Josh Duggar | |
---|---|
Duggar in 2007
|
|
Born |
Joshua James Duggar March 3, 1988 Tontitown, Arkansas, U.S. |
Occupation | Car salesman, television personality, political activist |
Years active | 2004–present |
Known for | 19 Kids and Counting |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Anna Keller (m. 2008) |
Children | 4 |
Parent(s) |
Jim Bob Duggar Michelle (Ruark) Duggar |
Relatives | 18 siblings including Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald |
Joshua James "Josh" Duggar (born March 3, 1988) is an American television personality, political activist, and former used car salesman known for his appearances on the reality television show 19 Kids and Counting which focuses on the life of the Duggar family. The eldest of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar's 19 children, Duggar is the former executive director of FRC Action, a lobbying PAC affiliated with and sponsored by the Family Research Council.
Revelations that Duggar had molested five girls, and had been a member of Ashley Madison, led to the cancellation of 19 Kids and Counting on July 16, 2015. Duggar's publicity woes were named one of the "10 Big Scandals of 2015" by USA Today while the Washington Post listed Duggar as one of the "15 People the Internet Hated Most in 2015."
Pornographic film actress Danica Dillon filed a suit alleging she had been sexually assaulted by Duggar after he paid her for intercourse. The case was later dropped by Dillon, though she insisted she had witnesses and photos able to corroborate her story. She agreed not to refile.
Duggar was born Joshua James Duggar on March 3, 1988, in Tontitown, Arkansas, to parents James Robert ("Jim Bob") and Michelle Annette (née Ruark) Duggar. The first of nineteen children, he was raised in a conservative Christian home. Duggar was homeschooled, passing the state of Arkansas' test for a general equivalency diploma (GED) at the age of 16. He did not attend college.
Duggar appeared on TLC as part of the reality television show 19 Kids and Counting. Starting in 2005, he appeared on earlier shows about his family on Discovery Health, when Duggar was 17 years old. The wedding of Duggar and Anna Keller was featured in a show episode titled A Very Duggar Wedding airing on January 25, 2009. It included the wedding planning, preparation, rehearsal, ceremony and reception. Duggar and his wife have stated they saved their first kiss for their wedding day. Multiple episodes document Duggar's children including: GrandDuggar's First Birthday airing December 7, 2010, where Duggar celebrates his daughter Mackynzie's first birthday and announces the expected birth of their second child; First Grandson, airing June 19, 2011, featured Duggar and his wife introducing their second child, Michael James; and GrandDuggar Makes 3! airing June 16, 2013, a Father's Day special introducing the Duggars' third baby, Marcus Anthony. A special titled Josh & Anna: Our Story aired on October 22, 2013, which reviewed the couple's first five years of marriage. Duggar and his wife announced the expected birth of their fourth child on an episode titled Anna's Having A..., which aired May 12, 2015. The episode included the Duggars announcing the ultrasound showed they were having another girl.