Elizabeth Banks Is Wildly Rich, and She's Earned Every Damn Penny
Elizabeth Banks is many things: talented actor, excellent spoofer, friend of Justin Bieber (iconic), and total Hollywood star. Obviously, that means she gets paid a star's salary, which directly translates to a loaded bank account. But just how much money does Elizabeth Banks make, you ask? Well, a little something to the tune of $50 million. Wondering how she did it? Look no further than this article. Let's get into it!
Elizabeth is a bona fide movie star
She has been crushing it for years as an actor. Way back in 2001, she had a role in Wet Hot American Summer, a franchise featuring tons of other future A-listers including Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and Bradley Cooper. The following year, Elizabeth tacked on the role of Betty Brant in Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, *and* Spider-Man 3. And though her character is one of my personal faves, the job brought out an insecurity in Elizabeth that she spoke candidly about in a 2015 interview with The Wall Street Journal.
"I auditioned for a lot of lead roles and got a lot of directors who said, 'You're really interesting, but—,'" she said of her career pattern. "With Spider-Man they said, 'You're too old to play Mary Jane Watson'—I was 26 at the time—'but here's Betty Brant. You can play that instead.' I auditioned for Catch Me if You Can to play Amy Adams's role. They said, 'Well, we're going to give it to Amy Adams, but you can play the bank teller.' That was the sort of the theme of my life for about six years—and still kind of is the theme of my life. I'm very much the bridesmaid, not often the bride."
Tbh I refuse to allow any Elizabeth Banks slander, even if it comes from the actor herself!! She crushed her role in the Sam Raimi franchise and made the $$$ to boot. According to What's Their Net Worth, she allegedly earned ~$1 million for the first Spider-Man movie—a number that no doubt rose for the second and third installments.
The actor also scored a reprising role as Effie Trinket in the highly-lauded Hunger Games movies and earned $2.5 million for doing The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 2 (per The Richest). Oh, and keep in mind that was only her payday for *one* of the four films she was in—the others being The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 1.
And she's starred in tons of TV shows
Turns out Elizabeth shines across the silver screen as well! She earned a recurring role as a urologist—Dr. Kim Briggs—on 15 episodes of Scrubs over the course of seasons 5 through 8. According to Cheat Sheet, the actor had actually been a longtime fan of the show well before she starred in it. Once she was cast, her first order of business was fixing something that had bugged her for years:
"During the opening credits of the show, fans could see an x-ray sign in the background. However, if they paid close attention to it, they realized that the sign was backward. Perhaps, owing to her cinematic eye for detail, Banks noticed this when she was merely a fan of the hit comedy. However, when [her character] Kim was introduced to the audience, one of the first things she did was flip the errant sign and tell them it had been bugging her for years. It was a meta-joke that echoed Banks’ real-life concerns. It also was a great introduction to the character. Regardless, sometimes fans of the show, be they megastars or extras, become so entrenched with them that they notice these small things."
The more you know! Elizabeth also flexed her TV acting chops when she played Avery Jessup on 30 Rock and even wound up being nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show.
She owns a production company with her husband
Yep, Elizabeth and her husband—sportswriter Max Handelman—co-founded Brownstone Productions in 2002. In December 2017, the actor discussed the decision with the New York Times, revealing, "There just became a moment where I was like, I need more control over all of this. I also like money, and that is okay...It's actually okay to want money in the way that your male colleagues want money."
Honestly? A heavy co-sign to this sentiment ^^.
Just a few of the projects the two have taken on since? Pitch Perfect 2, which was produced for $29 million and went on to gross over $287 million worldwide. (P.S. When it was released, the film had actually earned enough to crown it the highest-grossing musical comedy of all time, per Sportskeeda.)
In 2019, Elizabeth also directed Charlie's Angels, a reboot of the original movie franchise with an iconic soundtrack that featured this certifiable banger from Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana Del Rey:
Most recently, Elizabeth directed Cocaine Bear—a project based on a real-life story that is just as ludicrous as it sounds (in the best way possible). Don't think so? Just check out these reactions:
She's lent her voice for some v enviable paychecks
Case in point? Her numerous credits from her work as the character Wyldstyle in The LEGO Movie, The LEGO Movie 4D A New Adventure, LEGO Dimensions, *and* The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. However, the actor has also lent her voice—albeit in a more camera-forward role—as the host of ABC's popular game show, Press Your Luck. And according to Distractify, the celeb has earned at least $100,000 by appearing on the program since 2019, which has no doubt contributed to her massive fortune.
So what is Elizabeth Banks's net worth again, in total?
That would be a not-so-casual $50 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. Plus, in the unlikely event that Elizabeth suddenly loses all of her millions, she can always sell the stunning, $6.85 million home in Sherman Oaks she bought back in 2018 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I, on the other hand, would probs have to resort to selling my Stanley cup and a pair of Levis from high school I haven't had the heart to throw away. We are not the same!
You Might Also Like
