American TV personality Wendy Williams is best known for being the host of her nationally syndicated talk-show, The Wendy Williams Show. Known for her various spats with celebrity stars, she has successfully engraved an identity for herself in the world of television. Not only is she a celebrated TV host, but she has also appeared in a handful of films and series over the years such as Think Like a Man (2012), One Life to Live (2011), and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016). Did we also mention that she’s the author of a New York Times Best Seller biography?
How did she build herself a multi-million fortune? Where did most of her income come from? Let us take a closer look.
Wendy Williams’ Net Worth 2018 – $2.7 Million
How Did Wendy Williams earn Her Money and Wealth?
Born on July 18, 1964 in Monmouth County in New Jersey, Wendy Williams was raised in the suburbs of Asbury Park, in Ocean Township. Having led a relatively normal life throughout her youth, she graduated from her local High School as a teen and later went to Boston’s Northeastern University where she eventually obtained a bachelors in art in communications. From there, Williams started to work as a deejay for a local radio station- how exactly did she go from there to becoming a multi-millionaire?
Prior to receiving her big break on television, the New Jersey native spent most of her time working in radio. After her stint with the college station, she began working for WVIS 106.1FM in the US Virgin Islands. By 1989, she was a substitute DJ in New York City’s WRKS station. Recognized for her talents and efforts, she was eventually given an award by Billboard for “Best Radio Personality in 1993. Ultimately, she continued working with WRKS for nine years, prior to being fired in 1998.
Following the new millennium, Williams returned to the radio scene as a full-time employee at WBLS in 2001. Quickly becoming one of the most popular radio personalities in the country, she was soon syndicated in Ohio, Virginia, California, Texas, and Louisiana, among several other markets. After many years of working the airwaves, she departed from her radio show in 2009. By then, it is speculated that her fame and popularity had already brought her a few million in terms of net worth. Around that same time, she was also officially made an inductee of the National Radio Hall of Fame.
Around that same time, Williams was offered a 6 week trial of having her own television talk show- little did she know at the time that it would ultimately lead to a huge carer breakthrough. Accepting the offer presented to her by Debmar-Mercury, she debuted her self-titled TV talk show, The Wendy Williams Show in July of 2008. A huge huge, which came as a surprise for the former radio personality, the show was eventually hailed as a “daytime breakthrough” by The New York Times.
Shortly after the successful trial run, Fox signed with the syndication company to broadcast The Wendy Williams Show nation wide. Revolving primarily on celebrity gossip and news, the entertainment-based TV show easily garnered millions of viewers every week. One of the most watched television programs, it not only received a Daytime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Talk Show” but it has also garnered Williams a nomination as well for the category of “Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host”.
Considering the hit popularity of the show, it’s no surprise that the host herself receives a fair amount of income from the series. According to sources, Williams earns an approximate salary of $8,000,000 per season- multiple that by the show’s current amount of seasons, eight, and you get over $64 million. From that, we can easily conclude that she has earned much of her fortune from her syndicated talk show. Still on-air to this day, The Wendy Williams Show will presumably only continue to bring in millions for the television host. To date, well over 1000 episodes have reached the air.
Aside from The Wendy Williams Show, which has garnered her the most fame, she has also hosted a few episodes of Inside Edition (2013), The View (2014), and The Dr. Oz Show (2014). Although these brief appearances wouldn’t have earned her quite the same figure as her own talk show, the earnings would have added to her accumulated wealth regardless. On top of all of that, she has also hosted a number of special TV programmings such as New Now Next Awards (2009), Queen of Media (2011), and Soul Train Awards (2013).
Speaking of television appearances, Williams has also acted in a number of films and TV series- albeit it not being her primary focus. In 1995, she made her official acting debut as a DJ in the crime drama, New York Undercover. She later went on to guest star in a number of popular television series such as One Life to Live (2011), Drop Dead Diva (2011), 30 Rock (2012), and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2013), to name a few. In terms of film, the TV host has also graced the screens in The Cookout (2004), Think Like a Man (2012), Think Like a Man Too (2014), Santa Con (2014), and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016).
In 2013, it was also announced that she would be making her Broadway debut in the musical, Chicago- playing the part of Matron Morton. She eventually finished her seven-week long run in August of that year. Interestingly enough, the preparations that she did for the production was chronicled in the reality series, Wendy Williams: How You Doing’, Broadway?, which was put together by her own TV production company. Like any other performances, it would have earned the star a fair amount of extra change.
Unbeknownst to some individuals, Wendy Williams has also performed a bit of stand-up comedy in the 2010’s. In 2014, she participated in her first all-female comedy series which was held in The Venetian in Las Vegas. From there, she eventually held her first show in July; surprisingly popular, tickets were quickly sold out. In November of 2014, Williams also hosted her own Comedy Series called How You Laughin on NJPAC, alongside a number of other stars such as Pat Brown, Luenell, and Jonathan Martin. In 2015, she also travelled across the country for a 12-city comedy tour, The Wendy Williams Sit Down Tour: Too Real for Stand Up.
In addition to her career in the show business, she has embarked on a number of successful business ventures. For instance, she partnered with the Home Shopping Network to debut her own line of skirts, sweaters, pants and dresses for women in the spring of 2015, which went on to become a sell-out success. Clothing isn’t the only that she’s worked on- she has since also created a line of jewelry on the HSN called Adorn by Wendy Williams.
A former spokesperson for the Georges Veselle line of champagne, she also had an endorsement deal with PETA in 2012. It is speculated that she earns around around $300,000 in sponsorship and endorsement deals every year; altogether, her annual income is approximately $1.3 million.
As if that wasn’t enough however, Williams is also a 7x New York Times best-seller. In 2003, she penned her first book, the non-fiction title, Wendy’s Got the Heat. The television host has since authored two additional non-fiction books, The Wendy Williams Experience (2005), Ask Wendy (2013), and four fiction novels, Drama Is Her Middle Name (2006), Is the Bitch Dead, OR What? (2007), Ritz Harper Goes to Hollywood (2009), and Hold Me in Contempt (2014).
According to various online sources, a book can earn the author upwards of $40,000 for every week (assuming that the author receives a fixed % of sales) it stays on the New York Best Sellers List- with that in mind, we can just imagine how much Williams earned from all of her books!
Wendy Williams’ Personal Life and FAQ
Is Wendy Williams Married?
Yes, Wendy Williams has been married to Kevin Hunter for eighteen years; the two tied the knot back in 1999.
Prior to their relationship, she was previously married to Robert Morris; they later divorced in the mid 90’s. According to rumours, she was also romantically linked with Erick Sermon at one point.
Does Wendy Williams Have Any Children?
Wendy Williams has one son with her second husband, Kevin Hunter. The couple welcomed their son, Kevin Hunter Jr. into the family on August 18th, 2000.
Where Did Wendy Williams Go to College?
After graduating from Ocean Township High School in New Jersey, Williams relocated to Boston where she went to the Northeastern University; she later graduated with a bachelor’s of arts in communications.
Where Does Wendy Williams Live? Pictures of Wendy Williams’ House
Back in 2012, she gave an exclusive video tour of her home- more specifically, of the showcase room. Not only did the room boast dark walls, but it also featured an eye catching zebra-print rug on the ground.
Wendy Williams as a Philantropist
Over the years, the television host has helped to raise tens of thousands of dollars for various charitable causes. For instance, she regularly holds “Wendy’s Bazaar for Charity”- an event in which she auctions off some of her own fashion items on Ebay. A portion of all the proceeds ultimately help to benefit the Dress for Success organization.
Wendy Williams’ Career Accomplishments
One of the most well known television talk hosts in the country, Wendy Williams has received a handful of industry accolades over the past few years. For example in 2016, she received a People’s Choice Award nomination for the category of “Favourite Daytime TV Host”. But that’s not all, she has also been nominated for two prestigious Daytime Emmy Awards for “Outstanding Entertainment Talk sHow Host” for two years in a row in 2015 and 2016.
Recent Events
Aside from her talk show, which she will be continuing throughout 2017, she has also recently appeared as a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2017) this past February.
As far as acting goes, Wendy Williams also made a brief appearance in an episode of the comedy series, Nightcap in January.
A W.I.T.C.H!!!!