Jim Bob Duggar

Jim Bob Duggar grew up in Arkansas and started his professional career as a real estate agent in the area. He went on to serve in the Arkansas House of Representatives for District 6 from 1999 to 2002. Duggar then ran in the Republican primary election for the United States Senate but was defeated by Tim Hutchinson.

The former politician married Michelle Duggar in 1984. The couple went on to welcome 19 kids from 1988 to 2009, all of whom have been home-schooled. They gained fame in 2008 after their original TLC series, 17 Kids and Counting, premiered. The show, which was later renamed 19 Kids and Counting and documented their lives as Independent Baptist Christians, ran for 15 seasons before ending in 2015.

Some of their children continued to tell their story on the family’s TLC spinoff, Counting On, which ran for 11 seasons before it was canceled. The network pulled the plug on the show after the pair’s eldest son, Josh Duggar, was arrested and booked on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography in April 2021. Josh pleaded not guilty to all charges before setting a November 2021 trial date.

Jim Bob and his wife cowrote a parenting guide titled The Duggars: 20 and Counting! in 2008 and published their memoir, A Love That Multiplies, in 2011.