What is Geoffrey Owens' Net Worth and Salary?
Geoffrey Owens is an American actor and director who has a net worth of $400 thousand. Geoffrey Owens is best known for playing Elvin Tibideaux on the television sitcom "The Cosby Show." Since then, he has appeared in episodes of numerous other shows, including "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Divorce," "The Haves and the Have Nots," and "The Good Fight." Owens has also been in several films, such as "The Paper," "Play the Game," and "Impossible Monsters."
Early Life and Education
Geoffrey Owens was born on March 18, 1961 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. His mother was Ethel, a literature and music teacher, while his father was Major, a librarian who later served as a congressman in the United States House of Representatives. Owens has two brothers and two half-siblings. As a teen, he went to the High School of Performing Arts. He went on to attend Yale University, from which he graduated cum laude in 1983.
Career Beginnings
Owens began his acting career on stage performing Shakespeare at Manhattan's Public Theatre. He also taught the work of the Bard at HB Studios for 12 years.
The Cosby Show
Owens had his professional career breakthrough with his first role on television, playing Elvin Tibideaux, the boyfriend of Sabrina Le Beauf's Sondra Huxtable, on the NBC sitcom "The Cosby Show." He made his debut on the show's second season in 1985, and remained in the cast through the show's conclusion in 1992. During this time, his character Elvin married Sondra Huxtable.
Further Television Career
Owens' first role on television after "The Cosby Show" came in 1997, when he starred on another NBC sitcom, "Built to Last." The title proved ironic, as the show was canceled after three episodes. Owens went on to appear in an episode of "Law & Order" in 1999. A few years later, he was in an episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Following a five-year break from the small screen, Owens returned in 2007 to appear on a slew of series, including the teen sitcom "That's So Raven"; the dramedies "The Wedding Bells" and "Las Vegas"; the legal drama "Boston Legal"; and the science-fiction romance "The Journeyman." Also in 2007, he made his first of three appearances on the sitcom "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Owens closed out the decade with appearances on "Medium," "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant," and "Without a Trace." He was also in the television films "In the Mix" and "Action Auto."
In 2010, Owens was in episodes of the science-fiction series "FlashForward" and the teen drama "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." Four years after that, he appeared on "The Leftovers" and "The Affair." Owens' subsequent credits included "The Slap," "Deadbeat," "Divorce," "Blue Bloods," "Lucifer," "The Blacklist," "Elementary," "NCIS: New Orleans," "Billions," and "On Becoming a God in Central Florida." From 2020 to 2021, Owens had guest roles on a number of series, including the crime drama "Power," the sitcom "Bless This Mess," and Tyler Perry's soap opera "The Haves and the Have Nots." Among his other credits, he has been in episodes of the legal drama "The Good Fight" and the police procedural series "The Rookie."
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Film Career
Owens had his first role in a major motion picture in 1994 when he appeared in Ron Howard's "The Paper," starring Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, Marisa Tomei, and Randy Quaid. He wasn't in another major feature film until 2009, when he was in the romcom "Play the Game," the final film featuring Andy Griffith. Owens next appeared in Al Pacino's 2011 docudrama "Wilde Salomé," starring Jessica Chastain, Kevin Anderson, Estelle Parsons, and Pacino himself. Following this, Owens was in "Dreams" and "Romeo and Juliet," the latter a filmed performance of a 2013 Broadway production starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashād. In the production, Owens played Prince Escalus.
In 2016, Owens played Dr. Roma in the dramedy "Youth in Oregon," starring Billy Crudup, Christina Applegate, Frank Langella, and Mary Kay Place, among others. He was subsequently in "Hibiscus" and the psychological thriller "Impossible Monsters," in which he played a police detective. In 2020, Owens appeared in another thriller, "Fatale," starring Hilary Swank, Michael Ealy, Danny Pino, and Mike Colter. Beyond his roles in feature-length films, he has also appeared in numerous shorts, including "Sami's Cock," "Victor in Paradise," and "Fizzle."
Pedagogy
In addition to acting, Owens has been significantly involved in pedagogic endeavors. He is the founder and artistic director of the Brooklyn Shakespeare Company, and has taught acting at such schools as Yale, Columbia, and Pace. Owens develops his own Shakespeare workshop for students. He has also guest-taught at various schools and theaters throughout the New York metro area.
Trader Joe's Incident
In 2018, Owens was photographed working at a Trader Joe's store, with the photos appearing in the British newspaper the Daily Mail. Many people criticized the paper for job shaming, and Owens eventually quit on account of the undesired attention. In response to this incident, Tyler Perry offered the actor a role on his television soap opera "The Haves and the Have Nots."
Geoffrey subsequently appeared on Good Morning America soon thereafter and explained that he had been working at Trader Joe's for 15 months and liked that the job gave him a steady income while also being flexible to allow him to go out for auditions. Frankly he should be applauded for working at Trader Joe's. Working hard at any job is honorable.
Personal Life
Owens wed his wife Josette in 1995; they had met five years earlier at a Christian performing arts ministry. The couple has a son together.
