Jim Carrey is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and producer with a $180 million net worth. Jim was routinely one of the highest-paid artists in the world during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Jim Carrey became the first performer to make $20 million for a single film with 1996’s “The Cable Guy.” He has amassed hundreds of millions in film pay and backend incentives.
Jim Carrey Childhood:
On January 17, 1962, Jim Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. His mother worked as a housewife, while his father worked as an accountant. When Jim was 12 years old, his father lost his job, leaving the family homeless.
The family lived out of a van to make ends meet and worked nighttime shifts as janitors and security guards at a neighboring factory. Jim typically worked a full eight-hour shift at the plant following a full day at school.
Jim, like his father, was born a natural comic and impersonator. At 15, he began doing stand-up in Toronto comedy clubs. His father drove him to clubs in his youth.
He dropped out of high school to follow his aspirations and eventually relocated to Los Angeles. He was discovered performing at The Comedy Store by Rodney Dangerfield and signed as an opening act.
Blank Check Come True:
According to mythology, Jim Carrey drove his beat-up Toyota Camry into the Hollywood Hills in 1985 when he was needy and sad. Jim signed himself a cheque for $10 million “for acting services provided” while overlooking the entirety of Los Angeles.
He reissued the cheque ten years later and kept it in his wallet. Spoiler alert: His desire was realized within that ten-year timeframe. Jim slid the cheque inside his father’s casket after dying in 1994.
Jim Carrey Success:
Carrey had his first taste of celebrity in 1990 when he appeared on the Wayans brothers’ sketch comedy show “In Living Color.” He dazzled audiences with masochistic and accident-prone characters like Fire Marshal Bill in this show.
Carrey stayed on In Living Color until 1995, but just before the show’s demise, he made his feature film debut with “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.” The film was a box office smash, suddenly establishing him as a household star.
He starred in “The Mask” and “Dumb and Dumber” the same year, which were box-office smashes. He received $20 million for his following feature, “The Cable Guy,” setting a compensation record.
Among Carrey’s other prominent comedy roles include “Liar, Liar,” “Bruce Almighty,” “Me, Myself, and Irene,” and “Yes Man.”
Additionally, he has starred in a variety of dramas and dramedies, including “The Truman Show,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Majestic,” “Man on the Moon,” and the thriller “The Number 23.”
Jim Carrey Salary Highlights
Jim earned his first significant payment from In Living Color, earning $25,000 each episode. Jim earned around $3.2 million throughout the show’s 127 episodes.
That equates to around $6 million now. He was compensated $350,000 for his work on the first Ace Ventura film. He would earn $15 million a year later for his appearance in the sequel.
Jim got $540,000 for his role in The Mask and then $7 million for his performance in Dumb & Dumber.
Jim made $20 million for The Cable Guy, Batman Forever, Liar Liar, Me, Myself, and Irene, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Yes Man. Jim was also entitled to a portion of goods sales for How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
He was entitled to 36.2 percent of revenues from Yes Man, bringing his total compensation to $35 million. That is one of the top thirty highest salaries in cinema history.
In perspective, earning $20 million in the mid-1990s is equivalent to making about $34 million per film.
Jim made $200 million in wages and bonuses between 1994 and 2008. He made at least another $100 million over the next decade. He has almost certainly made more than $300 million in film salaries.
Jim Carrey’s Private Life:
Jim Carrey is a two-time married man. From 1987 to 1995, he was married to Melissa Womer. They share a daughter, Jane Erin Carrey, a 2012 American Idol competitor. Jim married Lauren Holly, his Dumb & Dumber co-star, in 1996.
The marriage was short-lived, lasting less than a year. Between 2005 and 2010, he was romantically involved with model/actress Jenny McCarthy.
Jim Carrey Residential Real Estate:
Jim has a variety of properties around the United States. His principal property has always been a huge complex in Los Angeles’ Brentwood neighborhood.
In 1994, he purchased the first property in his complex for $3.8 million (about $6.6 million today). In 2000, he paid $1.7 million for the adjacent 1-acre parcel. Today, the property has a substantial guesthouse, a swimming pool, and a tennis court.
He spent $9.75 million in 2002 on a Malibu oceanfront house. He offered the mansion for sale for $18 million in 2011. In 2013, he eventually found a buyer for $13.4 million. Jim also has a New York City apartment.
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Summary:
Jim Carrey’s net worth is estimated to be $180 million. Ace Ventura originally gained international recognition in 1994 with the publication of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
Over the next two decades, he rose to become one of the world’s highest-paid actors, routinely earning more than $20 million for a single film. He was the first actor to earn more than $20 million for a single film and has made at least $300 million in film pay and incentives.