Geoff James Nugent (born 14 February 1977), known professionally as Jim Jefferies (and previously Jim Jeffries), is an Australian stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, and writer. Alongside his stand-up comedy, Jefferies is best known for his work in American television, creating and starring in the FX sitcom Legit from 2013–2014 and Comedy Central's late-night comedy The Jim Jefferies Show since 2017. Born in Sydney, Australia, as Geoff James Nugent, he initially took the stage name Jim Jeffries but amended the last name to Jefferies to avoid confusion with a similarly named American performer. His father was a cabinetmaker and maintenance worker from Roma, Queensland, and his mother was a substitute teacher. Jefferies grew up in Sydney, before moving to Perth to study musical theatre and classical music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.