James Earl Jones' Net Worth and How Much He Made with His Iconic Voice
James Earl Jones' net worth, no matter how high, would be low compared to how legendary and recognizable his voice is.
The iconic stage and screen actor died on Sept. 9, 2024, after nearly seven decades of entertaining the world with his famous booming baritone, which became the voice of iconic characters like Darth Vader in Star Wars, Mufasa in The Lion King and even the voice of the "This is CNN" tagline.
His influence far surpassed his wealth, however, and he doesn't mind that.
In 2011, he told The Hollywood Reporter the best advice his father—an actor who was blacklisted in the McCarthy era—gave him: "'If you want to do this business, you gotta do it because you love it, not because it’s gonna make you rich or famous.' That was the best advice he could give me."
Find out James Earl Jones' net worth in 2024 and how he became such an icon.
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How did James Earl Jones become famous?
Jones was born in Mississippi on Jan. 17, 1931, and his father Robert Earl Jones left the family when Jones was 5 years old to pursue acting and boxing. Not long afterward, his mother remarried and left him in the care of his grandparents on a farm in Michigan, according to The New York Times.
The trauma of his parents' abandonment, as well as his grandmother's racism, left Jones with a stutter. He refused to speak for years and communicated almost solely in writing until high school, when an English teacher encouraged him to write and recite poetry to the class. When Jones did so, his stammer was gone—and he once said that once he began to talk again, he "never stopped." He began competing in orating contests and joined the debate team at his school.
"Just discovering the joy of communicating set it up for me, I think," he told The New York Times. "In a very personal way, once I found out I could communicate verbally again, it became a very important thing for me, like making up for lost time, making up for the years that I didn't speak."
After high school, he initially studied pre-med on a scholarship at the University of Michigan, but fell in love with acting when he joined a drama group. He changed his major to drama before dropping out in 1953, later completing his degree in 1955.
Jones briefly served in the Army before he moved to New York City to focus on his acting career, working odd jobs to make ends meet. He performed in several plays with his own father, as well as in the New York Shakespeare Festival. His breakout came in 1969 for The Great White Hope, for which he won his first Tony Award and reprised the role in the 1970 film adaptation, nabbing him his first and only Academy Award nomination.
By the 1970s he was a staple in the Big Apple arts community and a bona fide star of stage and screen.
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What was James Earl Jones' net worth?
James Earl Jones' net worth was estimated at $40 million at the time of his passing in September 2024.
He previously told The Guardian that while he loves his work, he also is happy to do jobs for the money, too.
"Denzel Washington, Sidney Poitier, Robert Redford, Tom Cruise: those guys have well-planned careers. I'm just on a journey." he said. "Wherever I run across a job, I say, 'OK, I'll do that.'"
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How much did James Earl Jones sell his voice for?
Jones was most famous for his voice, which gave life to iconic characters like Star Wars' Darth Vader and Mufasa of The Lion King. He was only paid $7,000 for voicing Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope, and he eschewed an actual credit to let David Prowse, who played the physical character, shine.
LucasFilm/Disney
In September 2022, Jones officially retired from voicing Darth Vader, but only partially: According to Vanity Fair, he gave permission to young filmmakers—as well as Lucasfilm and Disney—to use archival recordings of his voice for future projects. It's not known how much he was paid in the deal or how much he'll make per use.
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When was the last time James Earl Jones voiced Darth Vader?
LucasFilm/Disney
Jones last voiced Darth Vader in 2019's Star Wars: Episode 9 - The Rise of Skywalker, saying a mere three words: "Inside your head." His voice was also heard in 2022's Obi Wan Kenobi series, though it may have been archival.
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What movie made James Earl Jones famous?
Jones' breakout film was The Great White Hope in 1970, earning him his first and somehow only Oscar nomination.
His most iconic roles since have included Mufasa in The Lion King, the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, Dr. Strangelove, Coming to America, Field of Dreams, The Hunt for Red October and more.
What did James Earl Jones win an Oscar for?
Jones won an honorary Lifetime Achievement Award Oscar in 2011.
What awards did James Earl Jones win?
Throughout his career, he earned:
One Lifetime Achievement Academy Award (2011) (plus one Oscar nomination in 1970 for Best Actor for The Great White Hope)
Two Primetime Emmy Awards (in 1990 and 1991 for Best Actor in a Miniseries for Heatwave and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel's Fire, respectively), plus six other Primetime Emmy nominations
One Daytime Emmy Award (2000 for Outstanding Performer in Children's Special for Summer's End) plus one other nomination (1988 for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming for CBS Schoolbreak Special)
One Golden Globe (1970) for Most Promising Newcomer — Male for The Great White Hope, plus three other nominations
One Grammy (1977) for Best Spoken Word for Great American Documents, plus two other nominations
One Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Lifetime Achievement (2009), plus one other nomination
Three Tony Awards (1969 for Best Actor in a Play for The Great White Hope, 1987 for Best Actor in a Play for Fences and 2017 for Lifetime Achievement), plus two other nominations
Six Drama Desk Awards (1960 Vernon Rice Award for Othello; Distinguished Performance Awards for The Great White Hope in 1969, Les Blancs in 1971, The Cherry Orchard and Hamlet in 1973; Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1987 for Fences), plus one other nomination
Two NAACP Image Awards (1975 for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for Claudine and in 1993 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel's Fire), plus five other nominations
One Theatre World Award (1962 for Distinguished Performance in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl)
Three Outer Critics Circle Awards (Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1987 for Fences, Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play in 2008 for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and in 2012 for The Best Man), plus one other nomination
One Independent Spirit Award nomination (1987) for Best Supporting Actor in Matewan
One Critics' Choice Television Award nomination (2014) for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series for The Big Bang Theory
Two CableACE Awards (Best Actor in a Dramatic Series for American Playwrights Theater and Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Heat Wave, both in 1991), plus one other nomination
One Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award (1995) for Best Actor for Cry, My Beloved Country
One Chicago Film Critics Association Oscar Micheaux Award (2011)
Three Black Reel Awards nominations
National Medal of Arts (1992)
National Board of Review Career Achievement Award (1995)
Kennedy Center Honors (2002)
How rich was James Earl Jones?
With an estimated net worth of $40 million, Jones was quite wealthy.