Born Sally Olwen Clark on the 15th November 1932 in Epsom, Surrey, England, and is a singer, actress and composer, best known to the world for such hits as “Downtown”, “My Love”, “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love”, and “I Know a Place”, among many other creations. Aside from singing, Petula has had success as an actress, and as a TV host, which also improved her wealth.
Have you ever wondered how rich Petula Clark is, as of mid- 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Clark’s net worth is as high as $10 million, an amount earned through her successful career in the entertainment industry, which has been active for more than six decades.
Petula Clark Net Worth $10 Million
Petula was a daughter to Doris and Leslie Norman Clark, of Welsh and English ancestry. From an early age Petula began performing, firstly in the chapel choir, and once she saw Flora Robson in the production of “Mary Tudor” in 1938, she decided to become an actress. However, she made her debut as a singer, when she performed in the entrance hall of Bentall’s Department Store in Kingston-upon-Thames in 1939, with an orchestra.
When the Second World War broke out, Petula lived with her grandparents in South Wales, in a small stone house which didn’t have electricity or running water. Her stage name was given to her by her father as a combination of the names of his former girlfriends, Pet and Ulla. While living with her grandparents, Petula had to learn to speak Welsh, since her grandparents didn’t know a single word of English.
When she was only nine years old, she made her radio debut, when with her father she tried to send a message to her uncle overseas. However, the broadcast was delayed due to an air raid, and in order to settle down the audience, the producer of BBC Radio asked if anybody would want to sing something. Immediately, Petula took the microphone in her hands and sang “Mighty Lak’ a Rose”. The crowd was in total awe of the little girl’s performance, which further resulted in more than 500 appearances in programs designed to entertain the troops. She also toured the UK with Julie Andrews and performed for Winston Churchill, Bernard Montgomery, and King George VI. Petula’s popularity started to increase, and once she met Joe “Mr Piano” Henderson at the Maurice Publishing Company in 1947, her musical career was taken to a new level. Two years later, Joe introduced Petula to Alan A. Freeman, who along her father started Polygon Records, for which Petula released a number of her earliest recordings. This resulted in songs such as “Put Your Shoes on Lucy” (1949), “I‘ll Always Love You” (1949), and “You Are My True Love” (1950), among many others. From then, her career only went upwards, and so did her net worth. Then in 1957 she made an appearance at the Paris Olympia, and was greeted with standing ovations, despite having a bad cold. She was then offered a contract with Vogue Records, and while in talks she met Claude Wolff, who immediately got her attention, and upon knowing that the two would collaborate together, she agreed to sign with the label. Wolff later became her husband.
Once she signed a new contract, Petula embarked on a European tour throughout France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, while also making new recordings in several languages, which made her a multi-lingual performer.
Touring didn’t stop her from recording new material, but her new songs weren’t quite so well greeted by the public until 1964, and her most prominent hit “Downtown”, which revived her career. The song became an international hit, topping the charts in UK, France, Netherlands, Germany and the USA. She continued to record successfully throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, spawning such hits as “I Know a Place” (1965), “My Love” (1965), “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love” (1966), “This Is My Song” (1967), “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” (1971), “The Wedding Song” (1972), “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” (1977) and many others, which only increased her wealth.
From then, she became more focused on touring, but still managed to record new material in the early ‘90s, and also most recently she released albums “Lost in You” in 2013, and “From Now On” (2016).
Petula is also an accomplished actress; back in 1944 and her Royal Albert Hall performance, she was spotted by film director Maurice Elvey who gave her the role of Irma in the war drama “Medal for the General” (1944), and the same year she appeared as Kate Dibben in the drama “Strawberry Roan”, also directed by Elvey. She had the most success as an actress in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, appearing in such films as “Vice Versa” (1948), “Don’t Ever Leave Me” (1949), and “Made in Heaven” (1952), among others, which only increased her wealth.
She has also hosted several variety shows, including “This Is Petula Clark” (1966-1968), and “The Sound of Petula” (1973-1974).
Regarding her personal life, Petula has been married to Claude Wolff since 1961; the couple has three children together.
Leave a Comment