What is Lori Beth Denberg's net worth?
Lori Beth Denberg is a Los Angeles-based American actress and comedian who has a net worth of $750 thousand. Lori Denberg is best known for her work as an original cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series "All That," "Figure It Out," and for her role as Lydia Liza Gutman on "The Steve Harvey Show." Denberg is one of the former Nickelodeon stars to come out with various allegations against Dan Schneider and his conduct on set.
Early Life
Lori Beth Denberg was born on February 2, 1976, in Northridge, California. She was raised in a Jewish family with her older brother, Adam. Denberg got her start in community theater at the age of six. When she was 13 years old, she realized she wanted to pursue a career in comedy at summer camp. When she looked around the lunch table and realized everyone was laughing because of her jokes, she "saw the results, and liked it."
Denberg continued doing community theater and drama club through middle school and high school. When she was 17, a winning high-school performance caught the eye of a Nickelodeon talent scout and earned her an audition for a then-untitled sketch comedy show, which later became "All That." Denberg had no other plans after graduating high school, so she took a leap of faith and moved to Orlando, Florida, that summer to start filming.
Acting Career
Denberg made her acting debut, appearing on "All That" from 1994-1998. Because the show's target audience was children and young adults, she was the oldest cast member at 18 years old. As a result, she usually took the "adult" roles, playing mom, teacher, or, most notably, the "Loud Librarian." Even after Denberg finished her time at "All That" in 1998, she never truly left her role behind, as Denberg became a recurring guest star in the 2019 revival of "All That," reprising her Loud Librarian role and "passing the torch" to new cast member Reece Caddell. She also reunited with her past cast members for the 2011 Comikaze Expo and in 2018 on the MTV show "Wild 'N Out."
Denberg appeared in the first three seasons of the Nickelodeon game show "Figure It Out" (1997-1998) as a regular panelist. On the show, Denberg was known for guessing the correct answer just before her opponent could win the grand prize, often even before the end of the second round. Her questions and guesses were calculated and strategic, as opposed to the "sillier" questions and guesses that other panelists (particularly Kevin Kopelow and Danny Tamberelli) would give.
Denberg is also known for her appearance in the 1997 film "Good Burger" with fellow "All That" castmates Josh Server, Kenan Thompson, and Kel Mitchell. In 1998, Denberg started her role as Lydia Liza Gutman on "The Steve Harvey Show" and stayed on as a recurring character until 2002.
Denberg also played cheerleader Martha Johnstone in "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" (2004). She has appeared in a cameo in "Workaholics" (2012) and "Ham on the Rye" (2019). In December 2018, Denver appeared on Andrew Meadows' "Discontinued," a special taking a deeper look at the rise and fall of the world's most famous discontinued foods, toys, customs, and businesses. Denberg competed on the 24th season of "Worst Cooks in America," the show's seventh celebrity edition themed "That's So '90s," airing in 2022.
(Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
Dan Schneider Allegations
In 2024, Denberg gave an interview to Business Insider accusing Dan Schneider, creator of "All That" and several other Nickelodeon shows, of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. Denberg detailed the sexual abuse beginning when she was 19 when Schneider called her into his office and showed her pornography against her will. She also accused him of touching her inappropriately and attempting to initiate phone sex with her.
Denberg also accused Schneider of having her banned from the set of "The Amanda Show" in 1999 after voicing her concern for her friend and former "All That" costar Amanda Bynes. One year after her departure from "All That," Bynes asked Denberg to visit the set of her new show. During the visit, Denberg claims she saw Bynes being "extremely overworked." Denberg told both Schneider's boss, Brian Robbins, and Nickelodeon entertainment president, Albie Hecht, about her concerns and was subsequently banned from the set.
Schneider ran multiple kids' television shows on Nickelodeon from the late '90s through 2018, when he was fired. In 2024, Max released the docuseries "Quiet on Set," which detailed a series of allegations of sexual and verbal abuse against Schneider. Schneider denied most of the allegations, calling them "wildly exaggerated." He states that "there were times, particularly in the early years of my career, that I made mistakes and exhibited poor judgment as a leader. If I did that with respect to Lori Beth, I sincerely apologize to her. But I cannot apologize for things I did not do."
Personal Life
Denberg is married to French writer and film director Alexander Jardin. She is an ordained minister. She quit drinking and became completely sober in 2005.
