Maya Angelou, born Marguarite Ann Johnson, was an American author, actress, singer, poet, teacher, public speaker and a civil rights activist with a net worth of $10 million. She was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis , Missoury and died on May 28, 2014 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her mother was Vivian Baxter Johnson, a nurse and card dealer, and her father was Bailey Johnson, a navy dietitian and doorman. She had an older brother, Bailey Junior. When Maya was three and her brother four, their parents got divorced and the children were sent to Stamps, Arkansas to their grandmother, Annie Henderson, who ran a general store.
Maya Angelou Net Worth $10 Million
Angelou‘s net worth mainly comes from her writing career, specifically her autobiographies, but her work as a singer, poet, teacher, actress and even film producer and director contributed to the total amount. Maya knew and was friends with with people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X from her participation as a civil rights activist, while she drew inspiration from authors such as Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Spencer and William Shakespeare. Her first album Miss Calypso was recorded in 1957 and she also appeared in an off-Broadway revue Calypso Heat Wave the same year where she performed her own songs. She also appeared on a TV show Porgy and Bess in 1959. After that she moved to New York to focus on her writing.
This proved to be a great career move, as shown by the success of her very first autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, telling the story of her life up to the age of 17, was published in 1969. This was a breakthrough for her popularity and net worth-wise. Not only was this book a bestseller worldwide in it‘s time, but also accepted as a recommended read in high schools. Her other autobiographies were also well received. In total she released seven of them. Her other literaly work includes three essay books, various poetry books and scripts for plays, movies and television shows. These creations contributed a lot to Maya‘s total net worth.
Angelou was recognized by many celebrities. Oprah Winfrey calls Maya her idol and they met while Oprah was a news reporter in Baltimore. Maya also read her most well known poem, On The Pulse of Morning at Presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993. She has been awarded with over 50 honorary degrees including the National Medal of Arts in 2000, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama in 2011, a Pulitzer Prize nomination for her poem collection Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie, a Tony Award nomination for her performance in a play called Look Away in 1973. She also received three Grammys.
Maya was married twice – first to Tosh Angelos in 1951, then to Paul du Feu in 1973. She also was in a relationship with Vuszumzi Make around 1961, but they never got married. Angelou‘s had one son, Guy, and she described his birth in her autobiography. Maya owned houses in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and in Harlem. In the former she had a library of various books and pieces of art she gathered over the years. Angelou never earned a degree, which make her achievements even more impressive. Maya passed away on May 28, 2014 in her Winston-Salem home at the age of 86 from a mystery illness, according to her agent.
