Jim Carrey Net Worth
From his iconic comedic roles to his dramatic acting triumphs, Jim Carrey is one of the most versatile and acclaimed entertainers of his generation. With a career spanning over three decades, the American actor and comedian has starred in some of the most popular and memorable films of the last 30 years, including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber.
However, Carrey’s talents extend far beyond the silver screen. In addition to his box office-dominating comedic work, the actor has demonstrated his dramatic range with standout performances in films like The Truman Show, for which he earned critical acclaim.
Beyond his acting career, Carrey has also explored other creative avenues, showing diversity in other disciplines as well, such as art and writing, Jim Carrey’s net worth has been impacted by a number of different verticals. Read on to discover Carrey’s most successful projects and trace his career from its start until present day.
Early Years
Jim Carrey is a Canadian-born actor who came into the world on January 17, 1962, as James Eugene Carrey. His father, Percy, is an accountant, and his mother, Kathleen, is a housewife. Carrey also has three siblings, including John, Pat, and Rita. They lived in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.
At the age of twelve, his father lost his job, which left the family without a place to live. The family moved into a van, and to make ends meet, the entire family worked shifts as security guards and janitors.
Carrey would often work an entire eight-hour shift after school at the factory close by. He would attend Aldershot School. But he never completed his education here.
Carrey’s mother and father were very much involved in their son’s pursuit of fame. They encouraged his passion. His father would accompany him to comedy clubs in Toronto, and his mother created his suit for his first performance.
Acting Career
Jim Carrey was a natural comedian and impersonator. He started performing as a stand-up comedian at the age of fifteen in comedy clubs in Toronto.
After dropping out of high school, he went off to Los Angeles in the United States to follow his dream of becoming an actor. This is where Rodney Dangerfield hired him as an opening act after seeing his performance at The Comedy Store.
Needless to say, stand-up comedy in the early years wasn’t a big driving force in Jim Carrey’s net worth. However, Carrey had positive outlook and commitment to the his craft. And that drive lead to his first major gig, the television series In Living Color, a sketch comedy show that ran from 1990 to 1994. He was reportedly paid $25,000 per episode for the series.
Serious Roles
It wasn’t all comedy for Carrey. He played a number of serious roles too, including the television movie Doing Time on Maple Drive in 1992, for which he received an Emmy nomination. In 1999, he won Golden Globe award for Best Actor in The Truman Show. And in 2000, he won another Golden Globe, this time for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Drama, for his portrayal of Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon.
In 2005, Carrey received critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. He would even take home the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as Joel Barish in the movie.
Comedic Roles
It was Jim Carrey’s comedy movies that truly built up his net worth and made him one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors. These were movies like Dumb and Dumber, The Mask, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which started Carrey’s big screen ventures in 1994.
Carrey was reportedly paid $450,000 for the first Ace Ventura movie. And he would get quite the pay rase with the sequel, where he would earn $15 million to reprise the role.
1994 was a big year for Jim Carrey’s net worth, aside from Ace Ventura, he earned $540,000 from The Mask and $7 million from Dumb & Dumber. All of the films were massive box office successes, especially The Mask, which made $352 million worldwide on a $23 million budget. Even in 2022, it’s Carrey’s third highest-grossing film of all time.
Batman Forever
In 1995, Carrey starred opposite Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, and Nicole Kidman in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever. Carrey played the Riddler. And while he delivered a solid performance in the film, the movie was panned by critics and fans.
With a budget of $100 million, the film actually performed well at the box office, grossing over $336 million worldwide .
The First $20 Million Movie Salary
Then came 1996’s The Cable Guy and it was game changer, not just for Carrey, but for the entertainment industry as a whole. Not only did Carrey receive a massive salary of $20 million for the film, but he also received a 15% cut of box office profits. Up until that point, no actor had been paid a $20 million salary before for a film.
The Cable Guy went on to make $102 million worldwide on it’s $47 million budget. However, critics and a majority of fans alike, weren’t impressed with the film.
Liar Liar
Carrey’s diverse roles over the course of his career have contributed much to Carrey’s becoming one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. There are numerous movies that can be added to the list, including 1997’s Liar Liar.
The film also brought in a reported $20 million salary for Carrey and be his eight most successful film to date, earning $302 million worldwide.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
In 2000, Carrey starred in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which would make $345 million worldwide in 2000, all on a $123 million budget. As of 2022, the film is Carrey’s fourth highest-grossing film.
It’s reported that Carrey also made $20 million for this project as well.
Bruce Almighty
And then there was 2003’s Bruce Almighty, where Carrey would make $25 million for the movie. As of 2022, it’s still his most successful film to date. The movie brought in $485 million worldwide on an $81 million budget.
Needless to say, by the early 2000’s Jim Carrey’s net worth was on a steadily climb with no shortage of films releasing.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Next, in 2004, Carrey starred alongside Kate Winslet in Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The movie tells a story of a couple who decides to undergo a medical procedure to completely erase the other from their mind and memories.
The film grossed $74 million worldwide against its budget of $20 million.
A Christmas Carol
2009 brought Carrey’s sixth highest-grossing film to date, A Christmas Carol. Carrey played Scrooge in the film, starring opposite Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.
On a budget of $200 million, the film only grossed $138 million in North America. However, it went on to gross over $325 million worldwide.
Dumb and Dumber To
In 2014, Carrey reprised his role as Lloyd opposite Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber To, the followup to the 1994 hit film, Dumb and Dumber. While not as successful as the original, the sequel was still a success, grossing over $169 million worldwide on a $40 million budget.
Recent Work
While Jim Carrey enjoyed massive success around the turn of the century, the cadence at which he was releasing films did start to slow down a bit after 2005. But two of his largest box offices success were still to come.
2020 saw the release of Sonic The Hedgehog, which made $320 million worldwide on a $85 million budget. And following that, despite Carrey’s dislike for doing sequels, Carrey also appeared in 2022’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The sequel is Carey’s second most successful film of all time. The movie made more than $400 million worldwide on a $110 million budget.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 might be the last role that fans see Carrey in as he revealed to Access Hollywood earlier in 2022 that he plans to retire from acting following his work in the film.
Though Carrey did leave room for the perfect script, saying, “It depends. If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road. But I’m taking a break.”
Real Estate, Cars, & Jets
Jim Carrey also has an impressive real estate portfolio. In 2022, Carrey purchased a home in Malibu for $9.72 million. Then in June of 2022, he sold the 2,866 square foot home for $13.4 million.
It’s also no secret that Carrey is a bit of a car geek. He has an expansive collection that includes a Mercedes-AMG SL63, valued at $154,000. Alongside the silver Mercedes is a Porsche Panamera, valued at $189,000, which can go from 0 to 62 MPH in a mere 3.9 seconds.
Carrey doesn’t stop with land transportation though. The actor also owns a Gulfstream V jet. The private jet sits 16 And when Carrey isn’t actively using it, he lends it out as a charter plane that others can rent hourly.
Other Ventures
Apart from his varied acting roles and comedy acts, Jim Carrey’s net worth is also impacted by his children’s book that was published in September 2013. The book, called How Roland Rolls, was a metaphysical account of a little ocean wave.
In 2017, Carrey held an art exhibition called Sunshower. Then in 2018, he used his political cartoon drawings in an exhibition titled IndigNation. And most recently, in 2022, he also joined the NFT crowd to mint his painting entitled Sunflower.
That same year, Carrey was also featured in the documentary Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond. This was followed by another documentary, The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, in 2018.
Personal Life
Jim Carrey’s first wife was Melissa Womer. She was an actress, working as a waitress at the time, whom he met at The Comedy Store in 1986. The couple would marry in 1987. A year after they tied they knot, they had a daughter, Jane. However, in 1995, their marriage ended in divorce.
In 1996, Carrey would marry Lauren Holly. But the couple would divorce not even a full year later.
Then in 2010, after five years of dating, his relationship with Jenny McCarthy also came to an end.
Currently, it’s reported that Carrey is dating actress Ginger Gonzaga.
Jim Carrey’s Net Worth 2024
As of 2024, Jim Carrey’s net worth is estimated at $180 million. And even if Carrey is retiring from acting, he’ll still have no shortage of residuals coming in from his more than 60 projects spanning the last 3 decades.
No upcoming acting projects have currently been announced for Carrey. But he does have four projects reportedly in the works that he’ll be attached to as a producer. Those upcoming titles include Sober Buddies, Me Time, Deep Cover, and Aleister Arcane.
Emma, I liked your writing skills