What is America Ferrera's Net Worth?
America Ferrera is an actress, director and producer who has a net worth of $16 million. America Ferrera first gained recognition for her starring role in the 2002 film "Real Women Have Curves." She went on to achieve greater fame with her performances in the film "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" and on the ABC television series "Ugly Betty." Among Ferrera's other credits are the films "The Dry Land," "Our Family Wedding," and "End of Watch," and the NBC sitcom "Superstore."
Early Life and Education
America Ferrera was born on April 18, 1984 in Los Angeles, California as the youngest of six children of Honduran immigrants América and Carlos. When she was seven years old, her parents divorced, and her father returned to Honduras. Raised in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles, Ferrera went to Calabash Street Elementary School, and then to George Ellery Hale Middle School and El Camino Real High School. Early on, she knew she wanted to be an actor; at the age of 10, she played the Artful Dodger in a school production of "Oliver!," and a little later performed in "Romeo and Juliet."
Ferrera acted in numerous other school and community plays throughout her youth. For her higher education, she attended the University of Southern California as a double major in theatre and international relations. Although she ultimately dropped out to pursue her career in acting, Ferrera would later return to earn her degree in 2013.
Television Career
Ferrera made her television debut in 2002, starring in the Disney Channel movie "Gotta Kick it Up!" The same year, she made a guest appearance on the fantasy drama series "Touched by an Angel." This was followed by roles in the Hallmark television movie "Plainsong" and in an episode of the procedural drama series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." In 2006, Ferrera landed her biggest and most acclaimed role yet on the ABC series "Ugly Betty," an English-language adaptation of the Colombian telenovela "Yo soy Betty, la fea." She starred as Betty Suarez, an awkward teenager characterized by her braces, bushy eyebrows, and messy hair and clothes. Ferrera received enormous praise and numerous accolades for her performance, including Best Actress awards from the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, and Emmys.
Following "Ugly Betty," Ferrera had a recurring role in four episodes of the legal drama "The Good Wife." She then joined the main cast of the animated series "DreamWorks Dragons," voicing the character Astrid Hofferson from 2012 to 2018. During this time, Ferrera made appearances on the shows "Years of Living Dangerously" and "Inside Amy Schumer." Her next big role came in 2015, when she began playing Amelia "Amy" Sosa on the NBC sitcom "Superstore." The show ran for six seasons through 2021; in addition to her acting, Ferrera also co-produced and directed a few episodes. Among her other credits are episodes of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Gentefied."
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Film Career
In 2002, Ferrera made her feature film debut in "Real Women Have Curves," starring as high school student Ana García. The film was widely acclaimed, winning both the Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize for acting at the Sundance Film Festival. A few years later, Ferrera had further successes with "How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer," "Lords of Dogtown," and the literary adaptation "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." In the lattermost film, Ferrera played Carmen Lowell, a young Puerto Rican woman who buys a mysterious pair of pants with her three best friends that ends up fitting all of them, despite their different sizes. The film also starred Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, and Blake Lively. Ferrera and her costars later reprised their roles in the sequel "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2."
In 2006, Ferrera starred in the drama "Steel City." The following year, she was in "Under the Same Moon" and "Towards Darkness," the latter of which she also executive produced. Ferrera returned to executive producing duties with 2010's "The Dry Land," in which she starred as the wife of a returning Iraq war veteran. She followed this with the romcom "Our Family Wedding"; the animated film "How to Train Your Dragon"; the black comedy "It's a Disaster"; the action thriller "End of Watch"; and the biopic "César Chávez," in which she portrayed the wife of the titular Mexican-American activist. Ferrera's other credits have included the drama "X/Y" and the Ricky Gervais comedy "Special Correspondents." She also reprised her voice role as Astrid Hofferson in "How to Train Your Dragon 2" and "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World."
Directing
It was announced in early 2021 that Ferrera would make her feature film directorial debut with "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter," based on the eponymous young adult novel by Erika L. Sánchez.
Personal Life and Activism
In 2011, Ferrera married actor, writer, and director Ryan Piers Williams, whom she had met while both were attending the University of Southern California. They had a son, Sebastian, in 2018, and a daughter named Lucia in 2020.
Heavily involved in political activism, Ferrera was one of the women who led the Hillblazers youth movement in support of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2008. She went on to attend both the 2012 and 2016 Democratic National Conventions, speaking on stage at the latter. Ferrera is also active in encouraging Latinx people in the US to vote. She is involved with the organization Voto Latino, and cohosts a digital lifestyle platform called She Se Puede with Eva Longoria.
