American comedian, actor, voice actor, writer and television producer Michael Anthony Richards, was born on 24 July 1949, in Culver City, California. Despite the many roles that Richard has portrayed during his acting career, he is perhaps still best known as Cosmo Kramer, a fictional character in the popular television series created by Jerry Seinfeld called “Seinfeld”. The show starring Jerry, Michael and Julia Louis-Dreyfus is considered to be one of the greatest television shows, while several of its episodes are regarded as the top episodes of any series.
So just how rich is Michael Richards? Authoritative sources estimate that Michael Richards’ net worth is over $50 million, earned mostly from his acting career, and stand-up performances which began in the late 1970s.
Michael Richards Net Worth $50 Million
Richards matriculated from Thousand Oaks High School in California, and then served in the US Army for two years, mostly in West Germany. He subsequently studied drama at Evergreen State College, from which he received a bachelor’s degree in the field. Richards’ career began with various stand-up performances, which eventually gained him an opportunity to appear in Billy Crystal’s cable special. Before his big breakthrough with “Seinfeld”, Richards had several minor roles, in “UHF” – a comedy film written by Weird Al Yankovic – the long-running sitcom “Cheers”, as well as “Miami Vice”. In 1989, Richards was cast to play Cosmo Kramer and was a part of the show from the first season. “Seinfeld” not only brought Richards commercial success and public recognition, but also saw him win several Emmy Awards.
“Seinfeld” inspired a creation of consumer products related to the show such as candies, a flash game and many others. The lead actors enjoyed constant attention from advertisers, as well as media. For Richards, “Seinfeld” was an opportunity to present himself to a large viewership and leave a mark in the entertainment industry. When “Seinfeld” aired its last episode in 1998, Michael Richards went on to create his own sitcom entitled “The Michael Richards Show”. Even though the show only aired eight episodes, it was a major step for Richards, both as a producer and actor.
Michael briefly returned to perform stand-up comedy, but his controversial performance at the Laugh Factory, where he used racial slurs to refer to black hecklers in the audience, caused him a lot of trouble. Even though Richards publicly apologized for his words, the incident was not so easily forgotten, since such shows as “Family Guy”, “South Parks” and others parodied and satirized it. After this controversy, Michael Richards continued on with his acting career, and made several appearances on television screens. In 2007, he voiced a character in “Bee Movie”, and later starred in an improvised comedy television series called “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, with Larry David, Jeff Garlin and Cheryl Hines. Richards’ most recent project is a television show entitled “Kirstie”, in which he appears alongside Kirstie Alley, however, the show ran for just one season before it was cancelled in 2014.
In his personal life, Michael was married to Cathleen Lyons from 1974 until 1993; they have a daughter. He has been partnered with Beth Skipp since 2002, and they have been married since 2010.
