Here's How Morgan Freeman Became A Hollywood Legend And Made His $250 Million Fortune
When an actor is so diligent in their work that they're even allowed to play the role of God Almighty more than once in separate films, then you know they're in an elite class of their own. As blasphemous as that may be for many religious groups, Morgan Freeman was given the role of the Creator of the universe at what can be considered the height of his career, although he was already sixty-six years old at the time. Now, currently at eighty-six years old, Freeman has received numerous accolades for his outstanding work as an actor, producer, and narrator, such as Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award. In addition, he has collaborated with some of the most popular names in entertainment, both old and new, such as Canadian actor Dan Aykroyd, renowned actor Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Danny Glover, and the iconic Denzel Washington. Here's the story behind Morgan Freeman and how he amassed his $250 million fortune as an A-list actor.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee on June 1st, 1937, Morgan Freeman is the last son of Mamie Edna who worked as a teacher and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, who worked as a barber. Freeman was born in a time when slavery and segregation were very prevalent in the United States. It was revealed via DNA analysis that his ancestors were traced back to the Republic of Niger in West Africa. His great-grandparents were enslaved people who migrated from North Carolina to Mississippi during the abolition of slavery; the type of dehumanizing slavery you see in movies like Jamie Foxx's Django Unchained.
He moved around quite frequently with his family during his childhood, from Mississippi to Indiana, and finally settling in Chicago, Illinois. During those years, he made his acting debut at the age of nine by leading a school play, and by the age of twelve he came out victorious at a statewide drama competition. It was around this time that he discovered music and theater in school - there was no turning back from that moment on.
In an attempt to run from his calling to act, he rejected a drama scholarship from Jackson State University, choosing rather to enlist in the United States Air Force, where he served as an Automatic Tracking Radar repairman from 1955 to 1959. It was only after this time that he moved to Los Angeles, California and pursued acting classes as well as theater arts, where he also picked up dancing.
According to the Library of Congress, 1964 was the year when the Civil Rights Act was passed, which was meant to prohibit discrimination and desegregation in public settings such as in schools and places of employment. Ironically, this was the same year that Freeman began working as a dancer for the Opera Ring musical theater group in San Francisco. The same year, he acted in the play, The Royal Hunt of The Sun, whose cast also included Oliver Cotton, Graham Crowden, and the legendary Anthony Hopkins. It was after his role in this play that Freeman decided to choose acting over dancing.
With acting as his newfound passion, Freeman made his Off-Broadway debut in the 1967 play The Niggerlovers, starring alongside Viveca Lindfors and actor Stacy Keach. Then, in 1971, he got a break in the children's television series, The Electric Company, which also featured dancer and actress Rita Moreno and the controversial TV personality, Bill Cosby, which gave him much-needed recognition. Also in 1971, he was cast in actor Jack Klugman's family drama Who Says I Can't Ride A Rainbow!, which became his first credited feature film appearance. He went on to feature in multiple other stage productions in the years that followed.
In 1980, Freeman continued to expand his acting prowess with his role in the prison drama, Attica, which grossed $37.1 million at the box office. The same year, he received an Obie Award for his role in the Shakespearean tragedy Coriolanus. His second Obia Award came in 1989 for his role as a preacher in the musical The Gospel at Colonus.
He continued to dabble in soap operas and other television series thereafter, such as Another World and The Atlanta Child Murders, which kept him busy and sharpened his acting skills. The year 1989 proved to be a busy year for Freeman, as he starred alongside the acting legends Denzel Washington and Matthew Broderick, in the historical war drama, Glory, which grossed $27 million at the box office. Following that was the comedy-drama, Driving Miss Daisy ($145 million worldwide). His third dynamite film that year was Lean on Me ($31 million), followed by Walter Hill's Johnny Handsome, starring action star Mickey Rourke and actress Ellen Barkin.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, in 1987, Freeman was cast in the crime thriller, Street Smart, alongside Christopher Reeve, which earned him an Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Besides dancing and acting, Freeman also uses his smooth yet powerful voice to narrate documentaries and television series, such as the 1990 television documentary series, The Civil War. In the following years, he went on to star in high-grossing films such as the 1991 action adventure film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner, which grossed $390 million worldwide; Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, starring veteran actor Gene Hackman ($159 million); The Shawshank Redemption (1994), and the medical disaster film Outbreak (1995); Seven starring Brad Pitt which grossed a whopping $327 million, and the 1998 science-fiction disaster film Deep Impact, which grossed close to $350 million.
Freeman kicked off the new millennium with a leading role in the black comedy, Nurse Betty, co-starring with comedy king Chris Rock. His next major box office hit came in 2003 with the fantasy comedy, Bruce Almighty, starring the eccentric comedian Jim Carrey, and grossing $484 million worldwide. The following year was Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby starring action actress Hilary Swank, which grossed $216 million, and which earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
As a spin-off following the success of Bruce Almighty, Freeman was again cast as God in the 2007 comedy Evan Almighty, this time starring actor and comedian Steve Carell. However, the film didn't fare as well as Bruce Almighty and was a flop at the box office. The same year, he also starred in the buddy-comedy-drama, The Bucket List, alongside the legend himself, Jack Nicholson. Following that, he again teamed up with director Clint Eastwood in 2009 for the production of Invictus, where he played the role of Nelson Mandela opposite Matt Damon, which grossed $122 million. By this time, Freeman was recognized as an established actor.
As part of his more recent work, Freeman again played the role of an important White House figure in the action thriller, Olympus Has Fallen ($170 million), starring this time beside The Dark Knight star Aaron Eckhart and Gerard Butler. Another box office success for him that year was heist film, Now You See Me, which grossed $351 million. This was the first installment of the movie series, and the sequel, Now You See Me 2 (2016), grossed $334 million at the box office. In the same year, he reprised his role as Allan Trumball in London Has Fallen, a sequel to Olympus Has Fallen, which grossed $205 million globally. Then in 2019, he again reprised the same role in Angel Has Fallen, starring again beside Gerard Butler as well as actress Jada Pinkett Smith, which was another success at the box office, grossing $146 million.
Many of the smaller films Freeman has acted in have not been mentioned, and the total number of movies he has appeared in is around 113. With close to sixty years of acting on his resume, it's no wonder he has a net worth of $250 million!
Sources: Celebrity Net Worth, Library of Congress, Roger Ebert
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