What Is Bobby Lee's Net Worth?
Bobby Lee is an American actor, comedian, writer, and podcaster who has a net worth of $1 million. Bobby Lee became a household name when he was cast on the FOX sketch comedy series "MADtv," which he starred on from 2001 to 2009. Bobby has more than 80 acting credits to his name, including the films "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" (2004), "Kickin' It Old Skool" (2007), "Pineapple Express" (2008), "Paul" (2011), "The Dictator" (2012), and "The Wrong Missy" (2020) and the television series "Animal Practice" (2012–2013), "Love" (2016–2018), "What Would Diplo Do?" (2017), "Splitting Up Together" (2018–2019), "Magnum P.I." (2019–present), "Dream Corp LLC" (2020), "Reservation Dogs" (2021–present), and "And Just Like That…" (2021–present). Lee created, wrote, and directed the YouTube series "Talking" (2012–2013), and he co-hosts the podcasts "TigerBelly" (2015–present) and "Bad Friends" (2020–present). Bobby has also lent his voice to the film "Wish Dragon" (2021) and the TV series "Family Guy" (2009; 2011), "The Awesomes" (2013–2015), "Nature Cat" (2015–2019), and "Inside Job" (2021–2022).
Early Life
Bobby Lee was born Robert Lee Jr. on September 17, 1971, in San Diego, California. He is the son of Jeanie and Robert Lee, Korean immigrants who owned clothing stores in Encinitas and Escondido. Sadly, Robert died of Parkinson's disease in 2019. Bobby grew up in Poway, California, and he has a younger brother named Steve, who is a comedian and musician. Steve has hosted the "Steebee Weebee" and "Scissor Bros" podcasts, and he made guest appearances on "MADtv" alongside Bobby. Lee studied at Painted Rock Elementary School and Twin Peaks Middle School, and he was on a breakdancing team while attending Poway High School. Bobby has said that he was molested as a child. After high school, Lee enrolled at Palomar College, but he dropped out before earning his degree.
Career
Bobby worked at a few restaurants and cafes before he pursued a comedy career. When the coffee shop he worked at suddenly closed in 1994, he "just went next door to get a job, which was The Comedy Store in San Diego." After working odd jobs at The Comedy Store for a few months, Lee tried stand-up during one of the club's amateur nights. Within his first year of doing regular sets at the club, both Carlos Mencia and Pauly Shore asked him to open for them, and Bobby later began performing regularly at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, which was owned by Shore's mother, Mitzi. Lee's parents had hoped that he would work in the family business, and they weren't initially supportive of his desire to pursue a career in comedy. After his 2002 appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," his father apologized for his earlier refusal to support Bobby's comedy career. Early in his career, Lee appeared on television shows such as "Late Friday" (2002), "I Love the '90s" (2004), and "Asia Street Comedy" (2004), and he starred in the 2005 special "Kims of Comedy" alongside Ken Jeong, Steve Byrne, and Kevin Shea. He made his acting debut in 1999's "The Underground Comedy Movie," then he guest-starred on "Arli$$" (1999) and "The Brothers Garcia" (2001).
In 2001, Lee began starring on "MADtv," becoming the show's first Asian cast member, and he was known for characters such as Bae Sung, Tank, and Yamanashi as well as his impersonations of Connie Chung and Kim Jong-il. The show was cancelled in 2009, and when it was revived by The CW in 2016, he returned for three episodes. During his time on "MADtv," Bobby appeared in the films "Pauly Shore Is Dead" (2003), "American Misfits" (2003), "Undoing" (2006), "Kickin' It Old Skool" (2007), and "Killer Pad" (2008), and he co-starred with Seth Rogen and James Franco in the 2008 comedy "Pineapple Express," which grossed $102.4 million at the box office. He also played Kenneth Park in 2004's "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," and he reprised his role in 2011's "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas." Lee guest-starred on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2005), "Mind of Mencia" (2005–2006), "The League" (2009; 2014), "Big Time Rush" (2011), "Arrested Development" (2013), "Sean Saves the World" (2013), "The Comedians" (2015), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (2015; 2018), "Another Period" (2016), "Son of Zorn" (2016), "Real Rob" (2017), and "Alone Together" (2018), and he had recurring roles as Dr. Yamamoto on "Animal Practice" (2012–2013), Truman on "Love" (2016–2018), and Jim on "Magnum P.I." (2019–present).
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Bobby appeared in the films "Hard Breakers" (2010), "Paul" (2011), "The Dictator" (2012), "Final Recipe" (2013), "Wedding Palace" (2013), "Bro, What Happened?" (2014), "Laid in America" (2016), "Keeping Up with the Joneses" (2016), "Public Disturbance" (2018), "How It Ends" (2021), and "Hero Mode" (2021), and he co-starred with David Spade, Lauren Lapkus, and Nick Swardson in the 2020 comedy "The Wrong Missy." He starred on the 2017 Viceland series "What Would Diplo Do?," then he played Arthur on ABC's "Splitting Up Together" (2018–2019) and had recurring roles as Tricky Ricky on "Dream Corp LLC" (2020), Dr. Kang on "Reservation Dogs" (2021–present), and Jackie Nee on "And Just Like That…" (2021–present). In 2015, Bobby launched the podcast "TigerBelly" with his then-girlfriend Khalyla Kuhn, and in 2020, Lee and fellow comedian Andrew Santino began hosting the "Bad Friends" podcast. Recently, Lee has made appearances on "About Last Night," "Dark Side of Comedy," and "History of the World, Part II."
(Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images)
Personal Life
Bobby started using marijuana and methamphetamine when he was 12 years old, and by the age of 15, he had begun using heroin. He got sober at the age of 17 after going through three drug rehabilitation programs. After 12 years of sobriety, Lee relapsed on Vicodin. After he was fired from "MADtv" and Lauren Dombrowski, a producer on the show, fought for him, he got sober. During a December 2019 episode of "TigerBelly," Bobby revealed that he had relapsed again after his father's death earlier that year and that he got sober after going to rehab. Lee has described himself as a recovering alcoholic.
In 2022, Bobby and his girlfriend/"TigerBelly" co-host, Khalyla Kuhn, split up after 10 years together. Lee announced the news on "TigerBelly," stating, "I just want to announce to everybody that Khalyla and I are no longer together … I want to say that Khalyla is the love of my life, my best friend. She changed my life in so many different ways; she reinvented who I was." In May 2023, Lee sued Wondery after the company cancelled a distribution and ad sales deal it had signed with "TigerBelly" in late 2022. Wondery cited a "morals clause" in reference to a story (later revealed to be made up) Bobby told in 2013 about using the services of "a young-looking sex worker who had tears in her eyes" in Tijuana. The lawsuit alleges that "TigerBelly" didn't agree to a morals clause in its Wondery contract and that the company would've been aware of the Tijuana story before it signed a deal with the podcast.
