What is Jill Scott's Net Worth?
Jill Scott is a singer-songwriter, poet, and actress who has a net worth of $8 million. Jill Scott had her career breakthrough with her 2000 debut album, "Who is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1." She continued her success with the albums "Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2" and "The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3." As an actress, Scott has appeared in such films as "Hounddog," "Why Did I Get Married?," and "Get on Up," and on such television series as "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" and "Black Lightning."
Early Life and Education
Jill Scott was born on April 4, 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was raised as a Jehovah's Witness by her mother Joyce and her grandmother. As a teenager, Scott went to the Philadelphia High School for Girls. She subsequently attended Temple University with the aim of becoming a high school English teacher. However, disenchanted with her career after three years of study and then working as a teacher's aide, Scott dropped out of Temple.
Music Career
While performing as a spoken word artist at live poetry readings in Philadelphia, Scott was noticed by musician Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of the hip hop band Roots. Thompson subsequently invited her to join the Roots in the studio. Not long after that, Scott sang with the Roots at a live show. She went on to widen her performing repertoire by collaborating with such artists as Eric Benet, Common, and Will Smith, and touring in a production of the Broadway musical "Rent." Scott achieved her breakthrough with her debut studio album, "Who is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1," which was released in the summer of 2000. The album earned Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Album and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Scott released her follow-up album, "Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2," in 2004. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, it earned Scott her first Grammy Award, for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the song "Cross My Mind." She won another Grammy two years later for Best Traditional R&B Performance, for her collaboration with George Benson and Al Jarreau on a cover of Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child." Scott subsequently released her third studio album, "The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3."
After leaving Hidden Beach Records and taking a four-year break from recording, Scott released her fourth studio album, "The Light of the Sun," in mid-2011. Featuring appearances by Eve, Anthony Hamilton, and Doug E Fresh, among others, the album debuted atop the Billboard 200, giving Scott her first number one on the chart. Its singles included "So in Love" and "So Gone (What My Mind Says)." Following another four-year hiatus, Scott released her fifth studio album, "Woman," in the summer of 2015. Like her previous album, it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. In addition to her work in the studio, Scott has embarked on several highly successful concert tours over the years, including the Big Beautiful Tour, Summer Block Party, An Evening with Jill Scott, and the Live in the Moment Tour. She has also collaborated with a myriad of artists, such as Erykah Badu, Lupe Fiasco, Pharoahe Monch, and Dr. Dre.
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Acting Career
Encouraged by the advice of her director friend Ozzie Jones, Scott decided to start acting in 2000, joining a fellowship at a Philadelphia theater company. She went on to make her theater debut in Tyler Perry's play "Neighbors from Hell." On television, Scott had her first substantial role on the sitcom "Girlfriends," playing the recurring character Donna Williams in the show's fourth season in 2004. The same year, she appeared in Lisa Cholodenko's film "Cavedweller," based on the novel by Dorothy Allison. Scott returned to the big screen in 2007 with two roles: portraying singer-songwriter Big Momma Thornton in "Hounddog" and playing Sheila in Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married?" She later reprised her role from the latter in "Why Did I Get Married Too?" Meanwhile, on television from 2008 to 2009, Scott starred in the series "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," based on the novel series by Alexander McCall Smith. After that, she voiced the superhero Storm in the short-lived BET animated series "Black Panther," appeared in an episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," and starred in the Lifetime television movie "Sins of the Mother."
Returning to Lifetime in 2012, Scott starred in the network's remake of the film "Steel Magnolias." Also that year, she made a guest appearance on the Fox science-fiction series "Fringe." In 2013, Scott starred in the ensemble cast of the romcom "Baggage Claim." The next year, she portrayed the second wife of James Brown in the biopic "Get on Up," starring Chadwick Boseman as Brown. Scott subsequently starred in the Lifetime television movies "With This Ring" and "Flint," and in RZA's musical drama film "Love Beats Rhymes." From 2018 to 2020, she played the recurring role of the villainous Lady Eve in the superhero series "Black Lightning," and from 2019 to 2022 was part of the main cast of the comedy series "First Wives Club," an adaptation of the eponymous film. Among Scott's other acting credits is the 2021 television film "Highway to Heaven."
Personal Life
In 2001, Scott married her longtime boyfriend Lyzel Williams, a DJ and graphic artist. The pair ended up divorcing in 2007. The next year, after kissing her drummer Li'l John Roberts during a concert in New York, Scott announced that they were engaged. In 2009, they had a son named Jett; the couple broke up a couple months after that.
Through her Blues Babe Foundation, which she founded in 2003, Scott helps young minority students fund their expenses in college. The Foundation provides financial assistance to students living in Philadelphia, Camden, and the greater Delaware Valley.
