Jimmy Kimmel Shares Update on 5-Year-Old Son Billy After Open-Heart Surgery

Jimmy Kimmel’s 5-year-old son Billy is “doing great” following the little boy’s two open-heart surgeries. The Jimmy Kimmel Live host opened up to Entertainment Tonight at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Gala over the weekend, where he shared an update on his son and praised the “stars” at the hospital who have treated his heart condition.

“Billy’s doing great. He’s perfectly normal – I shouldn’t say he’s normal, he’s not a normal kid, he’s a weird kid, but his heart is fine,” Kimmel joked. “He’s a little screwy, that’s all we’re worried about right now. He’s doing great. He still has to have another surgery.” He continued that Children’s Hospital in L.A. is a “great place” for children who need medical care as well as for doctors and nurses around the country to train. “It’s a place where they come, they learn how to do this, and it helps everybody across the whole country, not just L.A,” he explained.

Now that he’s 5 years old, Kimmel said Billy is the same as the other children his age. “People – I think they’re very hesitant to ask me about him, and they’re like ‘Is he OK?’ And he’s honestly no different physically than any of the other kids,” Kimmel shared. “He can play sports – he doesn’t want to, but he can. He’s always dancing and jumping around, and we wrestle all the time.” The comedian added, “He’s fine, except for what’s going on with his heart, he’s perfectly fine.”

As a celebrity, Kimmel said it was important to him to draw attention to the real “stars” that are the medical professionals helping children out there. “There’s some bad things about being famous, and there are some good things about being famous, and one of the best things about it, is that you and shine a light on these people who really are the stars,” Kimmel shared. “When you can do something for somebody’s kid, they become the most important people in the world, and to me, these people are.” The late-night host first shared news of his son’s medical condition back in 2017, tearfully sharing in a monologue that Billy had been born with a heart defect and underwent open-heart surgery at just three days old.