Patricia Lynn Nelson's Net Worth as of 2024
$2 Million
Bree Walker was born as Patricia Lynn Nelson on 26 February 1953, in Oakland, California USA. She is a radio talk show host, actress and disability-rights activist, best known for being the first on-air American television network news anchor with ectrodactyly.
So just how rich is Bree Walker? Sources state that Walker has established a modest fortune of over $2 million, as of mid-2017, the main source of her wealth being her radio and television career.
Bree Walker Net Worth $2 million
Walker grew up in Austin, Minnesota, along with her three siblings. She was born with ectrodactyly, a rare hereditary disorder which left her with severely deformed hands and feet, her fingers and toes being fused together. She attended the University of Minnesota, and after completing her journalistic and broadcast education, she landed a job on the radio as a rock ‘n’ roll deejay in Kansas. She went on to work at several radio stations in New York as a deejay and news announcer, before in 1978 moving to San Diego, becoming the highest rated FM DJ. Her radio career enabled her to establish a great reputation and to earn a considerable net worth.
Walker eventually decided to pursue a career in television. After being told that her deformity might make viewers uncomfortable, she got a pair of prosthetic gloves shaped like hands in a resting position and went on with her intention to break into television, not letting her condition prevent her from making her dreams come true. Finally, in 1980 she was hired as a consumer advocacy reporter at the ABC-TV affiliate in San Diego, KGTV. During the first few days on the air, she wore the gloves. But, as this made her body language stiff, she decided to take them off. This decision was extremely frightening for her, because there was a big chance her newscasting career would end once she reveals her hands. Luckily, this didn’t happen, and viewers had a quite positive response.
Walker went on to become an anchorwoman on the Channel 10 News Nightcast, which enabled her to achieve great popularity, her fame especially from becoming the first news anchor with such a rare physical condition. All contributed to her wealth.
Several years later, Walker moved to New York City and joined WCBS-TV, the flagship station of the CBS Television Network, cementing her status of a talented news personality and greatly improving her net worth. She later worked at KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, further expanding her fortune.
Meanwhile, Walker earned a national reputation as a disability-rights activist, serving on the President’s Committee for Employment of the Handicapped, on the California Governor’s Committee as well as on The Board of Directors of the Women’s International Center. Her devotion to raising awareness about people with disabilities earned her several awards and honors and made her even more popular.
In addition to her established career in radio, Walker has also pursued an acting career, another source of her net worth. In 1989 she appeared as herself in the PBS children’s series “Reading Rainbow”, in which she talked about her disability, and then in the ’90s series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “JAG”, and in TV films “Without Warning” and “Cagney & Lacey: The Return”. Around this time she landed a part in the film “The Chase”, and later appeared as herself in shows such as “Larry King Live” and “Dr. Phil”, and had guest roles in series like “Carnivale” and “Nip/Tuck”. Her acting career considerably increased her wealth.
Walker has also been involved in various anti-war and social justice movements. In 2007 she bought Camp Casey, the five-and-a-half acres property in Texas, for $87,000. She has since kept it as a peace memorial and garden open to antiwar activists.
In her personal life, Walker was married three times; her first husband is unknown, but she has two children, one from her marriage to film and video producer Robert Walker, lasting from 1980 to 1990, and one from her marriage to news anchor and sportscaster Jim Lampley, lasting from 1990 to 1999. Both of her children inherited ectrodactyly.
Walker has been involved in controversy, having received a lot of negative publicity when she was arrested for a DUI in 2014, after which she checked into rehab.
