What is Kym Whitley's Net Worth and Salary?
Kym Whitley is an American comedian and actress who has a net worth of $3.5 million. Kym Whitley is well-known for her roles on sitcoms like "Animal Practice," "The Parkers," The Boondocks," and "Black Dynamite," among others.
Early Life
Whitley was born on July 21, 1961, in Shaker Heights, Ohio, to parents Kaysonia and William Whitley. She also spent part of her childhood in Khartoum, Sudan, and grew up with her two older brothers, Kyle and Scott. Her father was an architect and one of the founding partners of the black architectural firm Whitley and Whitley. The firm was involved with working on buildings like the Tower City Center, the Cleveland Public Library, and the home to the Cleveland Indians – Progressive Field.
Whitley attended Shaker Heights High School and graduated in 1979. She then enrolled at Fisk University in Nashville, where she joined the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. While in college, Whitley realized she was interested in show business and entertainment. She had always been characterized as having an outgoing and creative personality. She was often able to make people laugh, but her family was still unsure about her ability to make it in show business. However, they remained supportive, and Whitley was incredibly determined.
Career
After college, Whitley moved to California and initially worked as a teacher in Compton until she was able to land a job as an assistant to Arsenio Hall. She also became a dancer on "Soul Train." Her first big break came in 1989 when she landed the starring role in Shelly Garrett's popular play, "Beauty Shop," which first began in Los Angeles and then traveled across the United States.
She started booking gigs on television and in films in the early 1990s. Her first job was a role on an episode of "Vinnie & Bobby" in 1992. She also was part of the recurring cast on "My Brother and Me" in 1994. In 1995, she appeared in episodes of "The Parent Hood" and "Martin," and the following year, she landed a guest role in an episode of "Married…with Children." She got a bit of steady work in 1996 when she joined the main cast of the series "Sparks," which ran until 1998. She worked with the Wayans brothers in a 1998 episode of "The Wayans Bros." and also appeared in "Sports Theater with Shaquille O'Neal." In 1999, she booked one of her first film roles in the movie "Beverly Hood" and also appeared in "Arli$$."
The 2000s would prove a fruitful decade for Whitley. She started it off by landing roles in episodes of "Grown Ups," "Moesha," and "Intimate Portrait." She also appeared in the films "Next Friday," "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps," and "A Private Affair." From 2001 until 2002, she appeared as herself in the series, "Oh, Drama!" and then joined the cast of the popular series, "The Parkers," in 2002. "The Parkers" was a spin-off of "Moesha" and was on the UPN channel. She remained on the show until 2004, the same year in which she booked a memorable character role in Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." She also began booking roles in more prominent films like "Love Chronicles," "Along Came Polly," and "The Perfect Man." In 2004, she was nominated for a BET Comedy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Box Office Movie for her role in the film "Deliver Us From Eva."
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In 2005, she appeared in episodes of "Grey's Anatomy," "That's So Raven," and "Love, Inc," among others. She also began voicing various characters in the BET animated series, "The Boondocks." She would continue working on the show at different points until 2010. Whitley continued working steadily in both film and television throughout the latter half of the decade.
In early 2010, Whitley became the co-host of the short-lived talk show, "The Brian McKnight Show," along with R&B musician Brian McKnight. She also booked a recurring role on the BET comedy series, "Let's Stay Together," from 2012 until 2013. In 2013, she also developed her own show, a docu-series called "Raising Whitley," which premiered on the Oprah Winfrey Network. It was the fifth most-watched premiere in the history of the network. Due to its success, the network ordered a second season of the show, which premiered in 2014.
In 2014, Whitley also joined the cast of the ABC Family (Freeform) sitcom, "Young & Hungry." She played the role of Yolanda and remained on the show until it concluded in 2018. In 2017, she booked a role in the web series, "The Bay." For her work, she received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series. She also won the Indie Series Award for Best Guest Actress in Drama for her role.
In 2018, she also appeared in an Emmy-award-winning episode of Aziz Ansari's show, "Master of None." In 2019, she joined the 16th season of "Worst Cooks in America." In 2020, she appeared in "blackAF" and "Mr. Iglesias," and in 2021, she booked roles in the shows "Call Your Mother," "Made for Love," and "That Girl Lay Lay." She also became the host of "The Big Holiday Food Fight" in 2021.
Personal Life
Whitley has an adopted son, Joshua, who was born in January 2011. Her story of becoming a mother is unconventional, as the boy is the biological son of a woman Whitley had been mentoring for a number of years. After giving birth to him, the woman left the boy at the hospital and named Whitley his legal guardian before disappearing. Whitley received a call from a social worker informing her of this story, and an hour later, she became a mother.
Real Estate
In 2001, Kym paid $335 thousand for a modest home in Los Angeles. She listed this home for sale in 2017 for a little under $700k but ultimately did not accept any offers, which turned out to be a wise move because today, the home is likely worth closer to $1.4 million.
In 2018, Kym paid $1.25 million for a home in Tarzana, California.
