What Is Deborra-Lee Furness' Net Worth?
Deborra-Lee Furness AO is an Australian actress, producer, and director who has a net worth of $50 million. Deborra-Lee Furness married actor Hugh Jackman in 1996 after co-starring with him on the 1995 Australian series "Correlli." The couple announced their separation in September 2023.
Furness has more than 40 acting credits to her name, including the films "Shame" (1988), "Waiting" (1991), "Newsies" (1992), "Jindabyne" (2006), and "Beautiful" (2009) and the television series "The Box" (1975), "Kings" (1983–1984), "Neighbours" (1985), "Fire" (1995–1996), and "SeaChange" (2000). Deborra-Lee also voiced Barran in the 2010 film "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole." She wrote and directed the 2003 short film "Standing Room Only," and she directed three 2020 episodes of "Neighbours." Furness has served as a producer on the TV shows "An Aussie Goes Barmy" (2006), "Viva Laughlin" (2007), "The Directors' Series" (2007), "An Aussie Goes Bolly" (2008), and "An Aussie Goes Calypso" (2009). In 2022, she received an Order of Australia for "her work as an adoption advocate and service to the arts."
Early Life
Deborra-Lee Furness was born on November 30, 1955, in Annandale, New South Wales, Australia. She grew up in Melbourne, Victoria, and when she was 18, she attended secretarial school after her mother encouraged her to have a back-up career in case her acting career didn't work out. Deborra-Lee was hired to be the assistant to Channel 9 news director John Sorell, and she has said that she enjoyed working in a newsroom. A year into the job, she was asked to work on the station's current affairs show "No Man's Land," which was produced by women. Furness started out as a researcher on the program and was later promoted to on-air reporter. She graduated from New York City's American Academy of Dramatic Arts in the early '80s, and she guest-starred in a 1987 episode of "Falcon Crest" before she returned to Australia.
Career
In 1974, Deborra-Lee had a recurring role as Office Girl on the Australian soap opera "The Box," then she guest-starred on "Division 4" (1975), "Prisoner" (1979), "Cop Shop" (1980), "Carson's Law" (1984), "Special Squad" (1984), "The Fast Lane" (1986), "Sentiments" (1988), and "The Flying Doctors" (1988). From 1983 to 1984, she played Frances Dalton on the Nine Network series "King," and in 1985, she had a recurring role as Linda Fielding on the Australian soap opera "Neighbours." In the '80s, Furness also appeared in the films "Crossover Dreams" (1985), "Jenny Kissed Me" (1985), "Cool Change" (1985), "The Humpty Dumpty Man" (1986), "The Bit Part" (1987), "Shame" (1988), "Evil Angels" (1988), "Two Brothers Running" (1988), and "Celia" (1988), the TV movie "A Matter of Convenience" (1987), and the miniseries "The Flying Doctors" (1985) and "Act of Betrayal" (1988). Deborra-Lee guest-starred on "G.P." (1994), "Halifax f.p." (1995), and "Roar" (1997), and she narrated the 1995 television documentary "Populate Or Perish."
In 1995, Furnish starred as Louisa Correlli on the ABC TV series "Correlli" and began playing Dolores Kennedy on the Seven Network show "Fire." She appeared in the films "The Last of the Finest" (1990), "Voyager" (1991), "Waiting" (1991), "Angel Baby" (1995), and "The Real Macaw" (1998), and she co-starred with Christian Bale, Bill Pullman, Robert Duvall, and Ann-Margret in the 1992 Disney musical drama "Newsies." Deborra-Lee co-starred with Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney in the 2006 drama "Jindabyne," which earned her a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award. She then appeared in the films "Sleepwalking" (2008), "Beautiful" (2009), and "Blessed" (2009) and the miniseries "Hyde & Seek" (2016).
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Personal Life
In 1995, Deborra-Lee met Hugh Jackman on the set of "Correlli." They married on April 11, 1996, and after Furness suffered two miscarriages, the couple adopted son Oscar Maximillian Jackman in May 2000 and daughter Ava Eliot Jackman in July 2005. Deborra-Lee and Hugh announced their separation in September 2023, stating, "We have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage. Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth. Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness. We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition in all of our lives." According to a 2013 article in "People" magazine, "Furness serves as a board member of the Worldwide Orphan Foundation to help create a National Adoption Awareness Week, 'to shine a light on the fact that there are 153 million orphans in the world.'" She has also been an ambassador for World Vision and a member of the Film Aid International Advisory Committee.
Awards and Nominations
In 2014, Deborra-Lee was honored as the New South Wales Australian of the Year for her work on a "high-profile campaign to overhaul adoption laws in Australia." Mike Baird, Premier of New South Wales, said of Furness, "As a mother of two adopted children herself, Deborra-Lee is using her profile in a positive way, inspiring others to lead by her example to help vulnerable children find loving homes. Her passion for protecting our country's most disadvantaged and vulnerable children is admirable and I wish her well when she is considered for the 2015 Australian of the Year Award." Furness has won two Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, Best Actor – Female for "Shame" in 1988 and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "Jindabyne" in 2006. At the 1988 Seattle International Film Festival, she received the Golden Space Needle Award for Best Actress for "Shame, and she was named Best Actress for "Waiting" at the 1991 San Sebastián International Film Festival. Deborra-Lee has also earned Australian Film Institute nominations for Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role in a Television Drama Series for "SeaChange" (2000) and Best Supporting Actress for "Jindabyne" (2006).
Real Estate
In 2012, Hugh and Deborra-Lee paid $21 million for a triplex apartment in New York City. The asking price had been $40 million, so one could say they got a relative bargain. The home is made up of the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the building (11,000 square feet of living space), and it includes a library, rec room, workout studio, sauna, and more. Jackman and Furness put the home on the market for $38.9 million in June 2022, and two months later they purchased a $22.1 million penthouse in Chelsea. The 4,675 square foot home features three bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a breakfast bar.
