How Susan Lucci Achieved a Net Worth of $80 Million
As one of the most famous actresses (if not THE most famous) to ever grace daytime television, there is no shortage of speculation about Susan Lucci net worth.
In addition to the decades that she has spent entertaining daytime television audiences, she has also made a name for herself as a television host, author and entrepreneur. To learn more about Susan Lucci net worth and how she has been able to accrue all of her wealth, please be sure to read on.
Susan Lucci Early Life
Lucci was born on December 23, 1946, in Scarsdale, New York. She was raised in Garden City alongside her older brother, James. Her father, Victor, worked as a building contractor and her mother, Jeanette, was a homemaker. During her years at Garden City High School, she was a member of the cheerleader squad. In addition to these exploits, Lucci also wrote for the school newspaper and was a theater star, taking on lead roles in “Westside Story” and “The King & I”.
After graduating from high school in 1964, she went on to attend Marymount College in Tarrytown. By 1968, she had graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama. From there, she started to pursue a career in show business in earnest. She moved to New York City, worked as a color girl at CBS and was able to bide her time performing in Off-Broadway shows.
Susan Lucci Net Worth
As a result of her many years in show business (which we are about to discuss), Susan Lucci was accrued a net worth of $80 million. According to reports from The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, Lucci earned $1 million per year from 1991 on. At this time, she was the highest-paid actor on daytime television and rightfully so. Once she began her ascent to the top of the daytime soap opera, she was also given the opportunity to guest star on shows such as Dallas, Army Wives and Fantasy Island.
The Susan Lucci Collection, a line of hair care, skin care, lingerie and perfume products, has also allowed her to bolster her net worth even further. “All My Life: a Memoir” was released in 2011, providing Lucci with the chance to tell her story in her own words. After departing All My Children in 2011, she transitioned into hosting duties. From 2012 to 2014, she hosted the Investigation Discovery series “Deadly Affairs” and became a regular on the Lifetime series “Devious Maids” from 2013 to 2016.
How Susan Lucci + Erica Kane Became Synonymous
In 1969, Lucci’s fortunes finally began to change. After spending years paying her dues in Off-Broadway plays, she auditioned for All My Children and the rest was history. She was cast as Erica Kane and became such an iconic figure that TV Guide referred to the character as “the most famous soap opera character in the history of daytime TV”.
Lucci owned the role for so long, her character evolved from being a teenage high school student to an adult woman who had been married 10 times. The Kane character also had three children of her own. Some may also know Lucci because her bizarre track record of getting nominated for the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series award and never winning.
It took 19 nominations before she finally took home the award in 1997. Her performance allowed her to enter uncharted territory for a daytime television actor, as she was invited to host Saturday Night Live in 1990. Mattel even produced dolls that were based on the Erica Kane character, releasing them to the public in 1998 and 1999. All in all, she spent 41 years playing Erica and received every accolade that there was to garner in the process.
Susan Lucci’s Other Projects
In addition to making the role of Erica Kane her own, Lucci also made time for a wide range of other projects over the course of her career. In 1969, she made her debut on the big screen, with non-credited roles in Love Is a Many Splendored Thing and Goodbye, Columbus. She was also given a role as a cheerleader in Me, Natalie, allowing her to draw on her high school experiences.
During the course of her time on All My Children, Lucci did a cameo in the Garry Marshall film Young Doctors In Love. After memorable guest starring turns on The Fall Guy and Fantasy Island, Wes Craven tapped her for his 1984 made for TV film, Invitation to Hell. Two years later, she portrayed Antoinette Giancana (the daughter of mobster Salavatore Giancana) and Darya Romanoff, respectively.
Mafia Princess, the former film, was well received but Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna received a number of Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. She would finish out the ’80s with performances in Haunted By Her Past, Lady Mobster and The Bride In Black. In 1990, she was cast in a guest-starring role on the popular series Dallas, an engagement that would last for six episodes.
Where Did Susan Lucci Go From There?
The ’90s were filled with further opportunities for the daytime superstar, as she continued to rack up credits in various made-for-TV films, including The Woman Who Sinned, French Silk and Ebbie. The decade concluded with one of her most prominent roles yet, as she received a great deal of praise for her Broadway debut as Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun.
Various sitcoms would also contact her for guest appearances during the 2000s, as she made cameos on Hope and Faith, That’s So Raven, Hot In Cleveland and Army Wives. She came in sixth place during the 2008 season of Dancing With The Stars, hosted Deadly Affairs and won a series regular role on Lifetime’s Devious Maids. More recently, Lucci guest starred on the Hulu series Difficult People.
Susan Lucci Real Estate Investments
She and her husband Helmut Huber had a 10,622-square-foot mansion constructed for them back in 1989. This estate rests atop 1.4 acres, with a library, 7 bathrooms and 7.5 baths. The couple flipped the house in 2016, taking home nearly $20 million in the process.
Now that Lucci has become an elder stateswoman in the world of acting, her appearances in film and television have become a bit less frequent. This should not surprise anyone after all of the work that she has put in. We look forward to seeing what comes next for the daytime legend, whether it is future acting roles, releases from The Susan Lucci Collection or other entrepreneurial pursuits.
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