Jessie Holmes is a reality TV star best known for his appearances on the set of the Nat Geo series Life Below Zero. He is also an American carpenter and dog racer. The 42-year-old Jessie was born on the 20th of February 1982 and comes from Alabama in the United States of America.
He started his dog racing career very early in life before joining the cast of Life Below Zero. Currently, he is on break from the show due to injuries, but is likely to make a comeback when he is completely healed.
Summary of Jessie Holmes’ Biography
- Full Name: Jessie Holmes
- Gender: Male
- Date of Birth: 20th February 1982
- Jessie Holmes’ Age: 42
- Ethnicity: White
- Nationality: American
- Zodiac Sign: Pisces
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Single
- Jessie Holmes’ Height in Inches: 5 feet 7 inches
- Jessie Holmes’ Height in Centimetres: 170 cm
- Jessie Holmes’ Weight: 72 kg
- Famous For: Being a reality TV star
- Jessie Holmes’ Instagram: @teamcantstopracing
How Old Is Jessie Holmes Born?
Jessie Holmes is 42 years old. He was born on the 20th of February 1982 in Odenville, Alabama in the United States, an indication of his American nationality, Ethnicity-wise, he is said to be White.
Holmes has never mentioned anything about his parents in the public space, thus nothing is known about them. He once narrated how he grew up under their watch in his place of birth- Odenville, Alabama. According to him, he was still very young when he made it known that he would prefer to live his adult life in the wilderness as a mountain man.
Another aspect of Jessie’s life that needs some elucidation is his academic background. The level he attained in education is not known and nothing has been said about the academic institutions he favored. With that said, it is glaring that Jessie Holmes didn’t make it to college. This conclusion is drawn from the knowledge that he left home at the age of 16 to fulfill his dreams of living in the mountains and has been there to date.
What Does Jessie Holmes Do?
Jessie has been involved in different career paths starting with carpentry. He is a reality TV star, a television personality, a musher, a hunter, a fisherman, and a sled dog racer.
Holmes Started Life as a Carpenter
For three long years, Jessie Holmes lived in Montana, where he worked as a carpenter. Part of his plan was to save up enough money from his carpentry work to enable him to move permanently to Alaska – a dream he achieved in 2004.
When he eventually arrived in Alaska, Holmes’ carpentry skills came in handy when he needed to construct a habitable cabin that would serve as a home for him. Though he initially lived in Eagle (close to the US-Canadian border), he decided to build his proposed cabin in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, precisely at Nenana.
Jessie Holmes didn’t start the construction work from scratch, he was lucky enough to find a 40-year-old house and proceeded to rebuild it to his taste. Throughout the construction project, Jessie’s activities were well covered by The Nat Geo series.
He became a Reality TV Star by Appearing on Life Below Zero
Jessie Holmes gained public attention in 2015 when he was featured in Life Below Zero. He joined the cast of the 1st episode of the show’s sixth season and went on to become a recurring character.
When Holmes was initially contacted to join the show, he declined because of the popularity that comes with it. According to him, it would negate his natural desire for privacy. However, he eventually softened his decision, and needless to say, it has turned his whole life around.
The Nat Geo’s award-winning documentary reality television adventure series revolves around the lives of the cast members as they live and earn their keep in the remote, lonely regions of Alaska. Living off-grid, these group of people leverage their prowess and resourcefulness to survive the harsh Arctic weather.
On the show, Jessie is often seen preparing his brood of dogs for upcoming dog marathons and when the marathon is on, they would be seen cruising miles and miles through very rough terrain and blizzard-like conditions.
Meanwhile, during his time on Life Below Zero, Jessie Holmes shared the screen with skilled hunters, fishers, and trappers as they all rely on what the water and land had to offer for their livelihood. Day in and day out, the cast members and homesteaders battle dangerous wild animals and freezing winter, and overcoming these challenges was what made the show an instant hit with viewers. Needless to say, it also turned its cast into celebrities and Jessie happens to be one of them.
Jessie Holmes, the star of Life Below Zero, stopped into Noorvik for the Kobuk 440.
I met him at Iditarod, was at his best both times. pic.twitter.com/8lvW8mxYcw— Chip Hailstone (@HailstoneChip) May 31, 2019
He is also a Sled Dog Racer
Jessie has always been a dog lover, thus, it came as no surprise that he would choose to make a career out of sled dog racing. He has a total of 40 dogs that he took to Alaska in 2004.
One of Jessie’s first tasks after settling down in his cabin was to build sleds, boats, and fish wheels for the benefit of his brood. He takes pains to spend quality time with his dogs to ensure that they are in good health and tip-top condition.
With the boat and fish wheel, Jessie sets sail every summer and catches nothing less than 3,000 Solomon fish for his sustenance and that of his brood during winter. He also puts in a lot of time fishing in the environs of the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area.
With every needed amenity in place, Holmes and his dogs went on to begin a life of nerve-racking adventure amid the bone-chilling Alaskan winters.
With that number of dogs, Jessie works as a musher – mushing is a term that describes the dog sledding sports. In this kind of sport, the sled dogs are put to work pulling sleds over ice and snow as the musher drives them. The only dogs that thrive in this kind of work are Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Huskies, or Malamutes, and they are the breeds that make up Jessie’s brood.
He started by taking his brood to different dog local races and recorded a few wins. With time, he qualified to participate in “The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race” and has been joining the competitions since 2016. He has emerged as number one in some of the contests and has tidied up a lot of prize money from many of them. Some of the competitions he has won include The 2016 Yukon 300 and the 2017 Kobuk 440.
He is also a kennel owner. The musher’s kennel business is located very close to Denali National Park and his major focus is training sled dogs that can be used in sled competitions. Jessie takes good care of his dogs, including their feeding, vaccination, grooming, exercising, and general care.
What is Jessie Holmes’ Net Worth and Salary?
Jessie Holmes’ official net worth is yet to be communicated, but reportedly, he has tidied up quite a large sum. When the reality star started appearing on Life Below Zero, he was receiving a remuneration of $4,500 per episode and on an annual basis, he was sweeping over $200k from the show alone.
Another avenue of income for the musher is the Iditarod race where he has continued to earn prize money. During the 2021 Iditarod competitions, which took 8 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and 29 seconds to complete, he placed #15 and earned $12,496.
Prior to that, precisely in 2020, Jessie placed #9 and received prize money of $23,763. The year 2019 was when he placed 27th and earned $1,049. In Holmes’ debut on the Iditarod race, he placed #7 and collected $25,000. However, his best outing was the 2022 race where he placed #3 which made him $40k richer. In 2023 Jessie won a total of $25,812 in prize money after he finished the race in seventh place. This took him 9 days, 23 hours, and 39 minutes to complete.
In total, the dog racing champion has raked in over $100k from all the Iditarod competitions he has participated in.
Why did Jessie Holmes Leave Life Below Zero?
The reasons why Jessie Holmes had to leave Life Below Zero are numerous, but notable among them are the injuries he incurred along the way.
After the western part of Alaska was ravaged by Typhoon Merbok in October 2022, Jessie joined the cleanup team and got injured while heading to Golovin. He had to recouple from some broken bones after he was admitted to Anchorage by airlifting. He was first airlifted to Nome. Jessie had to undergo surgery, which was funded by a GoFundMe account created by his fans and friends. The account got $40k within one week.
Jessie Holmes has long left the hospital and has taken to his Facebook page to express his heartfelt gratitude to fans who contributed to his hospital bills.
Prior to that, he sustained a lesser injury in August 2021 while riding a UTV; this time around, he broke his collarbone but recovered very fast.
All these injuries were part of what made the reality TV star leave Life Below Zero and perhaps, he may still surface again after he fully recovers. In fact, from what is obvious, his physicians have already given him the go-ahead to start some movement in the injured arm. Jessie Holmes was videoed trying to shoot with his uninjured arm, but holding the gun and targeting was a bit difficult for him.
Jessie Holmes practices aiming and shooting a gun with his uninjured arm. A new episode of #LifeBelowZero airs Tuesday night at 8/7c on National Geographic. pic.twitter.com/e6nJ5bWGnV
— Life Below Zero (@LifeBelowZeroTV) December 13, 2021
Is Jessie Holmes Married With Family?
Jessie Holmes is not married and has no known family yet. He is the type that loves to keep the details of his love life under the shade, which has made it difficult to keep tabs on his hook-ups and breakups.
However, when he was still residing in Eagle, he was reportedly dating a woman whose identity has never been disclosed. The reality star once opened up on the survival series, saying that he dated one special woman for six years and even had plans of tying the nuptial knot with her, but the relationship went sour. Jessie said he experienced a heartbreak that made him sit up and think seriously about his future.
Though Jessie Holmes never mentioned what led to their split, fans of the reality show went digging and before long, it was speculated that the said lady abandoned Jessie for another man.
Going forward, the reality star has been focusing on his musher duties and appearances on Life Below Zero, and to date, he never mentioned anything about his love life to the hearing of the public.
There was a time he took to social media to share an image with a box full of cute puppies and the hashtag read, “best Valentine’s gift”. Though it was dogs, it was also a Val gift, and fans couldn’t help but wonder whether it was meant for a lady friend. On the other hand, many speculated that he may have received the pack of puppies from the woman he is currently dating.
In January 2022, Jessie Holmes took to Instagram to share a video with a lady called Julie and even though the content of the clip was talking about a race they were both involved in, the ensuing comments were about something totally different. Many were quick to notice that the musher had his arms wrapped around the lady and was urging him to ask her for a date.
Some came all out to ask whether they were already dating while others enquired to know if they were husband and wife. With a plethora of romantic emojis, one commenter said, “A Mrs. Jesse Holmes would be fantastic.” However, Jessie never bothered to give them a response to date.
Where is Jessie Holmes Now
Jessie is living on the property he purchased after relocating to Nenana and that is where he is recuperating. The dwelling has a large dog yard for his brood, which is very convenient. It was once the property of the winner of the 1976 Iditarod Championship, Jerry Riley.
There was a time it was rumored that Jessie had died, but it all turned out to be a hoax, as the reality star is hale and hearty and still recovering from his injuries.
FAQ
Who is Jessie Holmes?
Jessie Holmes is an American carpenter, dog racer, and reality TV star best known for appearing on the set of the Nat Geo series, Life Below Zero.
Who is Jessie Holmes’ Wife?
Holmes is not married, however, he came very close to tying the knot. Reportedly, he dated a special lady for six years and she left him for another man before he could pop the big question.
Who takes care of Jessie Holmes’ dogs when he is away?
Whenever Jessie Holmes is going to be away for a while, he brings in professional dog sitters to cater to the needs of his brood until his return.
What is Jessie Holmes’ salary on Life Below Zero?
While he was a cast member on the set of Life Below Zero, Jessie Holmes was making $4,500 per episode of the show which totaled $200k as annual remuneration.
How much money did Jessie Holmes win in the 2023 Iditarod?
Jessie won a total of $25,812 in prize money for the 2023 Iditarod after he finished the race in seventh place. This took him 9 days, 23 hours, and 39 minutes to complete.
