What is Jim Carrey's Net Worth and Salary?
Jim Carrey is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and producer with a net worth of $180 million. For about a decade, Carrey was one of the most famous actors worldwide, consistently securing top roles in blockbuster comedic films that brought in massive profits for studios. Over a span of two decades, he regularly earned a base salary of $20+ million per film. He was the first actor to earn $20 million for a single movie.
Jim Carrey started his career as a stand-up comedian in Canada, catching the eye of Rodney Dangerfield in the late '70s. He went on to open for Dangerfield on tour before relocating to Las Vegas and California. His fame grew with his spot-on impressions and unique sense of humor. By the early '80s, he was appearing in various low-budget films and television shows, including "The Duck Factory," and began gaining higher-profile roles in movies like "Earth Girls Are Easy," "Once Bitten," and "Peggy Sue Got Married."
Highest Paid Actor
During the late '90s and early 2000s, Carrey was one of the highest-paid entertainers globally. He made history by becoming the first actor to earn $20 million for a single film, achieving this milestone with 1996's "The Cable Guy." Throughout his career, Carrey has earned hundreds of millions of dollars from film salaries and backend bonuses.
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Early Life
Jim Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, on January 17, 1962. His mother was a homemaker, and his father was an accountant. When Carrey was 12, his father lost his job, rendering the family homeless. They lived out of a van and worked overnight as janitors and security guards to make ends meet. Carrey often worked full shifts after school. With his natural talent for comedy and impressions, Carrey started performing stand-up in Toronto at age 15, with his father often driving him to clubs. He later moved to Los Angeles, where Rodney Dangerfield discovered him, leading to a role as an opening act.
Blank Check Come True
At a low point in 1985, Carrey made a symbolic gesture by writing himself a check for $10 million for "acting services rendered," post-dated ten years later. He kept this check in his wallet as a source of motivation. Remarkably, his dream materialized within the decade, and when his father passed away in 1994, Carrey placed the check in his father's casket.
Career Success
Carrey's breakthrough came in 1990 with the Wayans brothers' sketch comedy show "In Living Color," where his characters like Fire Marshal Bill gained him a wider audience. Shortly before the show's cancellation in 1995, Carrey's movie "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" premiered, making him a household name. That same year, he starred in "The Mask" and "Dumb and Dumber," both box-office hits. His $20 million paycheck for "The Cable Guy" set a record. Carrey continued to star in successful comedies like "Liar, Liar," "Bruce Almighty," "Me, Myself, & Irene," and "Yes Man." He also impressed audiences in dramatic roles in films like "The Truman Show," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Man on the Moon," and "The Number 23." More recently, Carrey played Dr. Robotnik in "Sonic the Hedgehog" (2020) and its 2022 sequel, which had his career-best opening weekend gross of $72 million in the US.
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Salary Highlights
Carrey's first significant paycheck came from "In Living Color," where he earned $25,000 per episode, totaling about $3.2 million from 127 episodes, equivalent to roughly $6 million today. He earned $350,000 for "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," which grossed $100 million against a $15 million budget. For the sequel, Carrey was paid $15 million. For "The Mask," he earned $540,000, with the film grossing $350 million. "Dumb and Dumber" netted him $7 million.
Carrey became the first actor to earn a $20 million base salary for a single film with "The Cable Guy." He continued to earn $20 million for movies like:
- The Cable Guy
- Batman Forever
- Liar Liar
- Me, Myself & Irene
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- Yes Man
For "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," Carrey also received a percentage of merchandise sales. In "Yes Man," he earned 36.2% of the profits, leading to a $35 million total payday, one of the 30-largest in film history. Between 1994 and 2008, Carrey earned $200 million from salaries and bonuses, with another $100 million over the next decade. To date, he has likely earned more than $300 million from film salary alone.
(Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for AFI)
Personal Life
Jim Carrey has been married twice. His first marriage was to Melissa Womer from 1987 to 1995, with whom he has a daughter, Jane Erin Carrey, an American Idol contestant in 2012. Carrey married his "Dumb & Dumber" co-star Lauren Holly in 1996, but the marriage lasted less than a year. Carrey dated model/actress Jenny McCarthy from 2005 to 2010. He later dated makeup artist Cathriona White from 2012 until her death in 2015 from a drug overdose. In 2019, he briefly dated Ginger Gonzaga.
Awards
Jim Carrey has won over 40 major awards, including Golden Globe Awards for "The Truman Show" (1999) and "Man on the Moon" (2000). He received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Spoken Word Album for Children in 2006. In 2013, he won the Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award for his children's story, "How Roland Rolls."
Brentwood Estate
Jim Carrey owns several properties across the United States. His primary residence is a sprawling estate in Brentwood, Los Angeles. He purchased the first property in 1994 for $3.8 million (about $6.6 million today) and spent $1.7 million on the adjacent lot in 2000. The compound includes a large guest house, swimming pool, and tennis court, spanning two acres and 13,000 square feet of living space. In February 2023, Carrey listed his Brentwood estate for $28.9 million.
Other Properties:
In 2002, he bought a beachfront mansion in Malibu for $9.75 million, which he listed for sale in 2011 for $18 million. He sold it in 2013 for $13.4 million. Carrey also owns an apartment in New York City.
