What is Kim Wilde's Net Worth?
Kim Wilde is an English pop singer, songwriter, gardener, and author who has a net worth of $20 million. Kim Wilde is best known for her signature song "Kids in America" and for holding the record as the 1980s's most charted British solo act. Between 1981 and 1996, Wilde had 25 singles that reached the top 50 on the UK Singles Chart, and American artists from various genres – including Nirvana's Dave Grohl and pop sensation Tiffany – have recorded covers of her hits.
Early Years
Kim Smith, known professionally as Kim Wilde, was born on November 18, 1960 in Chiswick, England. Her father was singer and songwriter Marty Wilde, and her mother was Joyce Baker, a member of the musical ensemble The Vernons Girls.
Wilde attended Oakfield Preparatory School in West Dulwich until her family relocated to Hertfordshire, and she then enrolled at a school in the village of Tewin before going on to Presdales School – a girl's secondary school in Hertfordshire. She completed college courses at St. Albans College of Art & Design in 1980.
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Music
Kim Wilde was signed to British record label Rak Records in 1980. Her debut single, "Kids in America," hit number two on the United Kingdom record chart. Her self-titled debut album was a success as well and, the following year, she was nominated in the Best Female Singer and Most Fanciable Female in the Smash Hits Poll.
Over the next decade, Wilde's father and brother—British songwriter and musician Ricky Wilde—penned most of her music. The 1982 release of her second album, "Select," spawned two singles that hit the number one spot on music charts in France and the top ten in Germany and Australia. That October, she set out on a worldwide tour.
In 1983, Wilde released her third album, "Catch as Catch Can," and won a Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist. The following year, she decided to leave Rak Records and sign with MCA Records. Her next album, "Teases & Dares," resulted in another top ten single in Germany – "The Second Time." The video for the song appeared in the American action crime series "Knight Rider" in 1985.
In 1986, Wilde had a hand in writing most of the songs on her fifth album, "Another Step." The album contained a cover of the Supreme's 1966 song "You Keep Me Hangin' On," which peaked at number two on the music charts in the United Kingdom and topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Wilde became the fifth UK artist to top the US Hot 100 chart. In 1988, her album "Close" was released and spent over seven months on the UK top album chart while she toured with American singer Michael Jackson as the opening act on his Bad World Tour.
The album "Love Moves" was released in 1990, and Wilde set out on tour as the opening act for English singer David Bowie. The album "Love Is" followed in 1992, and in 1993, she released the compilation album "The Singles Collection 1981-1993."
In 1994, Wilde began her Greatest Hits tour through Europe, Australia, and Japan. The following year, she released her studio album "Now & Forever." From 1996 to 1997, she appeared as the character Mrs. Walker in the rock musical "Tommy" at London's West End Theatre. In 2001, she took part in the eighties revival concert series the Here and Now Tour, along with such musical artists as Belinda Carlisle, Boy George, and Paul Young.
In 2001, she released the compilation album "The Very Best of Kim Wilde." The single "Born to Be Wild" followed in 2002, and in 2003, the single "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime" – a duet with German singer Nena—became a top-ten hit in Belgium, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
Wilde signed a recording contract with EMI Germany in 2006 and released the album "Never Say Never," which included a new version of her single "You Came." The track became her biggest solo hit in Germany in nearly two decades and made the top 20 charts in several countries.
In 2010, she signed a recording contract with Sony Music Germany and released her eleventh studio album, "Come Out and Play." The album reached number ten in Germany. The following year, the album "Snapshots" was released, followed by the album "Wilde Winter Songbook" in 2013. Five years later, an alleged encounter with an unidentified flying object inspired her to write and release the album "Here Come the Aliens." During the summer of 2021, she released a box set album titled "Pop Don't Stop: Greatest Hits."
In 2024, she released the album "Closer," which has been described as ushering in a new era of Kim Wilde music.
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Gardening
Kim Wilde became interested in landscape gardening during her first pregnancy and went on to take horticulture classes at Capel Manor College, an environmental college in London. She was later asked by British free-to-air public broadcast station Channel 4 to work as a designer on their show "Better Gardens." She also hosted the BBC series "Garden Invaders" for two years.
In 2001, Wilde won the Best Show Garden Award at the Tatton Flower Show and two years later won a Gold Award for her entry at the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show.
Books
In 2005, Kim Wilde's book "Gardening With Children" was released by HarperCollins Publishers. The next year, her book "The First Time Gardener" hit store shelves.
Radio
In 2021, Kim Wilde hosted "The Kim Wilde 80's Show," which aired on Ireland's Classic Hits Radio four nights per week.
Awards
In 1981, Kim Wilde won a Swedish Rockbjornen Award for Best Female Singer and a German Golden Otto Award for Best Singer. She continued to win Otto Awards for Best Singer through 1984. In 1988, she tied with German pop singer Sandra Lauer for a European Platinum Award for Female Singer Who Has Sold The Most Records Across Europe. In 1990, she brought home a Netherlands Diamond Award, followed by a German Bambi Award for "The Singles Collection" in 1993. In 1996, she won a German RSH-GOLD Female Classic Award.
Between 1985 and 1987, Wilde was nominated for seven Billboard Music Awards. Of the 18 Smash Hits Poll nominations she garnered between 1981 and 1989, she won two. In 2019, she was nominated for three Classic Pop Reader Awards. Between 1983 and 1988, she was nominated for four Brit Awards and won one.
Personal Life
Kim Wilde married Hal Folwer—whom she had co-starred with in the stage show Tommy—on September 1, 1996. On January 3, 1998, the couple welcomed their son Harry. A daughter Rose followed on January 13, 2000. In 2022, they divorced.
