Leslie Knipfing – The Famous Sister Of American Actor Kevin James

Raised alongside prominent actors, Leslie Knipfing is the least-known celebrity in the family. Leslie also wanted to pursue a career in the entrainment industry, but a Retinitis Pigmentosa diagnosis hindered her desire to get into acting.

How much do you know about the sister of the famous American actor Kevin James? Let’s find out.

Who Is Her Famous Brother?

Born Kevin George Knipfing in April 1965, he is better known by his stage name Kevin James. The American comedian and actor has collaborated a lot with Adam Sandler. But he is successful on his own. Famous for portraying Doug Heffernan on The King of Queens from 1998 to 2007, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor for that role.

He also appeared in the CBS sitcom, Kevin Can Wait. James has appeared in movies like Hitch, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Grown Ups, Zookeeper, Here Comes the Boom, Pixels, and more. Kevin also did voice work for the first three Hotel Transylvania movies.

Born in Mineola, New York, he grew up in Stony Brook, New York. Kevin is the second son of his father, an insurance agency owner Joseph Valentine Knipfing Jr, and his mother, office worker Janet. His older brother, Gary Valentine, is also an actor and comedian.

He graduated from Ward Melville High School, where he earned the number one spot on the wrestling team. He was ahead of his friend and future professional wrestler Mick Foley. A back injury resulted in Foley taking the first-string position.

From there, he would go on to study at the State University of New York at Cortland, where he played for the varsity football team until another back injury ended his sports career.

In 1989, he began doing comedy, making his debut at the East Side Comedy Club on Long Island. He would go on to appear in various talk shows, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Late Show with David Letterman, and many more.

We talked about his movies and television shows before. But he has done other work as well, including an ad campaign for Pepsi 400 promoting his movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. He did it again in 2010 with his friend Adam Sandler to promote Grown Ups.

In February 2020, he revived his YouTube channel, posting short movies.

Her Less Famous Brother

James is not Leslie’s only celebrity brother. The eldest member of the family is Gary Valentine, born Gary Joseph Knipfing. Born in 1961, he also appeared in The King of Queens and Kevin Can Wait. He has appeared mostly in movies and television series alongside his more famous brother.

Gary also got his start on the standup comedy page. He now makes occasional appearances on the E! Network late-night talk show Chelsea Lately.

He also takes part in the Dusty Peacock web series alongside his brother.

Quick Bio

Now let’s talk about Leslie Knipfing, the only daughter in the Knipfing family. She is notable in the entertainment industry as the sister of popular Hollywood actors. She tried to enter the entertainment industry as well, but couldn’t do it because of the Retinitis Pigmentosa diagnosis.

She now works as a charity event manager. The celebrity sibling was born in November 1974 in New York, United States. Her parents are Joseph Valentine and Janet Knipfing. As we said before, she wanted to pursue an acting career.

But the genetic disorder prevented her from doing that. Called Retinitis Pigmentosa, it is a genetic eye disease that causes visual impairment and loss of vision.

Because of that, she ventured into another popular profession. Leslie is creative and brilliant and works as a charity event manager. She organizes charity events and tries to raise money for popular causes.

The charity organization she handles is owned by her brother Kevin James. She has also used it to help people suffering from the same genetic disorder as her.

Many people confuse her for Leslie Bibb, an American actress, and model. Fun fact: her doppelganger appeared in the Iron Man movie franchise. But Leslie Knipfing and Leslie Bibb are not related. They share the same name, and both were born on November 17, 1974. But that is where the similarities end. Bibb was born in Bismarck, North Dakota, and was raised in Lovingston, Nelson County, Virginia.

Career

We touched a bit about her career. She is the charity event manager of the JVK foundation, owned and founded by her brother, American actor Kevin James.

As we said before, Leslie has been suffering from a genetic eye defect since her childhood. This condition inspired her to be a philanthropist and help special needs individuals.

There is no information about her education, but it must have helped her excel in her job. Because people around her say she is brilliant at her work.

The celebrity sibling has offered support to institutions like Columbia University Medical School and New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Is She On Social Media?

Leslie is not as active on social media as her brothers. We couldn’t find her official profile on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or any other platform.

On the other hand, her brother Kevin is quite popular on Instagram. His profile has nearly 2 million followers. Gary also has a profile on Instagram with almost 11k followers.

As you can see, Kevin is the most famous one in the family. And he is the one that helps other family members find a job and earn money. He gave his sister the managing position in his charity, and his brother Gary appears in all of his movies and television series.

Net Worth

Speaking of net worth, Kevin is again the one with the best bank status here. Leslie has a net worth of $1.5 million as of July 2023. It is a decent amount, but nowhere near the net worth of his famous brother. Kevin has a net worth of more than $100 million.

Gary, on the other hand, has a worth of $2.5 million.