [9](https://www.tvinsider.com/1195752/drew-carey-show-pilot-interview/)
In 1998 Carey began hosting the American version of *Whose Line Is It Anyway?* on ABC, with a core cast of [Ryan Stiles](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-stiles), Colin Mochrie, Wayne Brady, and [Greg Proops](https://www.edgepedia.org/greg-proops); he hosted and produced the show through 2007.[3](https://www.biography.com/actors/drew-carey) • [4](https://files.quizbowlpackets.com/2360/Round%2011.pdf) • [2](https://www.cbs.com/shows/the_price_is_right/cast/612/) For a period the two programs ran simultaneously, a distinction Carey's official biography highlights.[2](https://www.cbs.com/shows/the_price_is_right/cast/612/) The show's success led to *Drew Carey's Improv All-Stars*, a troupe that performed in showrooms across the country.[2](https://www.cbs.com/shows/the_price_is_right/cast/612/) In 1997 he published his autobiography, *Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined*, which stayed on the New York Times best-seller list.[3](https://www.biography.com/actors/drew-carey)
## The Price Is Right
When Bob Barker retired after decades as host of *The Price Is Right*, Carey was chosen to replace him and was named host in July 2007.[10](https://apnews.com/article/f47644de8696496b980306f4cd6907f4) • [2](https://www.cbs.com/shows/the_price_is_right/cast/612/) The show is network television's top-rated daytime series and the longest-running game show in television history, airing weekdays on CBS and streaming on Paramount+; it is produced by [Fremantle](https://www.edgepedia.org/fremantle) and originates in [Glendale, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/glendale-california).[11](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/the-price-is-right) Carey's 20th season as host, the show's 55th, began on September 21, 2026, and CBS marked the anniversary with the primetime special *The Price Is Right: 20 Seasons of Drew Carey* in December 2026.[5](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/the-price-is-right/releases/http%3A/CBS.com) • [11](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/the-price-is-right) Barker returned for one episode with Carey in April 2009 to promote his memoir, and Carey wrote after Barker's death in 2023 that there had not been a day on set when he did not think of him.[10](https://apnews.com/article/f47644de8696496b980306f4cd6907f4)
## Other work
Carey has worked outside television comedy. For ten years he hosted *Drew Carey's Friday Night Dance Party* on SiriusXM's Little Steven's Underground Garage, a three-hour show airing the last Friday of each month; in August 2018 he turned it into the weekly *The Friday Night Freak Out*.[6](https://nbc.priceisright.com/cast/drew-carey/) An avid supporter of American soccer, he became an owner of [Seattle Sounders FC](https://www.edgepedia.org/seattle-sounders-fc) at the club's MLS inception in 2009 and serves as chairman of the Sounders FC Alliance, the club's member association.[6](https://nbc.priceisright.com/cast/drew-carey/) His screen credits outside his own shows include voicing Crank in *Robots* (2005) and an appearance in *Jack and Jill* (2011).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004804)
## Health and personal life
Carey has publicly discussed significant weight loss, reported at 80 pounds since 2010, and in 2026 revealed that he had suffered a heart attack after ignoring symptoms.[12](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/drew-carey/) He was engaged to Nicole Jaracz in 2007 (the engagement ended in 2012) and to sex therapist [Amie Harwick](https://www.edgepedia.org/amie-harwick) in January 2018 (ended in November of that year).[3](https://www.biography.com/actors/drew-carey) He was born in Cleveland and resides in Los Angeles.[6](https://nbc.priceisright.com/cast/drew-carey/)
## References
1. [Drew Carey, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004804)
2. [Drew Carey, The Price Is Right Cast Member, CBS](https://www.cbs.com/shows/the_price_is_right/cast/612/)
3. [Drew Carey, Show, Age & Facts, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/drew-carey)
4. [Whose Line Is It Anyway? quizbowl packet reference](https://files.quizbowlpackets.com/2360/Round%2011.pdf)
5. [CBS Announces 2026 Premiere Dates and Milestones, Paramount Press Express](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/the-price-is-right/releases/http%3A/CBS.com)
6. [Drew Carey, The Price Is Right official cast biography](https://nbc.priceisright.com/cast/drew-carey/)
7. [Carey, Drew 1958–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/carey-drew-1958)
8. [20 Celebrities You Didn't Know Got Their Start on Star Search, TIME](https://time.com/7353385/star-search-famous-celebrities/)
9. [Drew Carey on the Show's Pilot, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/1195752/drew-carey-show-pilot-interview/)
10. [Bob Barker, dapper 'Price Is Right' host, dies at 99, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/f47644de8696496b980306f4cd6907f4)
11. [The Price is Right, Paramount Press Express](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/the-price-is-right)
12. [Drew Carey, Actor, Comedian, Game Show Host, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/drew-carey/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Television presenters and hosts › Game show hosts and announcers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license