You’re probably aware that Jennifer Tilly is a highly successful actress with dozens of screen roles to her credit — but we bet her net worth will still surprise you.
These days, Jennifer appears on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as a friend of the castmates’.
And on this week’s episode, she made a surprising revelation about her financial situation — and how it relates to Springfield’s most dysfunctional family.
Jennifer Tilly’s Net Worth Gets a Boost From Bart
“My ex-husband was Sam Simon, who created The Simpsons, I was married to him for seven years,” Jennifer explained in a confessional.
“We were together for about 10 years. And then when we got divorced, I got a piece of The Simpsons in the divorce settlement, and nobody knew that The Simpsons was gonna go on for trillions of years,” she continued.
“So, every day, honestly every day, I’m like, ‘Thank you, Sam.’”
The Legacy of a Legend
Yes, the late, great Sam Simon co-created TV’s longest-running animated sitcom (now in its 36th season!) along with Matt Groening and James L. Brooks.
The trio also served as executive producer on Seasons 1 and 2, and Sam stayed on as creative supervisor for the first four seasons.
In other words, he helped to usher in the show’s golden age (which ran roughly from Seasons 3-9), and he therefore deserved every cent of the incredible wealth that came his way.
Alas, after a long battle with cancer, Simon passed away in 2015 at the age of 59.
To say that he left quite a legacy in his wake would be putting it mildly.
In addition to his work on one of the most acclaimed comedies in history, Simon devoted his later years to helping others.
Simon donated most of his fortune to charity, but clearly, he left quite a bit of valuable intellectual property to Jennifer.
The two of them remained close friends in the years following their split.
How Much Is Jennifer Worth?
According to the Washington Post, when Sam left The Simpsons in 1993, he negotiated a deal that left him with $20 to $30 million annually from the show’s licensing fees.
Jennifer has led a successful career as both an actress and professional poker player, so she probably would’ve been fine on her own.
But the Chucky star is really rich, thanks to her association with Sam.
How rich? Well, Monsters and Critics estimates her net worth at roughly $40 million. So yeah, the rumors that she’s a billionaire, while fun, are sadly inaccurate.
In other words, Jen is quite rich, but she’s no C. Montgomery Burns.