What is Janusz Kamiński's Net Worth?
Janusz Kamiński is a Polish cinematographer and director of film and television who has a net worth of $30 million. Janusz Kamiński is known for frequently working with Steven Spielberg. Some notable Kamiński/Spielberg films include "Schindler's List," "Minority Report, "Catch Me If You Can," "Saving Private Ryan," "War Horse," "The Fablemans" and "West Side Story." Fun fact: Janusz was the Director of Photography for the 1991 Vanilla Ice film "Cool as Ice."
Early Life
Janusz Kamiński was born on June 27, 1959 in Ziębice, Poland to parents Jadwiga Celner and Marian Kamiński. He attended primary and high school in Poland before deciding to emigrate to the United States at the age of 21 in 1981 after Prime Minister Jaruzelski imposed martial law.
When he arrived in the United States, he enrolled at Columbia College in Chicago in 1982. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1897. He then worked as a filmmaker for a few years before attending the AFI Conservatory, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree.
Career
Kamiński worked under cinematographer Phedon Papamichael as a gaffer and then moved up to working as a second unit director of photography. He also shot a number of B-movies with directors Roger Corman and Katt Shea. Early projects include "Lady America," "Grim Prairie Tales," "The Rain Killer," and "Terror Within II." Kamiński also worked on the romantic musical comedy "Cool as Ice," which starred Vanilla Ice.
In 1991, Kamiński was discovered by Steven Spielberg after Spielberg saw the television film "Wildflower," one of Kamiński's projects. Spielberg hired him to shoot "Class of '61," a television film on which Spielberg worked as the producer. This began a long professional relationship with Spielberg, as the two worked on many films together in the years that followed. In 1993, he worked with Spielberg on "Schindler's List," their first collaboration in which Kamiński was the cinematographer and Spielberg the director. The film was a massive success and was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning seven. Kamiński won for Best Cinematography. Shooting of the film had taken place over a period of a little over two months in Kraków, Poland, and Kamiński set out to create a sense of timelessness in the film.
In 1993, Kamiński also worked on "The Adventures of Huck Finn" with director Stephen Sommers and "Trouble Bound" with director Jeffrey Reiner. In 1994, he worked with director Duwayne Dunham on the film "Little Giants." The following year, in 1995, he worked on the film "Tall Tale" directed by Jeremiah Chechik, and "How to Make an American Quilt" by director Jocelyn Moorhouse. His next popular film came in 1996 when he collaborated with director Cameron Crowe on "Jerry Maguire" starring Tom Cruise.
He spent much of the next years collaborating with director Steven Spielberg. In 1997, he served as director of cinematography on the film "The Lost World: Jurassic Park." Filming took place primarily in California, with some scenes shot in Kauai, Hawaii. Upon its release, it broke several box office records and was the second highest-grossing film of 1997, behind "Titanic." The same year, he again worked with Spielberg on the film "Amistad" which received largely positive reviews. Kamiński received a nomination at the Academy Awards in the Best Cinematography category, though he did not win.
Janusz Kaminski (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/WireImage)
In 1998, Spielberg and Kamiński again teamed up to create the film "Saving Private Ryan." The film was one of the year's most successful, received critical acclaim, and was the recipient of numerous awards. Kamiński won his second Academy Award in the Best Cinematography category. The pair spent the next few years creating the film "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," which was released in 2001 and received generally positive reviews. The following year, in 2002, Kamiński was the director of cinematography on two more Spielberg films – "Minority Report" and "Catch Me If You Can" – both of which were well-received. In 2004, he worked on the film "The Terminal" and then in 2005 worked on "War of the Worlds" and "Munich," all with Spielberg.
In 2007, Kamiński collaborated with director Julian Schnabel on the film "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." For his work on the film, he received his first Academy Award nomination in the Best Cinematography category for a film not directed by Spielberg. In 2008, he again worked with Spielberg on "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." In 2009, he worked with Judd Apatow on "Funny People" and then in 2010, he worked with director James L. Brooks on "How Do You Know."
In 2011, he created two films with Spielberg – "The Adventures of Tintin" and "War Horse." The following year, the two created the film "Lincoln." For "War Horse" and "Lincoln," Kamiński received two more Academy Award nominations.
Throughout the rest of the 2010s, Kamiński remained busy, working on a film almost every year of the decade. These films included "The Judge," "Bridge of Spies," "The BFG," "The Post," "Ready Player One," "The Call of the Wild," "West Side Story," and "The Fabelmans." His most recent Academy Award nomination was for "West Side Story."
Personal Life
In 1995, Kamiński married actress Holly Hunter. They divorced in 2001. He later began dating ABC News reporter Rebecca Rankin. They married in 2004, though their marriage ended in divorce in 2010.
Real Estate
In 1996, Janusz paid $2.125 million for a 1.12-acre property in Beverly Hills that features a mansion that is 5,000 square feet. He sold this home to producer Megan Ellison in December 2016 for $15.5 million. Before selling, he had been renting the property for $40,000 per month.
