When it comes to Hollywood legends, few names come to mind more quickly than John Travolta. The beloved actor has had a long and illustrious career from his breakout role in the iconic musical Grease to his most recent roles in films like The Fanatic and Trading Paint. With all of his success, it’s not surprising that John Travolta has amassed quite a fortune over the course of his career.
Will all those films under his belt, John Travolta net worth is estimated at $250 million! He has made the majority of his earnings from acting, singing, and dancing.
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Childhood
John Joseph Travolta was born on February 18, 1954, as the youngest of six children. His mother, Helen Cecilia, was a singer and actress who had a successful career with The Sunshine Sisters, a radio vocal group before becoming a high school teacher. Salvatore, his father, was a semi-professional American football player turned tire salesman. Growing up, Travolta was surrounded by music and performance, with his parents often taking him to see Broadway musicals and even enrolling him in dance classes.
By the time he was 12 years old, Travolta had already joined an actors group in the area and began appearing in local musicals and dinner-theater performances. His ambition to be an actor was so strong that he decided to drop out as a junior at 17 years old and pursue his dream full-time, moving to Manhattan for his off-Broadway debut in 1972 in Over Here and then taking on a minor role with the touring company of Grease.
John Travolta’s Career Takeoff
His career began to take off shortly thereafter when he moved to LA, where he landed his first major role in Carrie a 1976 horror film.
Travolta’s acting career catapulted to superstardom with his 1975 sitcom on ABC, Welcome Back- Kotter. As Vinnie Barbarino- a dopey high school Lothario- Travolta soon became a national heartthrob with his face printed on t-shirts and lunch boxes in every household.
Travolta’s streak of success continued throughout the 70s and early 80s with the chart-topping single “Let Her In” peaking at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 1976. Furthermore, he starred in highly successful films such as Saturday Night Fever, Urban Cowboy, and Grease. His role in Saturday Night Fever was so impactful that he received a Best Actor Nomination from the Academy Awards at only 24 years old.
This marked the beginning of a long and successful career for John Travolta.
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John Travolta’s Career Struggles and Triumphant Return
The mid-1980s marked a tough period for John Travolta, as his films Two of a Kind (1983) and Perfect (1985) met with both commercial failure and negative reviews. Even Staying Alive (1983), the follow-up to Saturday Night Fever, had mixed reviews, despite its box office success.
However, Travolta made an epic comeback with the release of Look Who’s Talking (1989), which made $297 million more than earnings than Grease. His performance in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994) further solidified his status as an A-list celebrity and earned another Academy Award nomination. This led to a series of successful notable films in the 1990s and 2000s, such as Face/Off, Get Shorty, A Civil Action, Ladder 49, Swordfish, Be Cool, Old Dogs, and Lonely Hearts. In 2007, he made a return to musicals by taking the role of Edna Turnblad in the Hairspray remake.
Since 2010, Travolta has focused mostly on action and thriller genres. A few of his newer works are Savages (2012), Killing Season (2013), and In a Valley of Violence (2016). Also, he has continued to produce films either as an actor or executive producers – like Criminal Activities (2015), Gotti (2018), The Poison Rose(2019), and Paradise City(2022). His next release American Metal is slated for 2023.
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How Much Does John Travolta Make?
John Travolta’s career has seen him amass an incredible fortune thanks to his various blockbuster roles. The actor began with a modest three-picture deal, netting a cool $1 million for the first one Saturday Night Fever alone. However, things drastically changed after his performance in Pulp Fiction raised him to A-list status but only earned him $150,000 for the role.
Travolta went on to star in a number of movies including Get Shorty, Broken Arrow, and Phenomenon, netting himself an astounding $21 million combined. It only got better from there with the actor making $12 million for Michael, followed by $40 million earned for Face/Off and Mad City. Primary Colors and A Civil Action both earned him $17 million and $20 million respectively.
Further roles in Swordfish, Ladder 49, Be Cool and several other projects earned him eight-figure salaries. After his long career of success on the big screen, it’s no surprise that Travolta is now worth millions! Thanks to his smart business and property investments over the years, John Travolta is estimated to have a net worth of around $250 million.
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Personal Life
Actor John Travolta has led an exceptional life both on and off the big screen. In 1991, he married actress Kelly Preston, who sadly passed away from breast cancer in 2020. Together they have three children – Ella Bleu Travolta, Benjamin Travolta, and Jett. His son Jett Travolta died in 2009. In his son’s memory, Travolta founded the Jett Travolta Foundation which provides support for children with special needs.
An active member of the Church of Scientology since 1975, Travolta credits his success and coping with his son’s death to some extent to this faith. Away from work, he devotes time to supporting several charities and is a private pilot who owns five aircraft. He has pilot licenses for Jumbo jet 747 and 707 and 737.
Conclusion
John Travolta’s impressive acting career has spanned decades, with no signs of slowing down. He is still working on film projects today, continuing to make his mark in Hollywood and beyond! From his humble beginnings as a Broadway dancer to his current status as an A-list celebrity, there’s no doubt that Travolta has had an impressive career. His determination and dedication have made him one of the most successful actors in Hollywood.
John Travolta’s net worth of around $250 million is a testament to his hard work and success.
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