What is Kate Upton's net worth and salary?
Kate Upton is an American swimsuit model and actress who has a net worth of $20 million. Kate Upton was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, but she grew up in Florida. Her great-grandfather Frederick Upton was the co-founder of the Whirlpool Corporation. Contrary to popular legend, Kate is NOT in line to inherit billions someday from the Whirlpool family trust. The truth is that there are many members of the extended Upton family, plus Frederick donated the majority of his money to various charities upon his death.
It should also be noted that Kate is married to professional baseball player Justin Verlander, who has earned more than $350 million in salary alone during his career and will likely have earned $400-450 million in salary and endorsements by the time he retires.
Early Life
Katherine Elizabeth Upton was born on June 10, 1992. She is the daughter of Shelley and Jeff. Both her parents are athletic. Her mom is a former state tennis champion from Texas, and her dad is a high school athletic director. In 1999, her family moved to Melbourne, Florida. She attended Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy. A competitive horseback rider, Kate Upton won numerous championships while competing at the national level, including five American Paint Horse Under-13 Championships and one 14-18 Championship.
Career
In 2008, Upton attended a casting call for Elite Model Management in Miami. She was signed the same day. She moved to New York City, where she signed with IMG Models. She first modeled clothes for Dooney & Bourke and Garage. In 2010-2011, Upton was the face of Guess. She appeared in the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in the body paint section. She was named Rookie of the Year for the issue.
In April 2011, a video of her doing the "Dougie" at a Los Angeles Clippers game went viral and brought her more fame. The following year, another video of her dancing–this time the Cat Daddy dance–also went viral. During the summer of 2011, Upton appeared on an episode of "Tosh.o" and took part in the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game. She made her acting debut in November 2011 in the film "Tower Heist," as Mr. Hightower's mistress.
In 2012, Upton was on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She was ranked the fifth sexiest model by Models.com and was on Maxim's Hot 100 list in 2012 as well. Upton was once again the cover model for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2013. The shoot for that issue was in Antarctica, and the extreme cold caused her to have hearing and vision problems. That same year, she was ranked number three on Ask Men's Top 99 Women for 2013 list.
(Photo by Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Make Up For Ever)
Upton appeared on the cover of Vogue Italia in November 2012 and Vogue UK in January 2013. She was on the June 2013 cover of Vogue. In September 2013, Upton was named Model of the Year at the 10th annual Style Awards at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. Upton has appeared in editorials for Vogue ( in the U.S., Italy, Spain, Brazil, Germany, and the U.K.), Harper's Bazaar, V, Mademoiselle, LOVE, Italian, German, and American GQ, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Esquire.
Upton was the flip-side cover for the 50th anniversary of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2014. In April 2014, she appeared in the comedy "The Other Woman." Also in 2014, Upton was the centerpiece of a $40 million advertising campaign for the mobile app "Game of War: Fire Age." In 2017, Upton starred alongside Alexandra Daddario in the road trip sex comedy "The Layover." That same year, Upton appeared in James Franco's "The Disaster Artist."
In 2014, People named Upton its Sexiest Woman, the first time the title has been awarded. Also in 2014, she was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Chemistry for "The Other Woman." In 2015, she was nominated for the Best Shirtless Performance award for "The Other Woman" at the MTV Movie and TV Awards.
(Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)
Personal Life
Upton started dating then-Detroit Tigers baseball player Justin Verlander in early 2014. They got engaged in 2016. The couple married in Tuscany, Italy, in November 2017. Their daughter was born in November 2018. They had a Boxer named Harley, who passed in September 2021.
Upton has stated that her belief in God is important to her. She has a cross tattooed on the inside of one of her fingers.
In 2014, Upton's nude photos were released in a hacking incident.
In late 2019, Upton was hosting a fitness class in New York City when animal rights activists ran into the room and started yelling at her for promoting the company Canada Goose. Upton announced her partnership with Canada Goose on World Kindness Day in November 2019 to support polar bear conservation, writing, in part, at the time, "I'm proud to partner with Canada Goose and PBI to help raise awareness and ensure a future for Polar Bears. I recently had the honor of visiting the new PBI House to learn about polar bears, polar bear research, and the role each of us plays in polar bear conservation…" The brand uses coyote fur and goose feathers to make their coats.
(Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Salary Highlights
Upton made the list of the highest-paid models in the world in 2014 for $7 million in earnings. In 2015, her earnings dropped to $3.5 million.
Real Estate
In 2016, Upton and Verlander paid $5.25 million for a Beverly Hills estate with quite the Hollywood pedigree. The 5,706-square-foot home was built in 1976. It previously belonged to tennis legend Pete Sampras, who bought it from musician Kenny G. It was also formerly owned by actress Kate Jackson, producer Jon Peters, and TV producer-director William Asher. The one-and-a-half-acre property has a pool and spa, a tennis court, multiple outdoor lounge areas, a maid's room, and a bonus room with its own entrance.
In October 2022, Justin and Kate sold their Beverly Hills mansion to Timothée Chalamet for $11 million.
In August 2021, Justin and Kate paid $6.5 million for a home in Jupiter, Florida. They also own a large plot of undeveloped land in the same town, where they plan to build a home from scratch.
In 2023, the couple purchased a $16.75 million New York City penthouse after Verlander signed with the Mets.
