What is Jane Wyman's Net Worth?
Jane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and actress who had a net worth of $15 million at the time of her death in 2007. Jane Wyman was known for her performances in such films as "Brother Rat," "Stage Fright," "Magnificent Obsession," "All That Heaven Allows," and "Johnny Belinda," the lattermost of which earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Later in her career, she experienced a resurgence in popularity with her starring role on the television soap opera "Falcon Crest." Beyond her acting career, Wyman was known for being the first wife of actor and future United States president Ronald Reagan they were married from 1940 to 1949. In 1960 she was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion picture and one for television. Jane Wyman passed away on September 10, 2007 at 90 years old.
Early Life
Jane Wyman was born as Sarah Jane Mayfield on January 5, 1917 in St. Joseph, Missouri to meal company worker Manning and doctor's stenographer Gladys. She had two foster siblings. When Wyman was still little, her parents divorced, and her father passed away a few months later. Subsequently, her mother moved to Ohio, leaving Wyman to be raised by foster parents Richard and Emma. At the age of 11, Wyman moved with her foster mother to Southern California; a couple of years later, they moved back to Missouri. There, Wyman went to Lafayette High School before dropping out when she was 15.
Start of Film Career
Coming to Hollywood in 1932, Wyman made her feature film debut with an uncredited part in Leo McCarey's "The Kid from Spain." She continued to appear in a number of other uncredited roles over the ensuing years, in films including "Gold Diggers of 1933," "Harold Teen," "College Rhythm," "Rumba," "Stolen Harmony," "King of Burlesque," and "Anything Goes." In 1936, Wyman signed a contract with Warner Bros. For the studio, she made uncredited appearances in such films as "Freshman Love," "Bengal Tiger," "Cain and Mabel," and "Here Comes Carter." Wyman had her first credited role in a feature film in the 1937 mystery picture "Smart Blonde," the first installment in the Torchy Blane film series. Her subsequent credits were "Ready, Willing, and Able"; "The King and the Chorus Girl"; "Slim"; and "The Singing Marine."
Wyman had her first leading role in the comedy "Public Wedding," released in 1937. Following this, she had further leading roles in "The Spy Ring," "He Couldn't Say No," and "Wide Open Faces," and a supporting role in MGM's "The Crowd Roars." Wyman next starred opposite Ronald Reagan in the popular "Brother Rat." Subsequently, she was in such films as "Tail Spin," "The Kid from Kokomo," "Kid Nightingale," "Private Detective," "An Angel from Texas," and "Gambling on the High Seas." Wyman reunited with Reagan in 1940 for the comedy "Tugboat Annie Sails Again"; the same year, she had a supporting part in "My Love Came Back." Over the following years, Wyman starred in "Bad Men of Missouri"; "The Body Disappears"; "You're in the Army Now"; "Larceny, Inc."; "My Favorite Spy"; "The Doughgirls"; and "Crime by Night," among other titles.
Major Dramatic Breakthroughs
In 1945, Wyman had a breakthrough with her acclaimed performance opposite Ray Milland in Billy Wilder's Best Picture Oscar winner "The Lost Weekend." The following year, she appeared in "One More Tomorrow," "Night and Day," and "The Yearling," the lattermost of which resulted in her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Wyman next starred in "Cheyenne" and "Magic Town." Her biggest critical success came in 1948, when she starred as deaf-mute rape victim Belinda MacDonald in "Johnny Belinda," based on the eponymous stage play. A huge hit, the film earned Wyman the Academy Award for Best Actress.
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Further Film Career
Following her success with "Johnny Belinda," Wyman starred in the comedies "A Kiss in the Dark" and "The Lady Takes a Sailor," and then in Alfred Hitchcock's thriller "Stage Fright." Her subsequent credits included "The Glass Menagerie," "Three Guys Named Mike," "Here Comes the Groom," and "The Blue Veil," which garnered Wyman her third Academy Award nomination. She went on to star in "The Story of Will Rogers," "Just for You," "Let's Do it Again!," and "So Big."
Returning to Universal in 1954, Wyman had one of her greatest hits with Douglas Sirk's romantic melodrama "Magnificent Obsession," in which she starred opposite Rock Hudson as a blinded widow. For her performance, she received her fourth and final Academy Award nomination. In 1955, Wyman and Hudson reunited with Sirk to play romantic partners in the director's "All That Heaven Allows." After this, Wyman starred in "Lucy Gallant," "Miracle in the Rain," and "Holiday for Lovers." She had her final decade on film in the 60s, appearing in "Pollyanna," "Bon Voyage!," and "How to Commit Marriage."
Television Career
In 1955, Wyman began her own television series, "Jane Wyman Presents," which she hosted and often acted on. After the show ended in 1958, she made guest appearances on such series as "Wagon Train," "Startime," "Checkmate," "The Investigators," and "Insight." In 1971, Wyman starred in the television film "The Failing of Raymond"; at the end of the decade, she starred in another television film, "The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel." Wyman had her biggest and most famous television role from 1981 to 1990, when she starred as ruthless California matriarch Angela Channing on the primetime soap opera "Falcon Crest." For her work on the series, she won a Golden Globe Award in 1984.
Personal Life and Death
Wyman was married four times and divorced five times. Her first husband was salesman Ernest Wyman, whom she wed in 1933; they divorced two years later. Next, in 1937, Wyman married dress manufacturer Myron Futterman. The couple split after just three months and divorced in 1938. Wyman's most publicized marriage was to actor Ronald Reagan, to whom she was wed from 1940 to 1949. Together, they had three children named Maureen, Michael, and Christine, the lattermost of whom passed away shortly after her birth. Wyman's fourth and final husband was music director and composer Frederick Karger. The two married in 1952 and divorced in 1955; they later married again in 1961 before divorcing for a second time in 1965.
Wyman became something of a recluse during the later years of her life, and scarcely made public appearances due in part to her arthritis and diabetes. In September of 2007, she passed away at her home in Rancho Mirage, California at the age of 90.
