Born Elaine Jill Bickerstaff on the 5th March 1948 in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom, Elaine is an award-winning stage, film and TV actress, and singer, best known to the world for her roles in musicals such as “Hair” (1968-1970), “Evita” (1978-1980), “Cats” (1981-1982), and many others. Her career started in the mid- ‘60s.
Have you ever wondered how rich Elaine Paige is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources it has been estimated that Paige’s net worth is as high as $40 million, an amount earned through her successful career in the entertainment industry. Apart from her work as an actress, Elaine is also an accomplished singer, as she has released a number of albums, some of which reached gold status, which has only improved her wealth.
Elaine Paige Net Worth $40 Million
Elaine is the daughter of a real estate agent father and milliner mother. Her mother was also into performing arts in her younger years, while her father was an amateur drummer. She only grew to 5 feet, which has negatively effected her career, as she missed out on leading roles. In her youth, Elaine also played tennis, and aspired to become a professional tennis player, however, her headmistress told her that they‘d never see her over the net. Nevertheless, Elaine disregarded those comments and continued to play tennis.
When she was 14 years old, Elaine heard the soundtrack for the film “West Side Story”, which sparked a desire to get involved in musical theatre. In school, she was praised by her music teacher, Ann Hill and sang in Hill’s choir, and so gained experience with musicals through playing Susanna in a school production of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro”. After that, she performed in “Messiah”, and “The Boy Mozart”, and many others.
She then enrolled at the Aida Foster Theatre School, however, although somewhat shy, her father encouraged her to continue pursuing an acting career. Following her graduation, Elaine began working as a model for children’s clothing at the Ideal Home Exhibition.
She made her stage debut in 1964 in a production of “The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd”, as a Chinese urchin. She was rejected the first time she auditioned, but then auditioned again under the name Elaine Page, a name she came up with while listing a phonebook, adding an i to “page”. Four years later she was one of the vocalists of the group Colors of Love, and the same year was selected for the role of Sheila in the musical “Hair”, touring for the next two years, and since then, her career has only gone upwards, and so has her net worth.
Throughout the ‘70s she had many successful appearances, including as Sandy in “Grease” (1973-1974), “Evita” (1978-1980) as Eva Peron, for which she won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Musical, Society of West End Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and Variety Club Award for Showbusiness Personality of the Year. Through 1983 and 1984 she performed as Miss Williams/Carabosse in “Abracadabra”, winning Head of the Year Award, and Variety Club Award for Recording Artiste of the Year, then as Edith Piaf in “Piaf” (1993-1994), which won her a Gold Badge of Merit Award BASCA. She was then selected for the lead role of Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard” (1994-1997), winning several more prestigious awards, including Variety Club Award – Best Actress of the Year, while also being honored as OBE. Elaine continued with her on-stage career in the 2000s, appearing in such productions as “The King and I”, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2004), and her most recent stage role, as Carlotta Campion in “Follies”. All added steadily to her net worth.
To speak of her career on screen, Elaine didn’t have as much success as she had on stage, but still managed to secure several notable roles, such as in “The One and Only Phyllis Dixey” (1978), “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (2016), and “Speed Love” (2016).
Thanks to her singing talents, Elaine has a noteworthy musical career too; she has released 16 studio albums, including “Elaine Paige” (1981), “The Queen Album” (1988), “Love Can Do That” (1991), “Elaine Paige Live” (2009), and “Elaine Paige and Friends” (2010), among many others, adding further to her net worth.
Regarding her personal life, Elaine has been in a relationship with Justin Mallinson since 2010. In the ‘80s she was in a relationship with lyricist Tim Rice for eleven years, however the two never married. Elaine doesn’t have children.
She is also a philanthropist; she works closely with The Children’s Trust, a charity that helps children with brain injuries, serving as its Vice-President.
