What Is Cara Buono's Net Worth?
Cara Buono is an American actress who has a net worth of $10 million. Cara Buono has appeared in shows like "Mad Men," "Stranger Things," and "The Sopranos." Cara Buono began her career as a stage actress on Broadway before moving into work in television and film. She has primarily worked in television, though she has also had roles in films like "Monsters and Men," "All Saints," "Paper Towns," and "A Good Marriage."
Early Life
Cara Buono was born on March 1, 1971, in New York City, New York. She is the daughter of Italian parents Rosemary and Antony Buono. Cara was raised in the Bronx borough of the city with her two brothers and one sister. She experienced a blue-collar upbringing and was encouraged by her family to do well in school. She attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. She later was accepted into the prestigious Columbia University. There, she completed her bachelor's degree in only three years and double majored in English and political science. While she was interested in academics throughout her early life, she also was interested in the dramatic arts and acting. She made her acting debut in Harvey Fierstein's play "Spookhouse" at the age of 12.
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Career
While attending school, Buono also acted in various theatrical productions. She was cast in the 1989 revival of the Broadway play "The Tenth Man." She was in the ensemble cast and also an understudy for the character of Evelyn Foreman. The same year, she also landed a role in two episodes of "Dream Street." In 1990, she was part of the cast of "Some Americans Abroad." In 1991, appeared in "CBS Schoolbreak Special" and received a nomination at the Daytime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special category.
In 1992, she appeared in three episodes of "I'll Fly Away." She also made her film debut in "Gladiator" and "Waterland" the same year. In 1993, she appeared in an episode of "Tribeca" and in the television film "Victim of Love: The Shannon Mohr Story." In 1994, she had a role in the film "The Cowboy Way" and then appeared in the films "Killer: A Journal of Murder" and "Kicking and Screaming" in 1995. Throughout the rest of the 1990s, she appeared in episodes of "Law & Order," "New York Undercover," and "The Single Guy." She also had roles in films like "Made Men," "River Red," "Next Stop Wonderland," "Two Ninas," Chutney Popcorn," and "Man of the Century."
In 2000, she appeared in three films – "Happy Accidents," "Takedown," and "Attention Shoppers." She also made appearances in shows like "CSI," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," and "Miss Match" over the next few years. In 2003, she was cast in the film "Hulk." She appeared in "From Other Worlds" in 2004 and also landed one of her first major television roles when she was cast in "Third Watch." She appeared in 22 episodes of the show as Grace Foster from 2004 to 2005. In 2006, she landed a role in "Artie Lange's Beer League." She also began appearing as Kelli Moltisanti in "The Sopranos." In 2007, she appeared in six episodes of "The Dead Zone."
(Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for Turner)
In 2010, Cara landed a role in the series "Mad Men" as Faye Miller. For her work, she was nominated at both the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2011, she appeared in "Brothers & Sisters," "Hawaii Five-O," and "A Gifted Man." In 2012, she had a role in the film "The Discoverers" and then a role in "A Good Marriage" in 2014. She appeared in the films "Paper Towns" and "Emily & Tim" in 2015.
In 2016, Buono began appearing as Karen Wheeler in the Netflix series "Stranger Things." For the cast's work in the first season, they won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. The cast was again nominated for the award in 2017 and 2019. Buono has remained on the show for all its subsequent seasons.
In 2017, Buono had a role in the film "All Saints." The following year, she appeared in "Monsters and Men." She also had a role in the television film "The Bad Seed" and appeared in an episode of "The Romanoffs." From 2019 to 2021, Cara had a recurring role as Gamemnae in the series "Supergirl."
In 2022, she appeared as Gail Carter in "The Girl from Plainville." She also had a role in the film "She Came from the Woods," playing Heather McCalister.
Personal Life
Cara resides in New York City's Greenwich Village. She is married to Peter Thum, the founder of Ethos Water, a brand of bottled water that pursues the mission of helping children have access to clean water. The company was acquired by Starbucks in 2005. Buono and Thum married in 2008 and now have one daughter together. Buono has been involved in charity and philanthropic work since her time in college. She has volunteered as an advocate for survivors of rape and also has worked as an activist against gun violence. She is associated with a non-profit called Liberty United which focuses on preventing gun violence.
