| Net Worth: | $40 Million |
| Date of Birth: | Aug 9, 1957 (63 years old) |
| Gender: | Female |
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in (1.75 m) |
| Profession: | Actor, Model, Voice Actor, Film Producer |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
Melanie Griffith Net Worth and Salary: Melanie Griffith is an American actress who has a net worth of $40 million. After starting her acting career in the 70s, Griffith rose to prominence during the 80s with a number of notable film roles. Melanie has won a number of awards over the course of her career, including a Golden Globe for her role in “Working Girl.”
She continued to appear in a number of prominent roles throughout the 90s before pursuing mostly television work throughout the 2000s. Outside of acting, Griffith is also an accomplished producer. She has been in relationships with a number of famous celebrities over the years, including Don Johnson, Steven Bauer, and Antonio Banderas.
Early Life: Melanie Richards Griffith was born on August 9th of 1957 in Manhattan, New York. Born into a family with connections in the entertainment industry, there was always a strong chance that Melanie would pursue a career as an actress. Her mother is Tippi Hedren, a former fashion model and actress, while her father was the late Peter Griffith, a former child actor and advertising executive.
When Melanie was two, her parents separated and she relocated to Los Angeles with her mother. For the next few years, she split her time between New York and California, being raised by both her mother and father. Although she initially started booking roles as a child actor and model, she soon backed away from this career path because she felt shy and uncomfortable. Griffith was an excellent student, and she managed to graduate from secondary school at age 16 due to her academic proficiency.
Career: Although she performed as an extra during her childhood, Griffith’s first proper film role came during her teen years with an appearance in “The Harrad Experiment.” Although Melanie was only 14 at the time, she started dating Don Johnson. Johnson was 22, and he had also booked a role in “The Harrad Experiment.” Johnson and Griffith eventually married, although the relationship only lasted for 6 months.
At the age of 17, she booked a more prominent role in the film “Night Moves.” The role required her to appear nude in a number of scenes. She then followed up with roles in movies like “Smile,” “The Drowning Pool,” “One on One,” “The Garden,” and “Joyride.” Although these roles helped advance Griffith’s career during the 70s, her real breakthrough came during the 80s. After a role in the film “Roar” and a brief hiatus due to substance abuse issues, Melanie caused considerable buzz with a role in 1984’s “Body Double,” in which she played a pornographic actress.
During the rest of the 80s, she appeared in films like “Fear City,” “Something Wild,” and “Cherry 2000.” She ended the decade with a notable role in “Working Girl.” Her role as a secretary propelled towards mainstream success, and she won a Golden Globe for her performance. After another breakup, Melanie struggled with a cocaine addiction before bouncing back in 1990 with a role in “Pacific Heights.”
Throughout the 90s, some of her most notable roles were in “Paradise,” “Shining Through,” “A Stranger Among Us,” and “Born Yesterday.” Of particular note was the film “Milk Money,” which Griffith headlined. Further roles came with films like “Nobody’s Fool,” “Now and Then,” “Two Much,” “Mulholland Falls,” “Lolitam” and “Celebrity.”
In 1999, Melanin made her stage debut with “The Vagina Monologues,” a play which was staged at the Old Vic in London. In 2000, Griffith sought treatment for a painkiller addiction. In 2002, she voiced the character of Margalo in “Stuart Little 2” before making her Broadway debut with the musical “Chicago.” Throughout the next few years, she took roles in series like “Twins,” “Nip/Tuck,” and “Hot in Cleveland.” In 2017, Melanie returned to film with roles in films like “The Pirates of Somalia” and “The Disaster Artist.”
Salary Highlights: Melanie earned $1 million for her role in 1990’s “Bonfire at the Vanities.” In 1994, she earned $2 million for “Milk Money.”
Antonio Banderas Divorce Settlement: Generally speaking, Antonio and Melanie’s divorce was somewhat civil. That being said, their real estate portfolio became a bone of contention. After a long legal process, Antonio agreed to pay for their daughter Stella’s expenses through her 19th birthday, including both college and grad schools.
Banderas and Griffith then agreed to split all money received from entertainment projects through May 31, 2014. Interestingly, they agreed to allow each other to keep whatever money was earned from their own projects between May 1998 and December 2003. They each received a Porsche and a Picasso, but Melanie received a total of six cars whereas Antonio only kept two. Finally, Antonio agreed to pay Melanie $780,000 per year in spousal support, which equates to $65,000 per month.
Real Estate: In 2019, it was reported that Melanie had spent $3.7 million on a Spanish-style villa above the Sunset Strip in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. She managed to scoop up the 3,000-square-foot residence for a minor discount, as the property was originally listed for $3.85 million. It features tile flooring, a stone fireplace, and a pool in the backyard.
Earlier in 2019, Griffith sold her 7,391-square-foot retreat in Aspen for $4 million. Apparently, she and her former husband Antonio Banderas had originally purchased the property in 2002 for $3.5 million. Following their divorce, the couple listed it for $10 million before drastically lowering the price and settling on a much lower sum.
The couple’s divorce also marked the sale of another home – a property in LA which they sold for $16 million in 2015. The buyer was Netflix executive Ted Sarandos, and he moved into a 15,000-square-foot mansion that sits on 1.5 acres of land. In order to create this regal estate, Banderas and Griffith first purchased one property for $4.2 million. After demolishing the home that was there previously, the couple spent another adjacent property for $1.2. After demolishing the home that was on this second property, they combined the two lots and started constructing the mansion of their dreams.