What is Kevin Williamson's Net Worth?
Kevin Williamson is a screenwriter, director, and producer who has a net worth of $75 million. Kevin Williamson first gained widespread recognition for writing the screenplay to the hit 1996 slasher film "Scream." He went on to write the screenplays to such films as "I Know What You Did Last Summer," "The Faculty," and "Cursed," and to both write and direct the film "Teaching Mrs. Tingle." For television, Williamson created and wrote for the series "Dawson's Creek," "The Vampire Diaries," and "The Following," among other shows.
Early Life and Education
Kevin Williamson was born on March 14, 1965 in New Bern, North Carolina to Faye and Wade. He spent his early years in Aransas Pass, Texas before returning to North Carolina as a teenager. For his higher education, Williamson attended East Carolina University, from which he earned his BFA in theatre.
Career Beginnings
After graduating from college, Williamson moved to New York City to become an actor. He ended up landing a role on the television soap opera "Another World" in 1990, but the following year he decided to move to Los Angeles. There, Williamson landed some small parts on television and in films and music videos. He also took screenwriting classes at UCLA and penned his first script, which later became the film "Teaching Mrs. Tingle."
(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Film Career
Inspired by the story of Danny Rolling, a serial killer in Florida who targeted college students, Williamson wrote a screenplay for a horror movie entitled "Scary Movie." The script was purchased by Miramax in the spring of 1995, with Wes Craven eventually signing on as the director. Renamed "Scream," the film came out in late 1996 and became a major commercial and critical hit. Williamson went on to write "Scream 2," which was released in 1997. Also that year, he penned the screenplay to another slasher film, "I Know What You Did Last Summer," based on the novel by Lois Duncan. Continuing in the horror genre, Williamson next wrote the screenplay to "The Faculty," which was directed by Robert Rodriguez and released in 1998. He closed out the decade with the teen black comedy thriller "Teaching Mrs. Tingle," which he both wrote and directed. Starring Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes, Marisa Coughlan, and Barry Watson, the film follows three high school seniors who attempt to get even with their vindictive history teacher.
Kicking off the new millennium, Williamson served as a producer, although not the writer, of "Scream 3." In 2005, he reunited with "Scream" director Wes Craven on the horror comedy "Cursed," starring Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg as orphaned siblings who are attacked by a werewolf in Los Angeles. The same year, Williamson produced the supernatural slasher film "Venom," directed by "I Know What You Did Last Summer" helmer Jim Gillespie. Williamson didn't have another film until 2011, when he returned to the "Scream" franchise to write and produce "Scream 4." After an even longer break from the big screen, he co-wrote and produced the 2022 slasher film "Sick." A couple of years later, Williamson produced the supernatural horror film "The Exorcism," starring Russell Crowe. It was also confirmed that he would be returning to the "Scream" franchise to direct the seventh film.
Frederick M. Brown/ Getty Images
Television Career
Due to his success with "Scream," Williamson was recruited by television executive Paul Stupin to create a series for his company. The result was Williamson's first television series, "Dawson's Creek," a semi-autobiographical teen drama set in a small coastal community in Massachusetts. An immediate hit upon its premiere on the newly created network the WB in early 1998, the show helped launch the careers of its young stars James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson. "Dawson's Creek" ran for six seasons through 2003, although Williamson left the show in 1999 to focus on other projects, including his short-lived ABC series "Wasteland." He created another show that proved to be short-lived, the WB mystery drama series "Glory Days," in 2002. The following year, Williamson returned to "Dawson's Creek" to write its two-part series finale. His next show was the CW teen drama series "Hidden Palms," which was canceled after just eight episodes in 2007. Williamson had far greater success with the CW supernatural teen drama series "The Vampire Diaries," which premiered in 2009. Based on the novel series by L. J. Smith, the show ran for eight seasons through 2017. Meanwhile, in 2011, Williamson co-wrote an episode of the CW series "The Secret Circle," based on another novel series by Smith.
On Fox, Williamson had success with his crime thriller series "The Following," which ran for three seasons from 2013 to 2015. It starred Kevin Bacon as a former FBI agent trying to recapture a serial killer. Williamson also created the CBS crime drama series "Stalker," which ran from 2014 to 2015; it starred Maggie Q and Dylan McDermott. He next created the science-fiction series "Time After Time," which premiered on ABC in 2017. Based on the novel by Karl Alexander, the show was canceled after just five episodes. Williamson subsequently created the psychological thriller anthology series "Tell Me a Story," based on the Spanish series "Cuéntame un cuento." The show ran for two seasons on the subscription streaming service CBS All Access from 2018 to 2020. Later shows created by Williamson include "Rear Window," "The Waterfront," and "The It Girl."
Personal Life & Real Estate
Williamson is openly gay, having come out to his friends and family in 1992.
In 2020, Kevin paid $17 million for a mansion in Beverly Hills. He listed this home for sale in June 2024 for $21 million.
