Kevin James (born April 26, 1965) is an American comedian and actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of lead character Doug Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens and periodically on Everybody Loves Raymond. He is also known for leading roles in the films Hitch (2005), I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007), and Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009).

James was born Kevin George Knipfing in Stony Brook, New York, the son of Janet, a homemaker who also worked in a chiropractor's office, and Joseph Valentine Knipfing, who owned an insurance company. He was raised in the "S-Section" of Stony Brook and graduated from Ward Melville High School in 1983, where one of his teammates on the wrestling team was (professional wrestler) Mick Foley. James has two siblings, Gary Joseph Knipfing, known as Gary Valentine, also a comedian, and Leslie Knipfing. Leslie Knipfing works for James, helping raise money through charity events for retinitis pigmentosa, with which he is afflicted. James was a student at, but did not graduate from, the State University of New York at Cortland, where he was a member of Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity.

James began doing stand-up comedy, gaining popularity through numerous appearances on various talk shows, including Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Dennis Miller Live, The Late Late Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. James was #89 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians. James has also done his stand-up routine on Just for Laughs, an annual comedy festival in Montreal.