Shonda Rhimes Net Worth

Shonda Rhimes is best known as the creator of the television show “Grey’s Anatomy,” and she’s also served as the executive producer on several popular television shows, which means Shonda Rhimes net worth is one of the most impressive in Hollywood.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Shonda had five siblings growing up and started telling stories early in life. She eventually earned a graduate degree from the University of Southern California and became one of her generation’s most well-known television showrunners.

What is Shonda Rhimes Net Worth?

As the executive producer of several shows and the owner of her own company, Shondaland, Shonda Rhimes net worth is an estimated $140 million, and she earns around $15 million every year. Her wealth comes from her creative control of several well-known series and her agreements with entertainment juggernauts like Netflix and ABC, which the Walt Disney Company owns. 

Her early projects in the late 1990s and 2000s included a documentary about Hank Aaron, a biopic on HBO called “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,” and “Crossroads,” which was Britney Spears debut film. Her rise to fame would start in 2003 when ABC bought her pitch for “Grey’s Anatomy.” The show debuted as a midseason replacement in 2005 with a TV pilot that remains popular today.

The show drew in millions and millions of viewers in its first year and was eventually given a vital time slot on Thursday night. Since then, Shonda has enjoyed success after success with her many television series. Due to her many concurrent projects, Shonda Rhimes net worth will likely rise significantly in the next decade.

Who is Shonda Rhimes?

Most people know Shonda Rhimes as the creator of “Grey’s Anatomy” and the executive producer of countless popular television series. Shonda spent years in college to reach her status as one of the most-coveted content creators in Hollywood. She first attended Dartmouth College, majoring in English and film studies, and graduated in 1991. After working for an advertising agency in San Francisco, she decided to move to Los Angeles and attend the University of Southern California for her graduate degree.

She graduated at the top of her class at USC, focusing on screenwriting. She was initially an unemployed screenwriter in Hollywood but wouldn’t remain that way for long. She found work on a documentary in 1995, which won a Peabody Award.

Her next job came in 1999 when she was hired to write the screenplay for the film “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.” She also helped write “The Princess Diaries 2” and expressed joy at working with screen legend Julie Andrews. She was still an unknown writer at this time, however, so Shonda Rhimes worth wasn’t yet into the millions of dollars.

March 2005 was a landmark month for Shonda Rhimes when “Grey’s Anatomy” was released and immediately garnered huge ratings. In 2017, Shonda revealed in an interview that aired on the E! network that she would create new “Grey’s Anatomy” episodes for as long as star Ellen Pompeo wanted to star in Rhimes series and play Meredith Grey. By the end of the 2022 season, “Grey’s Anatomy” was up to an astounding 400 episodes. 

After years of creating celebrated series on network television, Shonda inked a deal with streaming service Netflix, which would air all of Shonda’s new productions for the next several years. The first project was a series called “Inventing Anna,” which was about a mysterious woman who duped high society New Yorkers into believing she was a German heiress. The series starred Anna Chlumsky. The second project to air on Netflix as part of the deal was the “Bridgerton” series, which was initially a set of books penned by author Julia Quinn.

Shonda has worked with lauded performers like Viola Davis, Laverne Cox, and Kerry Washington throughout her career. She’s had the opportunity to work with Julie Andrews twice in “Princess Diaries 2” and “Bridgerton.”

As for her personal life, Shonda Rhimes has three children. She adopted two children in 2002 and 2012 and had a third child via a surrogate in 2013. Her first college degree was from Dartmouth College, giving her an honorary doctorate in 2014. Shonda gave the commencement speech at the university that year. Rhimes reached another milestone in 2015 when she lost more than 100 pounds through exercise and a healthy diet.

Key Facts About Shonda Rhimes

• Both of Shonda’s parents worked as educators.
• Shonda originally wanted to become a novelist but decided to attend film school instead.
• Shonda Rhimes has three children, two adopted and one via a surrogate.
• Shonda is a huge fan of Chicago-style pizza, and her favorite restaurant for it is Aurelio’s.
• She’s the youngest of six children and has two brothers and three sisters.
• Shonda Rhimes’s first feature film, “Crossroads,” starred pop princes Britney Spears.
• Shonda Rhimes has written the end of “Grey’s Anatomy” several times but never actually ended it.
• The last “Grey’s” episode Rhimes wrote was an episode from 2015.
• She wrote a book called “Year of Yes,” where she spent a year conquering her fears.
• The deal Rhimes signed with Netflix is worth an estimated $100 million, which boosted her net worth tremendously.

What is Shonda Rhimes Up to Today?

Shonda is well into her producing deal with Netflix and is enjoying the massive success of the “Bridgerton” series. When it premiered, the series’ second season was viewed in an estimated 627.11 million households in just the first 28 days.

At the very least, “Bridgerton” will have four seasons, but since there are several books, the series may get renewed for many more seasons. The series was so incredibly popular upon its debut that Netflix and Shonda decided to create a spinoff series about Queen Charlotte, one of the famous characters from “Bridgerton.”

Shonda’s also working on a series called “Notes on Love,” which features episodes written by lauded performers and writers like Normal Lear and Steve Martin. Shonda also remains involved in the production of “Grey’s Anatomy,” and her creative influence will likely remain until the series ends.

Shonda Lynn Rhimes FAQs

• What is Shonda Rhimes Net Worth?

Shona Rhimes’ net worth is $140 million USD.

• How much money does Shonda Rhimes earn?

Shonda Rhimes’ salary is at least $15 million per year.

• How tall is Shonda Rhimes?

Shonda Rhimes is 5’ 6” tall.

• How old is Shonda Rhimes?

Shonda Rhimes is 52 years old. 

• When is Shonda Rhimes’s birthday?

Shonda Rhimes’s birthday is January 13, 1970.

Shonda Rhimes FAQs