Denzel Washington Net Worth

Denzel Washington has consistently been one of Hollywood’s busiest and most successful actors, gaining both critical acclaim and box office success for his work in film, television, and live theater. That success has led to an equally large salary. In his best years, Washington has consistently earned between $60 and $80 million dollars. His overall net worth has been estimated at $280 million dollars.

The Early Life of Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington was born on December 28, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York. His father, Denzel Hayes Washington, Sr., was a Pentecostal minister who also worked for the New York City Water Department and at a department store. His mother, Lennis “Lynne” Washington, was a beauty parlor owner.

Washington attended the Pennington Grimes Elementary School in Mount Vernon. In 1968, his parents divorced, and his mother sent him to the Oakland Military Academy in New Windsor, New York, a private military school. Washington subsequently attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1970 and 1971.

Washington attended Fordham University, earning a BA in Drama and Journalism in 1977. He spent a year working as the creative director for a YMCA camp in Connecticut and decided to pursue graduate studies in acting. While a graduate student at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus, he was cast in Shakespeare’s Othello, and in the play The Emperor Jones, by Eugene O’Neill.

Denzel Washington attended graduate school at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California for one year, then returned to New York to start a career as a professional actor.

When did Denzel Washington begin his career as an actor?

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Washington began his professional acting career.

In 1976, he appeared in Wings of the Morning as a character based loosely on the historical African American figure in colonial Maryland, Mathias da Sousa, in a summer stock theater production in St. Mary’s City, Maryland. In 1977, Washington appeared in Wilma, a made-for-television film. In 1981, Washington made his first Hollywood film, Carbon Copy. In 1982, he played Melvin Peterson in A Soldier’s Play, produced by the Off-Broadway Negro Ensemble Company.

From 1982 to 1988, Washington was cast as Dr. Phillip Chandler on the television show St. Elsewhere. Washington also began to receive steady work in television, motion picture, and stage productions. His films in this period included A Soldier’s Story, released in 1984, Hard Lessons, and Power, both released in 1986. In 1987, Washington played South African activist Steven Biko in Sir Richard Attenborough’s anti-apartheid film Cry Freedom. His work in Cry Freedom received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Washington appeared in three films in 1989; The Mighty Quinn, For Queen and Country, and Glory. His performance in Glory earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Washington continued working as an actor in films, in a wide variety of roles. His portrayal of Malcolm X, in the film by Spike Lee, gained him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. His performance in the role of Reuben “Hurricane” Carter, a boxer unjustly convicted, resulted in both a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture and a Silver Bear award from the Berlin film festival.

In 2000, Denzel Washington appeared in the Disney film Remember the Titans.

In 2001, Washington received an Academy Award for Best Actor in the police drama Training Day.

At the same time, Washington continued appearances in live theater and stage productions. His roles included Brutus, in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and Richard III, in the play by Shakespeare.

Washington appeared in the revival of August Wilson’s Fences, in the role of Troy Maxson. His performance won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 2010. In 2016, Washington repeated the role when he starred in and directed a film adaptation of Fences.  His performance was nominated for Best Actor in both the Golden Globe and Academy Awards, and the film received numerous other nominations, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Washington’s co-star, Viola Davis, received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Most recently, in 2021, Denzel Washington appeared in a film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the title role. His performance was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Satellite Award, and a Screen Actors’ Guild Award.

What Charitable Work has Denzel Washington Done?

Denzel Washington is a devout Christian. In 1995, he gave $2.5 million for the rebuilding of the new West Angeles Church of God in Christ.

• Since 1993, Washington has been the official spokesman for the Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs of America. Washington has donated and appeared in public service announcements and worked to raise public awareness of the organization.
• In 2004, Washington donated to the Fisher House Foundation, a program that assists military personnel and their family members with housing free of charge while they receive medical care. Washington began his work with the Fisher House Foundation when he attended a Purple Heart award ceremony at Fort Sam Houston and learned that the local facility had exceeded its capacity. He subsequently made a large donation.
• In 2021, the United States Army recognized Denzel Washington’s work on behalf of the Fisher House Foundation by making him an Honorary Sergeant Major of the Army.
• In 2011, Washington donated $2 million to Fordham University to endow a professorship in the theater department. He also donated $250,000 to create a scholarship in the theater department. Washington has also donated $1 million to Wiley College to endow the debate team, and $1 million to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
• In 2006, the Colombian guerilla movement FARC sought assistance from Denzel Washington, Oliver Stone, and Michael Moore in an effort to negotiate the release of three defense contractors that had been held by the organization since 2003.

For his professional and charitable work, Denzel Washington received honorary doctor’s degrees from both Morehouse College and the University of Pennsylvania.

Denzel Washington’s Personal Life

Denzel Washington married Pauletta Pearson in 1983. The couple met while Washington was working on Wilma, his first film role. The couple has four children; John David Washington, Malcolm Washington, Olivia Washington, and Katia Washington.

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