What Is Melissa McCarthy's Net Worth and Salary?
Melissa McCarthy is an American actress and comedian who has a net worth of $90 million. After spending nearly 20 years attempting to break into show business, today Melissa McCarthy is one of the most beloved comedic actresses in the world. She is best known for her roles in the hit comedies "Bridesmaids" (2011), "The Heat" (2013), and "Tammy" (2014), as well as the show "Mike & Molly" (2010-2016).
She is consistently one of the highest-paid actresses in the world. When "Mike & Molly" was airing, Melissa routinely earned $15+ million between her various endeavors. In 2015 alone, she earned over $33 million thanks to appearances in movies like "Ghostbusters." Between July 2016 and July 2017, Melissa earned $18 million. The following year, she made $12 million (the first year "Mike & Molly" was no longer airing). Between September 2019 and September 2020, her earnings roared back, with Melissa raking in roughly $25 million thanks to shows on Hulu, Netflix, and NBC, in addition to film roles.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Melissa Ann McCarthy was born on August 26, 1970, in Plainfield, Illinois. She is a cousin of actress Jenny McCarthy and professional basketball player Joanne McCarthy. She graduated from St. Francis Academy (now Joliet Catholic Academy) in Joliet, Illinois, and continued her education studying Textiles at Southern Illinois University.
Melissa famously moved to New York at 20 to pursue an acting career at a time when she was so broke that she had less than $5 in her checking account. She soon moved to L.A., where she began performing stand-up comedy and was a member of the improvisational sketch comedy troupe The Groundings.
Acting Career
McCarthy's first television appearance was in an episode of the NBC comedy series "Jenny," which starred her cousin Jenny McCarthy. She went on to appear in a number of movies including "Go" (1999), "Drowning Mona" (2000), "The Kid" (2000), "Charlie's Angels" (2000), "The Third Wheel" (2002), and "The Life of David Gale" (2003). During this period, she was also cast as Sookie St. James on The WB series "Gilmore Girls." Melissa appeared in 153 episodes of the show from 2000 to 2007. She also returned as Sookie in the show's revival, "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," which was released on Netflix in November 2016. She later went on to star in the films "The Nines" (2007), "The Captain", "Just Add Water" (2008), and "Pretty Ugly People" (2008), and the ABC sitcom "Samantha Who?" (2007 – 2009).
From 2010 to 2016, McCarthy starred as fourth-grade teacher Molly Flynn in the CBS sitcom "Mike & Molly," opposite Billy Gardell, Reno Wilson, and Katy Mixon. For her role as Molly, she received her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in 2011. McCarthy then received her first Academy Award nomination for her breakout performance in the 2011 comedy "Bridesmaids," alongside Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper, and Wendi McLendon-Covey. Other award nominations she has received include five nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearances on "Saturday Night Live" from 2011 to 2017; she won the award in 2017.
Other films Melissa has starred in include "Identity Thief" (2013), "The Heat" (2013), "Tammy" (2014), which she also co-wrote the script for, "St. Vincent" (2014), "Spy" (2015), which earned McCarthy her first Golden Globe Award nomination, "The Boss" (2016), "Ghostbusters" (2016), and "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" (2016), which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Between August 2017 and August 2018, Melissa earned $12 million from her various endeavors, making her one of the 10 highest-paid actresses in the world. In 2023, she played Ursula in Disney's live-action adaptation of "The Little Mermaid."
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Production
McCarthy and her husband, Ben Falcone, founded the production company On the Day Productions in 2013. The company's first project was the film "Tammy" (2014), which cost $20 million to make. Other production credits for the company include "The Boss" (2016), "Life of the Party" (2018), "The Happytime Murders" (2018), "Superintelligence" (2020), "Thunder Force" (2021), "Margie Claus" (TBA), and the television series "Nobodies" (2017-2018).
Fashion Line
McCarthy initially wanted to pursue a career in fashion before she began acting. After achieving fame through acting, she partnered with Sunrise Brands to produce and manufacture her first clothing collection, Melissa McCarthy Seven7. The line is targeted towards plus-size women and includes clothes up to size 28. It debuted in August 2015 on the Home Shopping Network.
Personal Life
McCarthy married her longtime boyfriend, actor Ben Falcone, in October 2005. They have two daughters together, Vivian (born 2007) and Georgette (born 2010). Falcone often makes cameo appearances in McCarthy's various TV and movie projects, including an episode of "Gilmore Girls," "Bridesmaids," "The Heat," "Tammy," "Identity Thief," "Spy," and "The Boss."
Since the start of "Mike and Molly," McCarthy has lost around 75 lbs (35 kg) through diet and regular exercise.
Real Estate
Melissa is somewhat of a real estate mogul. Here's a brief rundown of some of her properties:
In March 2020, Melissa and Ben paid $2.4 million for a newly constructed home in LA's suburb of Valley Village. Not too far from this home, they already own a much larger house in an area called Toluca Lake. They bought their first Toluca Lake home in 2009 for $780,000. In Toluca Lake, they also own a custom-built home on a property they purchased in 2012 for $3.5 million.
Ben and Melissa previously owned a home in Los Feliz, California, which they sold in 2009 for $2.5 million.
