What is Faith Evans' Net Worth?
Faith Evans is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, and author who has a net worth of $3 million. In 1994, she became the first female artist to sign with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Entertainment, and her first two albums were certified Platinum. Evans joined Capitol Records in 2003 and released "The First Lady" in 2005. That album topped the "Billboard" R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Faith is also known as the widow of The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace), who was murdered in 1997. She recorded a tribute song, "I'll Be Missing You," with Puff Daddy and 112, and the song earned Evans a Grammy in 1998. It also reached #1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and R&B charts as well as in the UK, New Zealand, Australia, and the Netherlands.
She has released seven studio albums and sold more than 12 million records. Faith made her film debut in 2000's "Turn It Up," and in 2008, she published her autobiography, "Keep The Faith: A Memoir," which won the 2009 African American Literary Award for Best Biography.
Early Life
Faith Evans was born Faith Renée Evans on June 10, 1973, in Lakeland, Florida. Her mother, Helene, was a singer, and her father, Richard Swain (a musician), left Helene before Faith was born. Six months later, Helene and Faith moved to Newark, New Jersey, and Evans was raised by Johnnie Mae (Helene's cousin) and Orvelt Kennedy, while Helene pursued a singing career. The Kennedys were foster parents to over 100 children while Faith was staying in their home. Helene returned a few years later and moved in next to the Kennedys because Evans didn't want to leave. Faith grew up in a Christian household and started singing at church when she was 2 years old. She attended Newark's University High School, where she performed with numerous jazz bands, graduating in 1991. Evans enrolled at New York City's Fordham University, intending to study marketing, but a year later, she dropped out to have a daughter, Chyna, whose father is music producer Kiyamma Griffin.
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Music Career
Evans moved to Los Angeles in 1993, and when she was singing backup for Al B. Sure!, she caught the attention of Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, who signed her to Bad Boy Entertainment in 1994. She worked on albums by Mary J. Blige and Usher before releasing her debut album, "Faith," in August 1995. The album peaked at #2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and her follow-up, "Keep the Faith" (1998), reached #6 on the "Billboard" 200. In 1997, her tribute to her late husband, "I'll Be Missing You," stayed at #1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart for 11 weeks. Faith's third album, "Faithfully" (2001) went Gold, and the single "I Love You," which was written by Jennifer Lopez, reached #2 on the "Billboard" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Her first album with Capitol Records, "The First Lady," hit #2 on the "Billboard" 200 and was certified Gold. That year, she also released the holiday album "A Faithful Christmas." Evans created the record label imprint Prolific Music Group in 2010 and recorded tracks with Snoop Dogg, Raekwon, Keyshia Cole, and Redman for the label's first album. She also signed a record contract with E1 Entertainment that year and released the album "Something About Faith" in October. Her single "Gone Already" spent more than eight months on the "Billboard" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Faith released the album "Incomparable" in 2014 and "The King & I," an album of duets with the late Notorious B.I.G, in 2017.
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Acting Career
Faith appeared in plays during her teenage years, and in 2000, she co-starred with Ja Rule, Pras, and Jason Statham in the film "Turn It Up." She then played nightclub singer/single mother MaryAnn Hill in 2003's "The Fighting Temptations," which also starred Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyoncé. Evans has also appeared in the films "Notorious" (2009), "Soul Kittens Cabaret" (2011), "Girls Trip" (2017) and "True to the Game 2: Gena's Story" (2020). She guest-starred on "Half & Half" in 2004, "Real Husbands of Hollywood" in 2015, and "Marvel's Luke Cage" in 2018, and she appeared on "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" (2015; 2016–2019) both as a regular cast member and a guest star. Faith was a cast member on "R&B Divas: Atlanta" (2012), and she served as an executive producer on that show as well as ""R&B Divas: Los Angeles" (2013).
Personal Life
On August 4, 1994, Faith married rapper Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, after meeting him at a photo shoot, and they had a son, Christopher George Latore Wallace Jr., on October 29, 1996. In June of that year, Tupac Shakur released a track, "Hit 'Em Up," claiming to have had an affair with Faith (who was estranged from Wallace), and she became embroiled in the East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry. On March 9, 1997, Wallace was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles; as of this writing, his murder still has not been solved. In early 1997, Missy Elliott introduced Evans to Todd Russaw, a record company executive, and she began a relationship with him while she was separated from Wallace. Faith and Todd welcomed son Joshua on June 10, 1998, and they married later that summer. They had a second son, Ryder, on March 22, 2007.
In January 2004, Evans and Russaw were stopped for an improper tag violation in Atlanta, Georgia, and arrested and charged with marijuana and cocaine possession. They agreed to attend a 13-week drug-treatment program in order to get the charges dropped. In 2010, Faith was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Marina del Rey, California, and the following year, she filed for divorce. She went on to marry producer/"Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" star Stevie J. (Steven Jordan) on July 17, 2018, and in May 2020, she attacked him in their Los Angeles home and was arrested for felony domestic violence; the charges were later dropped.
Awards and Nominations
Evans has been nominated for seven Grammys, winning Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "I'll Be Missing You" in 1998. The song also earned her a Soul Train Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video and two MTV Europe Music Award nominations. In 2018, Faith was named the Soul Train Lady of Soul, and she received nominations for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist and R&B/Soul Album of the Year – Female (for "Faith") in 1996.
