What Is Taylor Armstrong's Net Worth?
Taylor Armstrong is an American businesswoman and reality television star who has a net worth of $2.5 million. Taylor Armstrong is probably best known for appearing in the first three seasons of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." She has also appeared in series such as "The Hills" and "Couples Therapy."
The former cast member of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" had one of the ugliest periods in reality show history. Her very public downward spiral began in 2011 with a lawsuit brought against her husband, Russell Armstrong, claiming fraud. Her husband subsequently committed suicide. This left Taylor saddled with the fallout from the lawsuit. After settling the case out of court, she was left with the task of coming up with $1 million in damages. She handed over personal possessions since her salary for "The Real Housewives" in no way equaled the amount required by the court, but it turned out that many of the valuable items she turned in were fakes. The entire situation tarnished her credibility in multiple Beverly Hills circles, and it has resulted in intense scrutiny of the reality star. Taylor was born with the name Shana Hughes but chose to change it multiple times over the years.
Early Life
Shana Lynette Hughes was born on June 10, 1971, in Independence, Kansas. While she was young, she relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her family and joined the cheerleading squad at her high school. Around the time she moved to Beverly Hills, she changed her name to Taylor Ford and started her own eCommerce business.
"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills"
Taylor was completely unknown until she appeared in "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," which premiered in 2010. She left the series after three seasons, although she returned as a guest star from seasons four through six.
Woman Shouting at Cat Meme
Those who haven't seen Taylor Armstrong in "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" have probably seen her at least once on the internet. Taylor's crying face was used in the "woman shouting at cat meme," which has become one of the most well-known and popular memes in recent memory.
The meme features a cat sitting at a dinner table across from a tearfully shouting Taylor. That specific scene from "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" involved Taylor and the rest of the main cast arguing over her domestic abuse problems, which were only rumors at the time.
Salary
Although Taylor Armstrong's salary for "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" fluctuated over time, she eventually reached a peak salary of $175,000 per season – presumably for her third and final season. She would have received a per-episode payment for the latter seasons, as she was only a guest star who appeared in certain episodes.
Relationships
In 2005, Taylor married Russell Armstrong, an investment banker and venture capitalist who was directly affected by the dot-com crash and the post-9/11 economic downturn. The couple had a child together in 2006.
Russell filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in October 2005. At the time, he claimed he had less than $50,000 in assets and somewhere between $1 million and $10 million in debt. When Taylor started appearing in "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," rumors started to spread that her family was suffering from serious financial issues. She also allegedly suffered from domestic abuse at the hands of her husband and had to undergo reconstructive surgery after her orbital was fractured.
After finishing the second season of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," Taylor filed for divorce. Just one month later, Russell was found dead in a rental property from an apparent suicide. During this period, he was dealing with an IRS dispute and a "costly" palimony lawsuit filed by a former fiancée. Taking these stressful factors into account, suicide seems like a likely explanation for his passing.
After separating from Russell, Taylor married an attorney named John Bluher in 2014.
Real Estate
In 2012, it was reported that Armstrong was renting a 4,800-square-foot property in Beverly Hills for $15,000 per month. Although she and her daughter had been living in the residence for the past four years at the time, their future at their home was thrown into doubt when the owners listed the property for $3.7 million. Taylor then announced that she and her daughter were "looking forward to a change."