Personal details
Born:
- Birthday: 1959-09-10
- Born Place: Los Angeles, California, USA
Also Known As:
James Ross Meskimen , Jim Meskinen, James Meskimen, Jim Meskiman
Jim Meskimen
Jim Meskimen is a highly versatile American actor, comedian, voice artist, and impressionist, born James Ross Meskimen on September 10, 1959, in Santa Monica, California. The son of actress Marion Ross, he grew up in a household with a connection to the entertainment industry. He attended Taft High in Woodland Hills, California, where he met his wife, Tamra Shockley, and also cultivated his artistic talents, working as a cartoonist for the school newspaper and acting in plays. After high school, he studied at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC), where he pursued interests in painting, drawing, and lithography, and also began to engage in plays.Meskimen's career began in the 1980s in New York City, where he worked as a visual artist, creating illustrations and commercial art for various companies. This included a significant role in designing characters for Rankin/Bass's ThunderCats animated series, contributing to the show's "bible." During this period, he also started working in radio and TV voiceovers, becoming the voice for several brands and even the channel that would become Comedy Central. He honed his improvisational skills through performances with groups like INTERPLAY, leading to guest appearances on Britain's Whose Line Is It, Anyway?In 1993, he moved back to Los Angeles with his family to further his career in television and film. His impressive range as an impressionist became a cornerstone of his work, leading to roles in animated shows and films where he could mimic various public figures. He's appeared in films for directors like Ron Howard, including Apollo 13, The Grinch, and Frost/Nixon, and was also seen in the 2025 "screenlife" film War of the Worlds. His television credits include guest and recurring roles on popular shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friends, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Parks and Recreation, and S.W.A.T.Meskimen gained widespread recognition for his political impressions in JibJab's animated shorts, particularly during the 2004 election. His viral video "Shakespeare in Celebrity Voices" further cemented his status as a master impressionist, leading to a semi-finalist appearance on America's Got Talent in 2013. He has also lent his voice to numerous video games and animated series, and since 2016, he has notably provided the voice for Colonel Harland Sanders for the KFC brand. In addition to his performing career, Meskimen is a professional artist known for his realist oil paintings, and he directs multi-cast audiobooks. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Tamra, who is a co-founder of The Acting Center, and their daughter, Taylor, is also a performer.
