Jimmy is the son of Atlantic City political boss "Commodore" Louis Kaestner (Dabney Coleman) and showgirl Gillian Darmody (Gretchen Mol). His mother was only 13 at the time of his birth, while his father was 54. The Commodore's protege, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Steve Buscemi), arranged for the Commodore to have sex with Gillian, at the Commodore's request. Jimmy was raised by his mother with support from Nucky, who became a father figure to Jimmy; the Commodore, meanwhile, was indifferent to his son. Nucky eventually took over the political machine that the Commodore ran and set Jimmy up for great success when he grew up. Jimmy went to Princeton University, where he met his future wife Angela (Aleksa Palladino). He left school to fight in World War I, leaving behind his pregnant girlfriend. In Season 2, it is revealed that he was motivated to join the Army by guilt over a drunken sexual encounter with his mother, and his likely expulsion from college after assaulting a professor who had made a pass at her. He injures his leg in France from shrapnel from a German grenade and walks with a limp for the rest of his life.