Drew Carey Is So Skinny & Looks Like A Model After Weight Loss Journey

Feb 24, 2021

We all love to play games, and perhaps America's favorite one to play from the couch at home is "The Price Is Right.'" The show engages both live and at-home audiences alike with the suspenseful task of guessing the cost of items with high stakes and exciting prizes. "The Price Is Right'" s one of the United States' longest-running game shows, having first aired on CBS on Sept. 4, 1972. The show has aired over 9,000 episodes and was even named "the greatest show of all time" by TV Guide in 2007. The longest-running host of the series was Bob Barker, but then beloved Drew Carey took over in 2007 after Barker's retirement. However, before Carey was "The Price Is Right" game show host, he wore many other hats, including that of a wrestler, comedian, U.S. marine and even a bank teller. His stand-up comedy career was one of the most significant things that led him to American television success and landed him the gig as a talk show host.

However, like many others in the television business, Carey had a reckoning with his weight and health. Despite being known to viewers as the smiling game show host, Carey has struggled with his weight. With the right eating habits and incentive to exercise, Carey has turned the narrative around and taken charge of his health and wellness. Thankfully for us, Carey has some tips and tricks to share on how he achieved an almost 100-pound weight loss while still being one of America's favorite faces on television.

Carey was born on May 23, 1958, and was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was the youngest of his parents'— Lewis and Beluah Carey— three sons. According to Ohio History Central, Carey's father passed away when he was only 8 years old and caused Carey to develop depression. In an interview with the Kirkland Reporter, Carey reflected on his childhood. He said:

“I had a lot of good times as a kid. Everyone makes the best of their situation as long as you have a place to go. You have to believe that you deserve the good things that come your way.”

Eventually, Carey went to Kent State University, but after three years of unsuccessful study, he dropped out and in 1980 enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. He was a field radio operator for six years in Ohio, before moving to Las Vegas. However, life in Vegas was not easy for Carey. He held a series of jobs including one as a bank teller and another as a Denny's waiter. Carey reflected on the hard times of living in Vegas to the Kirkland Reporter. At one point, Carey was even homeless:

“All I had was water, no butter. That is some bad macaroni and cheese," Carey said and went on about how he remembers the days he would be the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese deluxe. “I can’t tell you how much of a big shot that makes me feel. Sometimes I add chicken … But I wouldn’t have had this success if I didn’t struggle.”

In 1985, Carey got started with his comedy career, and one year later he was so good at stand-up that he became Master of Ceremonies at the Cleveland Comedy Club in Ohio. 

Carey's first big break into the national public eye was in 1988 when he competed on the television show "Star Search." Just a few years later after his television competition appearance, Carey appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1991. Carey is one of the few comedians who was offered to come sit next to Carson after his comedy bit was finished. According to Success, Carey knew that the special moment meant he had made it in comedy:

"There was an altar call, and I went up, and I got saved. And I rolled around, talked in tongues, all that stuff you hear about. And being called over to the couch by Johnny was the closest thing I ever had to that.”

After this big success, Carey pitched the idea for his own show, "The Drew Carey Show," which was loosely based on his own life and experiences. The show ran from 1995 until 2004 and was a big hit. However, it wasn't the most healthy relationship to a passion project for Carey. When Carey reflected, this was a moment in his life during which he was not in control of his health or his his weight:

"When I was doing ['The Drew Carey Show'], I was eating a lot of garbage, I was drinking a lot, so I had a lot of mood swings," said Carey, who at his heaviest weighed 262 pounds. "I had diabetes."

Fortunately, much of Carey's health concerns turned around once he landed the gig as host of "The Price Is Right." When Carey replace Bob Barker as the host in 2007, he recognized exactly how important the role was that he was taking on.

During the CBS Summer Press Tour in 2007, Carey remarked on how Bob Barker was irreplaceable as a show host. Nonetheless, he felt called to take on the job. He said, "You can't replace Bob Barker. I don't compare myself to anybody ... It's only about what you're doing and supposed to do, and I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this."

Becoming the host of "The Price Is Right" reinstated a work-life balance for Carey. After being "The Price Is Right" host for over a decade, Carey said he really lucked out with the job. “I only spend 20 hours a week working on "The Price Is Right,” he said in an interview with 19 News in April 2020, explaining why he doesn’t have a busy schedule.

“I have it really lucky. I don’t have a stress job at all. There’s no stress to being the host of 'The Price Is Right.' "

However, the new gig wasn't the only thing that motivated Carey to prioritize his health. He revealed that his motivation to finally change his lifestyle was the son of his former fiancee, Connor.

"It wasn't like, 'Eat this for 90 days and lose 20 pounds.' It was: 'Eat like this for the rest of your life,'" he told Success in 2015. "I'm not a maniac about it ... I mean, I was at a wedding on Saturday, and I ate cake. But 95 percent of the time, I'm right on the money."

Even a few years after the interview, Carey is still practicing good eating habits as is evident in photos. Just take a look at this dressing room selfie he posted in October of 2020 and another of him as a hip Santa posted to Instagram.

What do you think of Drew's new look? Have you watched "The Price Is Right" lately? Tell us your thoughts and be sure to pass this on to other fans of Drew Carey and "The Price Is Right!"