Chiwetel Ejiofor Net Worth (Updated 2023) – Bio Overview

Chiwetel Ejiofor is a well-known British actor, film director, and screenwriter who has a net worth of $16 Million. The actor started his career by appearing as Othello in the stage production of the play in 1995.

In the following year, Ejiofor starred in the television film entitled Deadly Voyage and then played the supporting role of Ensign James Covey in Steven Spielberg’s historical movie Amistad. Since then the actor started getting offers for many popular projects including films and television series.

Chiwetel Ejiofor rose to fame for playing the role of Okwe in the hit film Dirty Pretty Things in 2002. His appearance in the films Kinky Boots, and 12 Years a Slave, earned him various nominations and accolades for his outstanding performance. 

Net Worth 2023

Early Life

Chiwetelu Umeadi Ejiofor was born on the 10th of July 1977, in London, England. He was raised by middle-class Nigerian Igbo parents Arinze Ejiofor and Obiajulu. His mother was a pharmacist while his father worked as a doctor and died in 1988. His little sister Zain Asher is pursuing a career as a CNN correspondent.

When Chiwetel was only 11 years old, he and his dad were on a trip to marriage in Nigeria, where his father died in a car accident while being involved in a head-on automobile accident. He also got some injuries that left scars on his forehead.

Moving on to his education, Ejiofor attended Dulwich College in Dulwich, southeast London, where he also participated in an acting school production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. He discovered his passion for acting at an early age and to pursue a career he joined National Youth Theatre.

Early Career

Shortly after he got offered to join the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, but he left it the following year after being cast in Steven Spielberg’s historical film “Amistad” in 1997. That was the time when Ejiofor made his acting debut by playing the role of Ens.

James Covey in this historical movie. His professional debut was in the 1995s production of Othello and then he repeated his role in 1996 in Glasgow. In the same year, Ejiofor made his film debut in the television film titled Deadly Voyage in which he played the role of Ebow.

Film

After his debut film Amistad, Ejiofor starred in the British drama film titled G: MT – Greenwich Mean Time, in 1999. In 2000 he got an opportunity to play the lead role of Nicky Burkett in the comedy film It Was an Accident. 

The breakthrough moment of his career was in 2002 when he appeared in the social thriller movie Dirty Pretty Things by Stephen Frears. In this hit film, he played the lead role of Okwe lander alongside Audrey Tautou. His outstanding performance won him the British Independent Film Award in the category of Best Actor.

He starred in the 2003s Christmas-themed romantic comedy movie Love Actually and then as Mark Hayward in the crime film Three Blind Mice. Ejiofor started appearing in movies which include, Frank Wills in “She Hate Me, Alex Mpondo in the post-apartheid drama “Red Dust, and Ellis Moonsong in the comedy film Melinda and Melinda. 

In 2005, he became a cast member in films including, “Four Brothers in the role of Victor Sweet and Slow Burn as Ty Trippin. That same year he gained fame after appearing in a critically acclaimed dramedy “Kinky Boots, as well as the space Western “Serenity.

Ejiofor further appeared in films such as Inside Man as Detective Bill Mitchell, Children of Men as Luke, Talk to Me as Dewey Hughes, American Gangster as Huey Lucas, Redbelt as Mike Terry, Endgame as Thabo Mbeki, and as Adrian Helmsley in Roland Emmerich science fiction film 2012 which became a disaster.

Breakthrough

In 2010 Ejiofor got a chance to star alongside legendary actress Angelina Jolie in a highly acclaimed action thriller film entitled “Salt. After the three years of break, the actor came back and appear in three historical family drama films including, “Savannah,” “Half of a Yellow Sun,” and “12 Years a Slave.

His outstanding performance in the role of Solomon Northup in the biographical film 12 Years a Slave earned him several award nominations and accolades, as well as the film, became one of the most lauded films of the year 2013.

For this film, Ejiofor received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and the film itself earned the Best Picture Award. After getting massive success from there, Ejiofor appeared in some big projects such as “Z for Zachariah, The Martian, Secret in Their Eyes in 2015, Triple 9, Doctor Strange in 2016, and Come Sunday, and Mary Magdalene, in 2018. 

Aside from just being an actor, Ejiofor made directorial his debut with the 2019 African historical drama film entitled The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. In this film, he also played the role of Trywell Kamkwamba.

It was the same year when he appeared in films such as Disney Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and the remake of The Lion King. In 2020, he starred as Copley in the American superhero film, The Old Guard, and then his subsequent credits include 2021’s films, Locked Down, and Infinite. 

Television

Chiwetel made his first television show appearance in the 2001s BBC One thriller drama anthology sequence entitled Murder in Mind, in which he played the role of DS McCorkindale.

Shortly after he starred as Orsino in the romantic comedy movie Twelfth Night which is a television film adaptation. He then became cast as Ashley Carter on BBC One legal drama Trust and the BBC One adaptation titled The Canterbury Tales.

Chiwetel came to the limelight in 2006 when he played the role of Ian Carter in the disaster drama television miniseries Tsunami: The Aftermath, which is about the 2004s Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. He received a nomination for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for his amazing performance.

The Shadow Line was the 2011s seven-part BBC Two crime miniseries in which Ejiofor appeared. After taking two years of break, he came up with the role of Mock Prosecutor in the biographical television film titled Phil Spector. The actor again earned a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the biographical drama miniseries Dancing on the Edge.

Theatre

Chiwetel Ejiofor has managed to establish himself in the theater industry by appearing in several hit projects. During the 1990s, Ejiofor performed in Othello, Macbeth, and Sparkleshark. The turning point of his stage career came in 2000 when he got an opportunity to appear in Royal National Theatre productions of Blue/Orange, Romeo, and Juliet, as well as Peer Gynt, for which he earned a lot of stardom.

Then he starred as Nicky Lancaster in 2002’s The Vortex by Noël Coward. Ejiofor portrayed Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin in 2007s The Seagull by Royal Court Theatre and at Donmar Warehouse he repeated his character in Othello. He also appeared in A Season in the Congo (2013) and Everyman (2015).

Personal Life

From 2000 to 2007, Chiwetel Ejiofor was in a romantic relationship with English actress Naomie Harris. Then Ejiofor met Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o while they were filming for film director Steve McQueen. It was RUMORed that the two have been dating but none of them confirmed that report.

According to some recent reports, Chiwetel Ejiofor and actress Sari Mercer have been dating and they were spotted on several occasions including the award shows.

In 2008, Chiwetel was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He earned a Global Promise Award in honor of his charity work in Nigeria, after seven years. The award was given by the non-profit welfare group the GEANCO Foundation.

The mid of 2016, Ejiofor was featured along with many celebrities in a 2016 video from the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR to support spreading awareness about the global refugee crisis.

Biography

Chiwetel Ejiofor Net Worth

As of 2023, Chiwetel Ejiofor Net Worth is estimated to be around $16 million. He is one of the top actors in the film and television industry and has received a lot of fame throughout his career. The main source of his income comes from his profession as an actor and filmmaker.

The actor has accumulated a vast chunk of money from his appearance in numerous hit projects. He first came to the spotlight after being cast as Okwe in the film Dirty Pretty Things in 2002. Some of Chiwetel Ejiofor’s highlighted projects are including, the 2013 film 12 Years a Slave and the 2007s William Shakespeare play titled Othello.

Ejiofor started his professional acting career when he was only 13 years old and since then he starred in various films and television series which made him rich. In 2007s The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), Ejiofor was one of 115 celebrities who were invited. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s annual income is roughly $2 million and his net worth of growing regularly.

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