Jimmy Kimmel Becomes a Grandfather at 57: A Sweet Surprise for the Late-Night Host

Jimmy Kimmel had a very special reason for canceling Monday night’s taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live! The beloved late-night host is now a grandfather. On Tuesday’s episode, he opened the show with exciting news that his daughter Katie, 33, had just given birth to her first child.

Fans expecting laughs were instead treated to a heartwarming announcement, and the studio audience broke into cheers as Kimmel shared the family’s joy.

A New Addition to the Kimmel Family

Kimmel explained that Katie and her husband Will welcomed a baby girl on Monday night, just as the show was scheduled to be taped. Rather than go on with the episode, Kimmel made the heartfelt choice to skip work and be with his family during the special moment.

“Her name is Katie. Katie and her husband Will had a baby girl right at the time we shoot our show last night. So I decided to be there instead of here,” he told the cheering crowd. “The baby’s very healthy.”

As expected, he added a little humor to the moment. Kimmel joked that his granddaughter’s name was “Melania… Melania Thee Stallion” before revealing her real name, Patti Joan. The name carries a gentle, classic charm, and the way he smiled while saying it showed just how proud he was.

Balancing Family and Career

Kimmel used the moment to offer an apology to both his studio audience and Monday’s guest, actor Seth Rogen. He thanked Rogen for being so understanding and also made a surprising admission—aside from holidays and the pandemic, he’s only missed one other show in his 22-year career. That was back in 2007, when he had his appendix removed.

While many fans may not have known, Jimmy actually has two older children. Katie and her brother Kevin, 31, are from his first marriage to Gina Maddy. With his current wife Molly McNearney, Jimmy has two younger children: Jane, 10, and Billy, 8.

Katie married her husband Will in September 2021, and now they’ve taken the next big step in their journey together. The birth of Patti Joan marks a new chapter for the Kimmel family, and for Jimmy himself, it’s the beginning of his grandpa era.