If you watched “12 Years a Slave,” then you know exactly who Chiwetel Ejiofor is. (And if you haven’t watched it, go watch it, it’s amazing.) The English actor has a number of other television and movie credits to his name. But did you know that he’s also a stage actor? With all of these things going on, you might be curious what Chiwetel Ejiofor’s net worth is. Let’s take a closer look.
Who is Chiwetel Ejiofor?
As aforementioned, Chiwetel Ejiofor is best known for his role as Solomon Northup in the powerful film “12 Years a Slave.” He received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for that film. Additionally, he received both Grammy and Academy Award nominations. However, he had been acting for a lifetime before that film.
His breakout film role was in the 1997’s “Amistad,” cast by Steven Spielberg alongside Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins. He’s also acted in TV and movies with Toni Collette, John Cusack, Danny Glover, and Angelina Jolie, to name a few. More recently, he’s started added screenwriting and directing credits to his name.
Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Acting Credits and Awards
IMDB notes that Chiwetel Ejiofor is a very versatile actor who works on the big screen, the little screen, and even the stage.
Chiwetel Ejiofor Movies:
Besides “12 Years a Slave,” some of the actor’s notable movies include:
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (which he directed)
- Lion King remake as the voice of Scar
- Half of a Yellow Sun
- Salt
- Four Brothers
- Serenity
- 2012 (an action film)
- Endgame, for which he won a Golden Globe nomination
- Dirty Pretty Things, for which he won three awards including the British Independent Film Awards Best Actor
- Love Actually
- Melinda and Melinda
- Kinky Boots
- Inside Man
- Children of Men
- American Gangster
- Talk to Me, for which he won a Best Supporting Actor award
Chiwetel Ejiofor Television:
His small-screen appearances include:
- Screen Two: Deadly Voyage
- Murder in Mind
- Twelfth Night, Or What You Will
- Canterbury Tales
- Tsunami: The Aftermath, for which he received an NAACP Image Award as well as a Golden Globe nomination
Chiwetel Ejiofor Theatre:
Ejiofor began his acting life on the stage. He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) which is reportedly where Spielberg first discovered him. He has continued to supplement his screen acting with stage acting.
- Blue/Orange, for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play
- Romeo and Juliet, in which he played Romeo
- Othello, for which he received Best Actor awards as well as other nominations
Other Recognition
In addition to his acting awards, he has received a few other key forms of recognition. Each year in London there’s a Queen’s Birthday Honours List. He made it on the list twice for his services to drama. In 2008, he was listed as Officer of the Order of the British Empire and as Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2015.
Additionally, in 2015 he received The GEANCO Foundation’s Global Promise Award. This award recognizes the actor’s Nigerian charity work.
In 2020 he was nominated for an Outstanding Narrator award at the Emmy’s for the documentary “The Elephant Queen.”
Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Personal Life
His original given name is Chiwetelu Umeadi Ejiofor. He was born in Forest Gate, London on July 10, 1977. His parents were both medical professionals from Nigeria. They are from the Igbo culture of Nigeria but their region collapsed due to the Biafran War so his parents ended up in London.
Chiwetel is the second of four siblings. His younger sister, Zain Asher is well-known as a CNN news correspondent. According to Answers Africa, his other sister followed in their parents’ footsteps and became a doctor.
When he was 11 years old, he was in a car accident that killed his father. Ejiofor still has scars on his forehead from that event. He spent two months in the hospital recovering. They had been visiting Nigeria at the time of the accident. However, his mother was at home in London — pregnant with one of his younger siblings.
He started acting on stage a couple of years later. Although acting has been his primary creative outlet, he also sang backup vocals in a band in his teens. As far as his education, he attended Dulwich College and then the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA). However, he left the latter after the first year because that’s when he got “discovered” and went to make the film “Amistad.”
Dating and Marriage
Chiwetel Ejiofor is not married. He’s been linked to several prominent women over the years. He dated British actress Naomie Harris for about seven years. Like him, she’s named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. They split up in 2007.
Five years later, Ejiofor was rumored to be dating his “12 Years a Slave” co-star Lupita Nyong’o. However, that’s never been confirmed or denied. The following year, he was romantically linked with Canadian actress Sari Mercer, but only for a brief period of time.
In 2015, he began dating Australian model Frances Aaternir.
Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Net Worth
It’s always hard to pinpoint a celebrity’s exact net worth. Many records are kept hidden from the public. However, we’ve done some digging, and here’s what we’ve come up with.
Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Income
Ejiofor earns his income as an actor. He’s been in some very high-grossing films: “12 Years a Slave” grossed $187.7 million, “2012” was $769.7 million, and “The Lion King” remake grossed over half a million dollars in the Americas but over one billion dollars internationally.
He also does endorsements, invests in stocks, and earns money from his writing and directing.
Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Assets
Ejiofor used to live on a houseboat. He thought he would save money that way. However, it needed so much repair that it wasn’t really a valuable asset.
Ejiofor lives in a house in London now, near Exmouth Market. Although we don’t know the exact value of his house, Zoopla provides us with some average pricing for houses in this area:
- Average property: £904,743 or about $1,261,285
- Average price of flat: £788,518 or about $1,099,258
- Terraced house average price: £1,553,609 or about $2,165,857
Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Net Worth
By all reports online, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s net worth is estimated at $12 million. According to Taddlr, the actor was worth about $8 million around the time that he was dating Sari Mercer. His net worth has grown another $4 million as of 2021 according to reports by The Richest and CelebrityNetWorth.
For what it’s worth, MediaMass claims that he is the highest-paid actor in the world, garnering nearly $100 million so far this year. It cites his net worth as $275 million. This seems far-fetched; the $12 million number is far more consistent and likely to be the truth). However, it does suggest that his star is on the rise. With his recent and upcoming writing, directing, and acting credits, his net worth is poised to continue growing.
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Kathryn Vercillo is a professional writer who loves to live a balanced life. She appreciates a good work-life balance. She enjoys balance in her relationships and has worked hard to learn how to balance her finances to allow for a balanced life overall. Although she’s only blonde some of the time, she’s always striving for total balance. She’s excited to share what she’s learned with you and to discover more together along the way. Learn more about her at www.kathrynvercillo.com.
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