Inside Chevy Chase’s complicated life: from SNL breakout to controversial figure

Chevy was born in October 1943 in Manhattan and was raised in Woodstock, New York, after his parents divorced. The actor claimed that he was physically and psychologically abused by his mother and stepfather as a teenager. He later attended Bard College in New York and graduated with a degree in English in 1967, before pursuing his comedy dreams.

Chevy was the breakout star of Saturday Night Live‘s first season in 1975, and performed alongside comedy greats like Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner.

He also served as a writer on the show and won two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work. Chevy famously signed off on the Weekend Update segment with his signature catchphrase, “I’m Chevy Chase, and you’re not.”

He left the show partway through season two due to the opportunities he was being offered in Hollywood at the time, in a move that he later regretted. 

In the ’70s, Chevy was married twice: firstly to Susan Hewitt in 1973, whom he divorced in February 1976; and to Jacqueline Carlin, with whom he was married from December 1976 to November 1980.

Chevy became the darling of Hollywood in the ’80s, with hits like 1980’s Caddyshack, the National Lampoon’s Vacation films, 1985’s Spies Like Us and 1989’s Funny Farm. The New York native hosted the Oscars twice during this decade – in 1987 and 1988. He also struggled with what he later called a “low-level” addiction to prescription painkillers, after reportedly hurting his back on SNL. He entered treatment at the Betty Ford Center in 1986.

Chevy finally found his soulmate in Jayni Luke, who became his third wife when they tied the knot in 1982. The pair are still married today and live in New York. They welcomed daughters Cydney, Caley and Emily together.

Chevy nabbed his own talk show in 1993, appropriately titled The Chevy Chase Show; however, it was canceled shortly after airing. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that same year, and continued to bring box office success with films like Man of the House and Vegas Vacation.

Chevy enjoyed a career resurgence in 2009 when he joined the cast of Community, a sitcom about an eccentric group of people studying at a community college. It co-starred Donald Glover, Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ken Jeong, Joel McHale, Danny Pudi and Gillian Jacobs, and was a critically acclaimed series that ran for six seasons. Chevy left the show in 2012 after using a racial slur on set, and is reportedly not on good terms with the cast.

Chevy has appeared in several projects since, including 2015’s Vacation, 2019’s The Last Laugh, and in 2024’s The Christmas Letter. His documentary is set for a 2026 release.