How Steve Howey Achieved a Net Worth of $2 Million

Steve Howey is best known for his portrayal of Kevin Ball in “Shameless,” but now that the series wrapped up after eleven seasons, you must be wondering how much he has managed to accrue from it. Well, Steve Howey’s net worth has accumulated to $2 million, but the actor had to give up on his aspiration of a basketball career to become an actor. From waiting tables at Grady’s American Grill to becoming a renowned celebrity, here is the journey to amassing his wealth.

Surviving by Sheer Luck

Bill Howey and his wife, Carla, have been teaching acting for over three decades. Bill started his career at the Cleveland Playhouse, Ohio, where he was the resident actor and soon became a reputable acting coach who partied with George Clooney and Patrick Swayze. However, even after having their son, Howey, Bill and Carla never gave up their wild life to offer him a normal childhood. According to Chicago Tribune, Howey had an unconventional childhood. While other children went to school and lived in an apartment, he lived on a boat and was homeschooled. He clarified that his parents worked hard, but they never had enough money. Instead of paying rent for an apartment, they opted to buy a 67-ft yacht which they lived on and sailed to wherever they pleased. Howey remembers that by the time he was eight, it was normal to see guests like Clooney and Swayze partying with his parents, and they did not mind that the child was present. When they sold the yacht, Howey’s parents were still not ready to give up on exploring the world with their son on tow. So, they bought a smaller boat, Sea Trek. Young Howey then had to give up his toys and leave his friends to live in Mexico for over a year and a half. As he explained in an interview with CBS, they began by sailing to Baja, then Cabo, down to Mazatlan and headed to Panama. Once food ran out, Howey had to learn how to fish. As for schooling, his parents were not the least bothered. At nine years old, little Howey would swim ashore then go back to the boat before dark, in time for dinner. His mother would teach him about some fractions when she could spare time. Looking back, the actor is grateful that he never went missing because he was exposed to so many dangers, including trauma. He would have to spend three days in his bunk when there was a raging storm and would only come out to check if his parents were still alive. Thankfully, his parents headed back to California, giving the actor a chance of having a taste of normalcy.

Trading a Basketball Career for Hollywood

According to Filmibeat, the family settled in a Los Angeles suburb where Howey attended junior high and most of senior high school. However, Bill moved the family to Denver, where Howey completed his senior year of high school at Green Mountain High. His father saw that Howey was good at basketball, which the actor had been playing since his freshman year; therefore, Bill figured that Howey would get into college through a basketball scholarship. Howey did get a basketball scholarship to Northeastern Junior College in Colorado. While it would have translated into a career like Michael Jordan’s, the teenager was not ready for the amount of work he had to put in to stay in shape. Howey did not want to lift weights, run for miles and take a thousand shots daily to ensure he was on top of his game. For this reason, he decided to give acting a try. With his parents as acting coaches, Howey only needed to attend the acting classes. On Bill Howey’s website, the actor said he had been a working actor since 1999, and it is only because of the private and acting classes that he took with Bill and Carla. He revealed it was not easy to have his parents as his coaches, and he strayed, but the couple showed him a great path to potential without judgment. His first acting gig was in 1994, guest-starring in “ER,” but he continued landing other roles in different productions. The one that cast a spotlight on him was playing Van Montgomery in “Reba” for 125 episodes. Unfortunately, it was not a lucrative job; according to Wall Street Journal, Reba McEntire, the lead, was paid less than $100,000, meaning other stars earned much less per episode.

Making His Millions from Acting

Still, he persisted with his eyes on the prize, and it paid off when he landed the role of Kevin in “Shameless” for 134 episodes. Howey was on the longest-running original scripted series in the history of Showtime, and it was worth his while. Although his pay could never be as high as William H. Macy’s $350,000 per episode, it is reported that Howey earned $100,000 per episode. Besides, he has appeared in other television series, which have helped to increase his net worth. In 2016, Howey’s net worth was at risk when the nanny that cared for his children with Sarah Shahi sued the couple for back wages, wrongful termination, and harassment. It was not disclosed how much she was seeking but had the case not been dismissed, the actors would have been left with much less money and ruined reputations that would affect their future acting careers. Additionally, in January 2021, the actor’s divorce from Shahi was finalized. Luckily, he retained his $1.8 million home and 100% of retirement plans, pension plans, residues, and accounts. He was, however, his net worth is still at risk. Howey was ordered to pay over $305,000 to his ex-wife by February 2021 to equalize the community property division. As if that was not enough, the couple owes almost $370,000 in back taxes, which they were ordered to pay half each.