Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho is one of the most famous wrestlers to come from Canada. He has worn his nationality proudly throughout his career, famously telling a member of the WWE Universe that he is “from Winnipeg, you idiot!”. However, his family background is slightly more complicated than first meets the eye.
Where Is Chris Jericho From?
Chris Jericho was born in Manhasset, New York on November 9th, 1970. This makes him an American citizen. This has been very helpful for Chris Jericho’s wrestling career as being from America he has not needed to get a visa to work in the United States. This has been an issue for other wrestlers like “Speedball” Mike Bailey, who was banned from the US for wrestling without a visa.
Chris Jericho grew up in Winnipeg, Canada. Both of his parents are Canadian’s, although they moved to the United States due to his fathers job. This makes Jericho a dual citizen, holding both American and Canadian citizenship and passports.
His dad was a former NHL hockey player Ted Irvine. He was born in New York because he father was playing for the New York Rangers at the time. He is considered a legend in the city after spending 6 years playing for the local team and is an icon in professional hockey. Ted Irvine and his son played hockey together multiple times during celebrity hockey matches during Chris Jericho’s time in the WWE.
Is Chris Jericho Canadian or American?
Chris Jericho is both American and Canadian. He was born in the United States to two Canadian parents and spent his childhood living in Winnipeg, Canada.
Chris Jericho’s nationality has come up a lot over the years. He was billed as being from New York during a face run in the WWE because Vince McMahon thought that fans would not cheer a Canadian. This came years after Bret Hart became a hero in Canada but a villain in American and the nationalism sentiment was something of the past in pro-wrestling. Y2J was billed from New York, something that also happened to Chris Benoit in the WWE.
He also has European ancestry in his family. The Irvine family originally descended from Scotland and is a traditionally Scottish name. On his mothers side his family come from Ukraine. His grandparents are from Ukraine and emigrated to Canada in the 1920s, leaving their homeland. They kept their name however and Chris Jericho’s mothers maiden name was Klewchuk – a traditional Ukrainian name.
His mother sadly passed away while he was a young adult and spent years paralyzed after a car accident put her in a wheelchair for life.
Where Does Chris Jericho Live?
Now working for All Elite Wrestling, Chris Jericho lives in the suburbs in Tampa, Florida. He recently purchased a house for $3.25 million in the area. The home is a waterfront property that sits on 6 acres of land. He currently lives there with his wife, Jessica Lockhart and his three children.
He has lived all over the world during his time in wrestling. Chris Jericho first lived in Winnipeg in Canada before moving down to Mexico when he started working in the country as Corazon De Leon. Corazon De Leon was Chris Jericho’s gimmick when he lived in Mexico and means “Heart of Lion”. It can also be translated as “Lionheart”, a nickname he would use during his time in WCW, WWE and finally AEW.
