Jeremy Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) Jeremy Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer specialising in motoring, who is most famous for his role as a presenter for the BBC motoring show Top Gear. For over a decade he has been known as a public personality appearing on a wide variety of programmes and writing a variety of pieces for newspapers. His humour and outspoken views have frequently provoked public reaction, sometimes causing criticism from a wide range of backgrounds. However, he has also gained a wide fan base over the years, and is credited with transforming Top Gear into the one of the most popular and most watched shows the BBC have ever produced.
Net Worth: In March 2015 The Independent Newspaper claimed Clarkson's net worth was estimated to be £30 million.
Career: Clarkson began his writing career by training as a journalist and writing for Rotherham Advertiser, Rochdale Observer, Wolverhampton Express and Star, Lincolnshire Life, Shropshire Star and the Associated Kent Newspapers. The Shropshire Star has been credited by Clarkson as the place where he made his first breakthrough as a motoring columnist.
By 1984 Clarkson had founded the Motoring Press Agency through which he performed road tests for motoring magazines and local newspapers. This progressed to pieces for publications such as Performance Car and Top Gear magazine. Up to present day Clarkson continues to write a variety of articles for broadsheet newspaper The Sunday Times and tabloid The Sun.
Clarkson's most major television role has been as one of the presenters on the British Motoring show Top Gear from October 1988 to February 2000 (in its early format) and from October 2002 to March 2015 in the programme's new format alongside co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond. Top Gear is recognised on an international scale, as the show is rebroadcast to over 100 countries around the world.
Alongside Top Gear, Clarkson has also presented the first series of Robot Wars in the UK, ran a talk show entitled Clarkson between 1998 and 2000, and presented documentaries based on non-motoring themes like History and Engineering. Clarkson has also expressed his opinions on television shows such as Room 101, Parkinson, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Grumpy Old Men, Have I Got News for You and Question Time.
Aside from the success of Top Gear, Clarkson has also had a number of achievements in other areas. In 2005, Clarkson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the Oxford Brookes University. 2007 saw Clarkson win the National Television Awards Special Recognition Award. The same year it was reported that Clarkson earned £1 million a year for his role as a Top Gear presenter, and a further £1.7 million from books, DVDs and newspaper columns. An internet petition was submitted on the Prime Minister's Number 10 website to "Make Jeremy Clarkson Prime Minister". It had attracted 49,446 signatures by the time it was closed. On Motor Trend Magazine's Power List for 2011, listing the fifty most influential figures in the automotive industry, Clarkson was ranked 49th.
Personal life: Clarkson was the son of a teacher and a travelling salesman. His parents originally ran a business selling tea cosies but later expanded their business to selling stuffed toys - this expansion is what funded their son's private school education. Clarkson was eventually expelled from Repton School. Until his voice broke, Clarkson played the role of a public schoolboy in a BBC radio Children's Hour show. In 1989 he married Alexandra James (now Hall) but the two separated after six months. Four years later he married his manager Frances Cain in Fulham. The two lived in the Cotswolds with their three children. Clarkson's second wife reportedly filed divorce proceedings in April 2014.
Clarkson's beliefs and views branch into a number of areas, from politics to the environment and cultural concerns. He openly opposes any government which tries to impose regulation and reduce what he regards as personal freedom. He was against the smoking and fox hunting bans established through labour governments and often criticises proposals such as road charging - he regularly highlights John Prescott the former transport minister for ridicule. Clarkson was invited to attend Margaret Thatcher's funeral in 2013. Clarkson has also held beliefs on the fear of 'hoodies' and intimidating adolescents, and in 2007 he was cleared of allegations of assaulting a hoodie in Milton Keynes.
Clarkson is also against the cause of the green movement and organisations such as Greenpeace. Whilst he doubts whether the impact of global warming will be as negative as it's made out, he also believes that a gradual and quiet attempt to be more eco-friendly on a daily basis is something that people should do. Many believe that Clarkson's public persona doesn't necessarily reflect his personal views. The BBC has also stressed on several occasions that these are Jeremy's views and not those of the BBC.
Throughout his career Clarkson has become increasingly well-known for his controversial statements both inside and outside of his work with the BBC. Some of these incidents on Top Gear include a joke involving lorry drivers in 2008, jokes involving Indian culture in 2012, and ethnic slurs in 2013 and 2014.
On the 25th of March 2015 it was revealed that Clarkson's contract with the BBC would not be renewed following him physically and verbally attacking a Top Gear producer at a hotel.
Biography by Contactmusic.com