Tina Fey's Net Worth in 2024 Is Beyond Fetch

Tina Fey

Tina Fey, known for her comedy writing and acting, has amassed one mean net worth as a result of her work on shows like Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, and thanks to hit movies like Mean Girls. But she wasn't always on easy street, financially speaking.

"I moved to Chicago in 1992 to study improv and it was everything I wanted it to be," she wrote in her 2011 book Bossypants. "It was like a cult. People ate, slept, and definitely drank improv. They worked at crappy day jobs just to hand over their money for improv classes."

She went on to detail how, as part of the touring company for The Second City, she made just $75 per show, and $25 per diem. "Of course, sometimes you'd have a show in Kansas, so you'd have to ride in the van for two days to get to your seventy-five-dollar gig," she wrote. "It wasn't lucrative, but it was show business!"

A lot has changed since then. From her time on SNL to 30 Rock to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Fey has broken barriers for female comedians and made a butt-ton of money doing it. See how she got her start and what her net worth is today.

Related: This Isn't a Regular Guide, It's Your Cool Guide to the 'Mean Girls' Musical Movie

How did Tina Fey get her start?

Fey studied drama at the University of Virginia, and after graduating in 1992 moved to Chicago to take classes at The Second City comedy troupe. There, she learned improv comedy and joined the cast to perform.

Like many famous comedians, she got her first big break on Saturday Night Live. After she submitted samples to the show in ‘97, creator Lorne Michaels hired her on as a writer.

"My first week, I completely froze," Fey told Fresh Air’s Terry Gross. "I couldn't think of anything. It was just too fast a gear shift. ... So I had some pieces that I had written trying to get the job, and I ended up turning them in. And the next week, I think I was able to write something and turn it in. And the week after that maybe, I wrote something that made its way to the dress rehearsal."

Once she got over those early jitters, though, Fey was very successful, earning a promotion to head writer in just a few years. She made her on-screen debut in the 2000-01 season, co-anchoring Weekend Update with Jimmy Fallon, and later joined the cast as a regular.

"It's very fun to be a writer at Saturday Night Live, but it's more fun to do both," she said. "When you're a writer and you hit that after-show party, you're exhausted and you maybe combed your hair and you maybe bought yourself something at Ann Taylor. But if you're on the show, you're all fancy. So in that most basic level, it was an upgrade in the job."

Of course, moving in front of the screen also turned Fey into a household name. She was off to the races.

Related: 20 Richest SNL Cast Members of All Time, Ranked By Net Worth

What is Tina Fey's net worth in 2024?

Tina Fey has an estimated net worth of $75 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Although she’s created some very notable shows and movies, including 30 Rock and Mean Girls, her total net worth is a product of the many writing, producing and acting credits she’s earned over the years.

What shows has Tina Fey created?

Fey created 30 Rock, which ran for seven seasons on NBC, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which had a four-season run on Netflix. Her upcoming show The Four Seasons will see her return as star, co-creator and executive producer as well.

What was Tina Fey's salary at SNL?

Fey’s SNL salary isn’t public information, but the general cast salaries are. A first-year cast member can expect to make $7,000 per episode; which goes up to $8,000 in their second year, $15,000 by their fifth year and $25,000 for long-running, top-paid talent.

But those numbers aren't necessarily set in stone. Cast member Kenan Thompson is estimated to make between $2-3 million per year, a figure much larger than the supposed $25,000-per-episode limit (which would translate to $525,000 per year). And because Fey, who was on the show from 1997 to 2006, also worked as a head writer during her SNL tenure, it’s even harder to guess what she might have been earning.

How much did Tina Fey make per episode of 30 Rock?

At the peak of 30 Rock, which she wrote, produced and starred in, Fey made $500,000 per episode, according to Celebrity Net Worth. That would mean for Season 5, say, which included 23 episodes, she made $11.5 million.

What did Netflix pay Tina Fey for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt?

After NBC passed on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which follows a woman (played by Ellie Kemper) who escapes from a doomsday cult and starts life over in New York, Netflix snatched it up for an undisclosed amount. It's safe to say that Fey was happy with her payday, however, as her relationship with the streamer remains strong to this day. Netflix picked up the third season of Girls5Eva, which Fey executive produces, and it's now home to her upcoming series The Four Seasons, which she will star in, co-create and executive produce.

Related: 'Girls5eva' Moves to Netflix: Everything to Know About Season 3

What did Tina Fey get paid for Mean Girls?

Fey’s Mean Girls paycheck has also been kept under wraps. However, the movie was very commercially successful, making $130 million worldwide on a $17 million budget.

What did Tina Fey get paid for Baby Mama?

Fey reunited with fellow SNL and Weekend Update alum Amy Poehler to star in Baby Mama (2008), a comedy about an uptight, successful businesswoman (played by Fey) who pays a woman down on her luck (Poehler) to be her surrogate.

It’s unknown what Fey made from the role, but the film earned an impressive $60 million domestically on a $30 million budget.

What did Tina Fey make for writing Bossypants?

In 2011, Fey released her memoir, titled Bossypants, a humorous take on her life and how she achieved her childhood dream of becoming a comedian. Before the book hit shelves, she reportedly was paid a $6 million advance. She’s likely earned even more from the nearly 4 million copies sold. Although, initial expectations weren’t so high.

“My goal was just to avoid humiliation,” Fey told The Associated Press, about the publishing of the memoir. “After years of writing character-based comedy in a group process with other writers, a book ‘about me written by me alone’ made me feel panicky and vulnerable. I kept telling my husband, ‘This is going to ruin me.’”

What did Tina Fey get paid for the Mean Girls musical movie?

Fey has returned to the world of Mean Girls—and not for the first time. Since she wrote and starred in the iconic 2004 version, she also adapted it into a Broadway musical in 2018. Now, the two concepts have been mashed into a musical film, complete with a 13-song soundtrack.

Although Mean Girls (2024) rehashes a lot of what we know and love about the original, it’s a totally new interpretation. The goal was to connect to what’s relevant in 2024 while not losing itself too much in passing trends.

“I do sometimes run things by my kids,” Fey told USA Today. “Early on, there was conversation of, ‘Would the Burn Book still be a physical book or should it be a private Instagram?’ I knew what my instinct was, but I ran it by my kids. And my older daughter was like, ‘Yeah, no. Don't let those millennials overthink it!’”

While we don’t know Tina Fey’s paycheck for the new Mean Girls movie, it sounds like she had plenty of fun making it.

What did Tina Fey get paid for hosting the Golden Globes?

Fey teamed up with Amy Poehler (clearly a popular duo) to host the 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2021 Golden Globe Awards. When they were first announced as hosts in 2013, it was reported that they would make $4 million each for the gig. However, their representatives later told Vanity Fair that the number was grossly exaggerated.

According to VF, pay for hosting an awards show like the Golden Globes is usually, at the most, in the low six figures.

Next, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Announce First Live Tour Together—Everything We Know