Janet Dubois Net Worth

What Was Ja'Net DuBois' Net Worth?

Ja'Net DuBois was an American actress and singer who had a net worth of $2 million at the time of her death in February 2020. Ja'Net DuBois was probably best known for being a regular on the 1970s classic TV sitcom "Good Times." Before her breakthrough role on "Good Times," DuBois was featured on CBS's long-running soap opera "Love of Life" and appeared in the 1970 cult classic "Diary of a Mad Housewife." After "Good Times" ended in 1979, DuBois continued to appear on sitcoms, including "Moesha" and "The Steve Harvey Show." On the big screen, she appeared in films such as "A Man Called Adam," "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka," and "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle." Ja'Net won two Primetime Emmy Awards for her voiceover work on the stop-motion animated series "The PJs." She also co-wrote and performed "Movin' On Up," the theme song for the popular sitcom "The Jeffersons," and she released the albums "Queen Of the Highway" and "Again, Ja'Net DuBois" in the 1980s. She appeared in Broadway productions of "The Long Dream," "Nobody Loves an Albatross," and "Golden Boy" as well. Ja'Net DuBois died of cardiac arrest on February 17, 2020, at the age of 87.

Early Life

Ja'Net DuBois was born Jeannette Theresa Dubois on August 5, 1932, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Amityville, New York, with her parents, Lillian Gouedy and Gordon Adelbert Dubois. Ja'Net's death certificate lists jazz legend Cab Calloway as her father, but his estate told TMZ, "While we have a great appreciation for Ja'Net DuBois' long and successful career, the Calloway Estate has nothing to add to this single document that has numerous mistakes and no verification." Ja'Net's daughter, Rani, provided the information for her mother's death certificate and said that Gordon DuBois was married to Lillian Gouedy and was "instrumental" in raising Ja'Net.

Career

DuBois moved to Brooklyn in the early '60s and made her Broadway debut in "The Long Dream" in February 1960. She later appeared in Broadway productions of "Nobody Loves an Albatross" (1963–1964) and "Golden Boy" (1964–1966). Ja'Net made her film debut in 1966's "A Man Called Adam" alongside her "Golden Boy" co-star Sammy Davis Jr. In 1969, she appeared in the TV movie "J.T.," and from 1970 to 1972, she played Loretta Allen on the CBS soap opera "Love of Life," becoming one of the first African-American actresses to be a regular cast member on a daytime series. She starred in the 1970 TV movie "Diary of a Mad Housewife," then she guest-starred on "Sanford and Son" (1972) and "Shaft" (1973). After producer Norman Lear saw DuBois in a Los Angeles production of the Lanford Wilson play "The Hot l Baltimore," he cast her as Willona Woods on the CBS sitcom "Good Times." The show also starred Esther Rolle, John Amos, Ralph Carter, Bern Nadette Stanis, Jimmie Walker, Johnny Brown, Janet Jackson, and Ben Powers, and it aired 133 episodes over six seasons.

In the '70s and '80s, Ja'Net appeared in the films "Five on the Black Hand Side" (1973) and "A Piece of the Action" (1977) and the TV movies "The Blue Knight" (1973), "Hellinger's Law" (1981), "The Tom Swift and Linda Craig Mystery Hour" (1983), "Stranded" (1986), and "Kids Like These" (1987), and she played Ma Bell in the 1988 Keenen Ivory Wayans-directed blaxploitation parody film "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka." She also guest-starred on "Kojak" (1974), "Caribe" (1975), "The Love Boat" (1980), "The Facts of Life" (1981), and "Nearly Departed" (1989) and appeared in the miniseries "Roots: The Next Generations" (1979) and "The Sophisticated Gents" (1981). Next, DuBois appeared in the films "Heart Condition" (1990), "Penny Ante: The Motion Picture" (1990), "Magic Island" (1995), and "Waterproof" (2000) and the TV movies "Hammer, Slammer, & Slade" (1990), "Harlan & Merleen" (1993), "Sophie & the Moonhanger" (1996), "Don't Look Back" (1996), "Best Friends for Life" (1998), "Hard Time" (1998), and "Hard Time: Hostage Hotel" (1999). She guest-starred on "A Different World" (1991), "Dream On" (1991), "Home Improvement" (1991; 1995), "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1992), "The Golden Palace" (1992–1993), "Sister, Sister" (1994), "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" (1994), "Martin" (1995), "ER" (1995), "Moesha" (1997), "Touched by an Angel" (1997), "Clueless" (1999), "The Steve Harvey Show" (2000), "Everybody Loves Raymond" (2000), "Crossing Jordan" (2006), and "Cold Case" (2007).

From 1996 to 1997, Ja'Net played Grandma Ellington on The WB sitcom "The Wayans Bros.," and from 1999 to 2001, she voiced Mrs. Florence Avery on the stop-motion animated Fox/WB series "The PJs" and won two Primetime Emmys for her performance. In 2003, DuBois co-starred with Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and Bernie Mac in the film "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," which grossed $259.1 million at the box office. Her final film was 2016's "She's Got a Plan," and in 2019, she appeared as herself in the ABC special "Live in Front of a Studio Audience: All in the Family and Good Times."

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Personal Life

Ja'Net married Sajit Gupta in 1950, and they welcomed four children, Rani, Provat, Raj, and Kesha, before divorcing. Raj passed away from cancer at the age of 36 in 1987. In the late '50s, DuBois reportedly dated actor Brock Peters. Ja'Net was an honorary member of the sorority Zeta Phi Beta. In the '80s, she founded the Ja'Net DuBois Academy of Theater Arts and Sciences to train teenagers in the performing arts. In 1992, she co-founded the Pan African Film & Arts Festival with Danny Glover and Ayuko Babu.

Death

On February 17, 2020, Ja'Net died of cardiac arrest at her Glendale home at the age of 87. Her "Good Times" co-star Janet Jackson wrote on social media, "I am so very saddened to hear my longtime friend Ja'Net DuBois has passed away. I saw firsthand how she broke stereotypes and changed the landscape for Black women in entertainment. I'm grateful in recent years I had a chance to see her and create more lasting memories. I pray for comfort for all her family and friends. Thank you Ja'Net, I'll miss you."

Awards and Nominations

DuBois won Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for "The PJs" in 1999 and 2001. In 1995, she earned a CableACE Award for Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries for "Other Women's Children," and in 1998, she received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for "Touched by an Angel." In 2003, Ja'Net was honored with a Lifetime Tribute Award from the Sacramento GAFFERS. In 2006, "Good Times" won an Impact Award at the TV Land Awards, and in 2021, DuBois and Jeff Barry were inducted into the Online Film & Television Association Hall of Fame in the Theme Songs category.

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