Catherine Zeta Jones was born on 25 September 1969, in Swansea, Wales, of Welsh and Irish descent, and is popular actress who has starred in many notable films – since her debut on the stage when she was 14 years-old – perhaps best known for her breakthrough appearance with Antonio Banderas in “The Mask of Zorro” in 1998.
So just how rich is Catherine Zeta Jones? Sources have estimated that Catherine has a net worth which grosses $45 million, accumulated from her career spanning over 30 years on the stage, TV and in films.
Catherine Zeta-Jones Net Worth $45 Million
Since early childhood Catherine Zeta-Jones was interested in acting and singing, and from her early teens in pursuing an acting career. As young as the age of five, she attended Hazel Johnson School of Dance, as a sport to use her energy, and by the time she was 11 she was a British tap-dancing champion. Although she went to Dumbarton House School, a co-educational independent school in Swansea, she left without even sitting O-levels – normally at 15-16 years of age – to attend the independent Arts Educational School in Chiswick, West London, for a three-year course in Musical Theatre.
Catherine Zeta-Jones opened her net worth account by acting in many stage plays, actually when she 12 playing the lead in ‘Annie’ at the Swansea Grand Theatre. At 14, she was cast as Tallulah in a theatre production of ‘Bugsy Malone’. In 1986 she was in the chorus of ‘The Pajama Game’ at the Haymarket Theatre in London – after which the show toured the UK – and in 1987 she was fortunate to star in ’42nd Street’, after both actresses playing the lead role fell ill. She also starred in the Kurt Weill opera ‘Street Scene’ with the English National Opera, and then played the lead role in French director Philippe de Broca’s ‘Les 1001 Nuits’ (1990), her feature film debut.
With her singing and dancing ability, Catherine briefly flirted with a musical career, and actually released a couple of songs that charted, but her straight acting role as Mariette in the successful British television series ‘The Darling Buds of May’ (1991–1993), adaptated from H. E. Bates’ novel, brought her to public attention and made her a star in Britain.
Regardless of this success, Catherine Zeta-Jones continued for some time in relatively minor television series and programs. She appeared in the television series ‘The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles’, ‘Catherine the Great’ and ‘Titanic’and other TV productions, also in the films ‘Christopher Columbus: The Discovery’ directed by John Glenn, ‘Splitting Heirs’ directed by Robert Young, ‘Blue Juice’ directed by Carl Prechezer, ‘The Phantom’ directed by Simon Wincer and others. However, Zeta-Jones rose to prominence in 1998 when Steven Spielberg suggested that she co-star with Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins in Martin Campbell’s directed film ‘The Mask of Zoro’, which received positive reviews from critics, as well as being loved by cinema goers as the box office grossed $250 million worldwide. Catherine herself added much to her net worth account, especially as for her role she was nominated for a number of awards and won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for the Favourite Female Newcomer.
Catherine continued her successful career with her following role as Virginia Baker in the Jon Amiel directed film ‘Entrapment’, in which Zeta-Jones starred alongside Sean Connery. Despite mixed reviews from critics and nominations for the Golden Raspberry Awards, the film was loved by audience and was commercially successful with the box office grossing $212 million.
Catherine won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for the Favourite Actress and European Film Award for the Best Actress, helping her to indirectly add significant sums to her net worth. Another successful appearance worth the Screen Actors Guild Award for the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and a number of nominations was the role of Helena Ayala in the film ‘Traffic’ directed by Steven Soderbergh. In terms of awards, the peak of Catherine Zeta-Jones’ career has been her supporting role of Velma Kelly in the film ‘Chicago’ directed by Rob Marshall, for which Catherine won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, two Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, Evening Standard British Film Award, Phoenix Film Critics Society Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a long list of other nominations. After the film’s release, Catherine’s net worth jumped considerably.
Later, she created notable characters in the films ‘Intolerable Cruelty’ directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, ‘The Terminal’ directed by Steven Spielberg, ‘Ocean’s Twelve’ directed by Steven Soderbergh, ‘The Legend of Zorro’ directed by Martin Campbell, ‘No Reservations’ directed by Scott Hicks, ‘Death Defying Acts’ directed by Gillian Armstrong, ‘The Rebound’ directed by Bart Freundlich and other films.
Catherine Zeta-Jones has continued to perform on stage too, which has also added to her net worth. Her appearance in ‘A Little Night Music’ on Broadway in 2009 brought her a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award.
Aside from acting, Zeta-Jones is also an advertising spokeswoman, including for cosmetics giant Elizabeth Arden. She has appeared in numerous TV commercials for the phone company T-Mobile, and also one for Alfa Romeo. She is a spokeswoman for Di Modolo jewellery, and has appeared on several magazine covers, including Allure, Harper’s Bazaar, W, Vanity Fair, and Vogue. Of course all these activities have boosted Catherine’s net worth.
Catherine Zeta-Jones was chosen one of “1998’s Most Beautiful People” by People magazine, and was ranked number 68 in FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005” special supplement, and was named number 82 in 2006.
Of particular significance is that Catherine Zeta-Jones was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
In her personal life, Catherine Zeta-Jones married Michael Douglas in 2000; they have two children.
