What Is Michael Ian Black's Net Worth?
Michael Ian Black is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director who has a net worth of $3 million. Black has been a member of the comedy troupes The State and Stella, which both had their own television shows, MTV's "The State" (1993–1995) and Comedy Central's "Stella" (2005).
Michael has more than 70 acting credits to his name, including the films "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001), "Take Me Home Tonight" (2011), "Wanderlust" (2012), "Hell Baby" (2013), and "They Came Together" (2014) and the television series "You Wrote It, You Watch It" (1992–1993), "Viva Variety" (1997), "Ed" (2000–2004), "Michael & Michael Have Issues" (2009), "Burning Love" (2012–2013), "The Jim Gaffigan Show" (2015–2016), and "Another Period" (2015–2018). He created and wrote for "The State," "Viva Variety," "Stella," and "Michael & Michael Have Issues" as well as the Adult Swim series "You're Whole" (2012–2013), and he wrote and directed the 2006 film "Wedding Daze." Black co-wrote the 2007 film "Run, Fatboy, Run" with Simon Pegg, and he served as a producer on "Viva Variety," "Stella," "Michael & Michael Have Issues," and "You're Whole."
Michael has released the comedy albums "I am a Wonderful Man" (2007), "Very Famous" (2011), and "Noted Expert" (2016), and he appeared on The State's 2010 album "Comedy For Gracious Living" (which was recorded in 1996). Black has published numerous books, such as "My Custom Van: And 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays that Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face" (2008), "You're Not Doing It Right: Tales of Marriage, Sex, Death, and Other Humiliations" (2012), "America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter to Freedom" (with Meghan McCain; 2012), 'Navel Gazing: True Tales of Bodies, Mostly Mine (but also my mom's, which I know sounds weird)" (2016), "A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son" (2020) and the children's books "Chicken Cheeks" (2009) and "I'm Sad" (2018). Michael has also competed on "Celebrity Poker Showdown" (2003–2006) and appeared on several shows in VH1's "I Love the…" series.
Early Life
Michael Ian Black was born Michael Ian Schwartz on August 12, 1971, in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Jill, owned a store, and his father, Robert, was an executive. Michael grew up in a Jewish household in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, and he attended Hillsborough High School. When Black was 3 years old, his parents divorced; his mother later came out as gay. Michael's father died in his late thirties after he suffered a head injury during an assault and had an allergic reaction during surgery. Black has two siblings, and his sister has Down syndrome. After graduating from high school, Michael enrolled at New York University, but he left school to play Raphael in a promotional campaign for the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tour.
Career
Black's career began as a member of The State, which also included future "Reno 911!" creators Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenney, and Robert Ben Garant. From 1992 to 1993, members of the comedy troupe appeared on MTV's "You Wrote It, You Watch It," and they got their own eponymous series in 1993. "The State" aired 28 episodes over four seasons and earned a CableACE Award nomination for Comedy Series in 1995. In 1997, Michael co-created Comedy Central's "Viva Variety" with Garant and Lennon, and he made his feature film debut in 1999's "Big Helium Dog." From 2000 to 2004, Black played Phil Stubbs on NBC's "Ed" alongside Tom Cavanagh and Julie Bowen, and around this time, he appeared in the films "The Bogus Witch Project" (2000) and "Partner(s)" (2005). In 2001, he starred as McKinley in "Wet Hot American Summer," which was written by The State's David Wain (who also directed it) and Michael Showalter. Black reprised his role on the Netflix series "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" (2015) and "Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later" (2017). He hosted NBC's "Spy TV" in 2001, followed by "Reality Bites Back" (2008), "Trust Me, I'm a Game Show Host" (2013), "Duck Quacks Don't Echo" (2014), and "Easiest Game Show Ever" (2016).
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Michael guest-starred on "Reno 911!" (2003–2008; 2020; 2022), "Cheap Seats: Without Ron Parker" (2006), and "Wainy Days" (2007), and he starred in his own "Comedy Central Presents" specials in 2004 and 2008. In 2005, he co-created "Stella" with Showalter and Wain, then he appeared in the 2007 films "The Ten" (which was directed by Wain) and "Reno 911!: Miami." From 2008 to 2009, he had a recurring role on The CW's "Reaper," and he co-created the 2009 Comedy Central series "Michael & Michael Have Issues" with Showalter. Black appeared in the 2011 film "Take Me Home Tonight," then he co-starred with Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, and Justin Theroux in Wain's "Wanderlust" in 2012. That year he also appeared in "This Is 40," which also starred Rudd, and he began playing Bill Tundle on the dating competition spoof "Burning Love."
Michael had a small but memorable role in 2013's "Hell Baby," which was written and directed by Lennon and Garant, then he appeared in the David Wain-directed satirical romantic comedy "They Came Together" in 2014. From 2012 to 2013, he starred as Tyree Mandersohn on "You're Whole," and he played Daniel Benjamin on TV Land's "The Jim Gaffigan Show" from 2015 to 2016 and Peepers on Comedy Central's "Another Period" from 2015 to 2018. Black appeared in the films "Smosh: The Movie" (2015), "Slash" (2016), "Folk Hero & Funny Guy" (2016), and "Sextuplets" (2019), and from 2018 to 2019, he had a recurring role as Pastor Mike on the Netflix series "Insatiable." Michael has also hosted the podcasts "Mike and Tom Eat Snacks" (with Tom Cavanagh), "Topics" (with Showalter), "How to Be Amazing," and "Obscure with Michael Ian Black."
Personal Life
Michael married Martha Anne Hagen on October 17, 1998, and they welcomed son Elijah in 2001 and daughter Ruthie in 2003. At the time of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Black and his family lived 10 miles from the school. Michael wrote about the tragedy on his website, stating, "I called my wife downstairs to tell her what was going on, and while we were both startled, the initial information was that shots had been fired and that somebody had been transported to the hospital with a foot injury. And then we were told it was going to get a lot worse. How much worse we could not have imagined. Not here." He added, "We sat the kids down and told them what happened. Something bad. People had been killed, including children. You guys are safe, though. Do you have any questions? No. Okay. We love you. We'll always love you." The family moved to Savannah, Georgia, in 2021. In "America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter to Freedom," the book Michael wrote with Meghan McCain, Black is described as a "gun-fearing, atheist, Democrat comedian."
