Heart Like a Truck, Bank Account Like a Cadillac: Lainey Wilson's Net Worth In 2023
Lainey Wilson
Lainey Wilson's net worth in 2023 is a far cry from her nights freezing in a camper while struggling to make it in Nashville, but her story turned out exactly the way she wanted it to.
"All I've ever wanted to do is sing country music and tell stories that people connect to," Wilson previously told Parade. "It wasn't until once I saw how my career was starting to unravel and the opportunities that were coming my way I'm like, 'Wow! There's going to be other opportunities that come along with this that I never in a million years even imagined.'"
Those opportunities including touring with A-list country acts, starring in one of the top-rated shows on TV and more. Find out Lainey Wilson's net worth and how she made it.
Related: Lainey Wilson Talks Yellowstone and More
How did Lainey Wilson become famous?
Wilson was born and raised in the very small town of Baskin, Louisiana. After learning a few chords on guitar from her father, she began writing her own music as a pre-teen and performing as a Hannah Montana impersonator and released an EP on MySpace when she was still in high school.
After graduating high school, she moved to Nashville in 2011, playing small venues and working on her songwriting. She released her self-titled debut in 2014 on a small label, and in 2016, her sophomore effort, Tougher, generated a lot of buzz around her. Tougher's success on the Top Country Albums chart led to her releasing another self-titled record, which secured her a publishing deal and a management deal in 2018. She signed with BBR Records the same year, and the success of singles "Listen Up" and "Things a Man Oughta Know"—combined with a tour with Morgan Wallen—helped solidify her as a country force to be reckoned with. Her success was further solidified by her appearance on Yellowstone.
What is Lainey Wilson's net worth in 2023?
Though the figures have yet to be substantiated anywhere credible, Lainey Wilson's net worth in 2023 has been estimated to be anywhere between $2 million and $7 million.
What happened to Lainey Wilson's family?
Wilson's father, Brian Wilson, was hospitalized in late July 2022 and had to undergo nine surgeries in the span of about a month.
"He spent two months in a hospital from a fungal infection that completely took out the left side of his face," Wilson previously told Taste of Country. "They had to remove his eye, and they had to remove some bones and stuff in his face. He had a stroke on top of all of that."
In addition to surgery, her father had to get physical therapy and rehabilitation as well, but was able to come home that October. Thankfully, he's doing well now.
What does Lainey Wilson's father do for a living?
Wilson's father is a farmer. While his name is Brian Wilson, he was never one of the Beach Boys!
Related: With Four 2023 ACM Awards, Lainey Wilson Says 'Country Music Is Starting to Love Me Back'
Did Lainey Wilson live in a trailer?
Talk about humble beginnings. When she first moved to Nashville, Wilson lived in a camper. She recalled to Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music Country (via CMT), "I had some of the darkest days of my entire life in that camper. It would be 20 degrees outside, my furnace wasn't working, and I would just wrap up in jackets. I could see my breath in the camper, and I thought, just to myself, 'Lord, I hope this is temporary. I hope this is temporary because it's hard.'"
"I knew deep in my heart that it truly was only preparing me, too," she added. "I think it's been the Lord's way of showing me, 'Hey, look, this route ain't going to be easy. It ain't going to be what you thought it was going to be, but I'm preparing you to be able to say more, to share more.'"
How did Lainey Wilson get on Yellowstone?
Wilson's first foray with Taylor Sheridan's universe was when he requested to use her music in Yellowstone in 2018.
"[Sheridan] was a fan of mine; we're fans of his. He invited us to Vegas to play at this horse riding competition where I got to hang out with him, talk to him, shake his hand, and get to know him," she told CMT in 2022. They exchanged numbers, and three of her tunes were used in the series by 2020.
That August, she performed for the Yellowstone cast and crew, including Sheridan. In February 2022, Sheridan called her and proposed a role for her on the hit series.
"He said, 'I want to create a role specifically for you,' and I'm like, 'You’re sure you want to do that? Let's do it!' I love doing things that are scary," she said. "I love stepping outside my comfort zone."
That role became Abby, and it wasn't too far from her comfort zone—she played a musician!
Related: Shows Like Yellowstone
What did Lainey Wilson do for Miley Cyrus?
Wilson impersonated Miley Cyrus' character Hannah Montana when she was in middle and high school.
"I would do three or four birthday parties a weekend," she recalled (via American Songwriter), adding that for about five straight years she was "booked and busy" as the Disney Channel icon.
"Then when I got to Nashville, for the next 12 years, I wasn't booked and busy, so [it was] a lot of highs and lows," she said. "But I did that for a long time."
Why did Lainey Wilson leave Yellowstone?
Wilson revealed on the Dutton Rules podcast that she almost quit Yellowstone because her father was dealing with a health scare during filming—but it was her father who encouraged her to continue with the show.
"I was in Houston with my daddy standing next to his bed, and I was like, 'I'm not going to film. I can't do it. I can't do it.' And he woke up just in time before I really made up my mind," she recalled. "And he said, 'I don't care if it was my funeral, if you got a job that needs to be done you'd better go do it and not come back until it's done.' And so, I had to kind of pull up my bootstraps and I had to think what would he want me to do. I had to find that courage from a place I had never actually had [dug] down so deep inside."
Related: Your Guide to Every Taylor Sheridan Yellowstone Spinoff Series
Did Lainey Wilson win American Idol?
Not only did Wilson never win American Idol, she auditioned for it seven times before she even made it to the first round of auditions—and that was as far as she went on the singing competition series.
How many times did Lainey Wilson try out for The Voice?
Wilson didn't reveal how many times she auditioned for The Voice, but she never actually made it onto the show. Their loss!
