James Belushi was born June 15, 1954, in Chicago. The third of four children - his brother was John Belushi - he grew up in Wheaton, Illinois. A high school teacher, impressed by his improvisational skills while giving speeches, convinced him to to be in a school play. After that, he joined the school's drama club. Today, if asked why he got involved in acting, he will jokingly say, "Because of girls. In the drama club, there were about 20 girls and six guys. And the same thing with choir - more girls!". He attended the College of DuPage and Southern Illinois University, where he graduated with a degree in Speech and Theater Arts.

In 1977, he joined Chicago's Second City improv troupe and remained for three years. In 1979, Garry Marshall saw Jim performing for Second City and arranged for him to come to Hollywood and co-star in the TV pilot Who's Watching the Kids for Paramount and, then, for a role in the series Working Stiffs (co-starring Michael Keaton). Later, in 1983, he joined the cast of SNL 25 for two years. Jim came to national attention in About Last Night..., playing the role he originated in the Chicago Apollo Theatre's production of David Mamet's Obie-award winning play "Sexual Perversity in Chicago". He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Jennifer Sloan, their daughter Jamison and a son, Robert Belushi, from Belushi's first marriage.
According to Jim (2001): $500,000 per episode

Son, with Sandra Davenport, Robert Belushi (b. 1981). Brother of John Belushi. Co-owner of House Of Blues clubs with Dan Aykroyd. Occasionally performs concerts with the Sacred Hearts Blues Band. Daughter, Jamison Bess with wife Jennifer Sloan (b. 1999). Jim and Jenny welcomed their second child, Jared James on February 8th. Father of Robert Belushi. Was originally set to co-star in Blues Brothers 2000, but couldn't due to scheduling conflicts. Filed a $4 million lawsuit against neighbor Julie Newmar in 2004. He accused her of using harrassment and defamation to force him from the Brentwood, California street they share. A newspaper article quoted a resident not involved with the dispute as saying "She's weird. And he's a bully." His father Adam Belushi is an Albanian immigrant who left his native village, Qytezë, in 1934 at the age of 15, and his mother Agnes, was born in the US to Albanian immigrants. Though he is a life-long Chicago Bears fan, he shares a birthday with former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren. Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1991.