Rhonda Honey Shear was born on 12 November 1954, in New Orleans, Louisiana USA, of Jewish descent. She is a television personality, comedienne, actress, and entrepreneur, best known for starring in the film “Basic Training” and for hosting the television series “USA Up All Night”.
So just how loaded is Rhonda Shear now? According to sources in early 2017, Shear has acquired a net worth of over $10 million. Her fortune has been established during her acting and stand-up career, as well as through her lingerie business.
Rhonda Shear Net Worth $10 Million
Shear grew up in New Orleans, where she attended John F. Kennedy High School. She later enrolled in New Orleans’ Loyola University, obtaining her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. Upon her graduation in 1977, she moved to Hollywood, California, to pursue her dreams of becoming a star.
Prior to her Hollywood success, Shear had won numerous beauty pageants, holding the titles of Miss Louisiana USA 1975 for Miss USA, as well as of Miss Louisiana for both the Miss World and the Miss International pageants. She was then involved in a brief but impressive attempt to build a career in politics in her home town. When that didn’t work out, she headed for Hollywood.
Shear’s talents were quickly recognized by Bob Hope, who cast her in one of his specials in 1980, and from then on, opportunities began coming her way. She made appearances in numerous television projects, such as the soap operas “Happy Days”, “The Young and the Restless” and “Dallas”, and television series like “ChiPs”, “Hart to Hart”, “The Fall Guy” and “The A-Team”. She soon expanded her range into film roles as well, initially appearing in low-budget films like “Galaxina”, “Doin’ Time” and “Spaceballs”, and starred as Debbie in the 1985 sex comedy film “Basic Training”. Although the film was considered as one of the worst films of that year, it still gave Shear a dose of much needed recognition. By the end of the decade she had tackled a mix of television projects, including the series “The Dukes of Hazzard”, “The New Mike Hammer”, “Cheers” and “Hard Knocks”, to name a few. Her net worth began to rise.
In 1991 Shear was invited to host the USA Network late night television series “USA Up All Night”, the position that quickly shot her to stardom. The show featured low-budget films, along with various skits, comedy and witty commentary. Shear’s way of speaking the title of the show, by stressing/lifting her voice for the word “Up”, became her famous catchphrase. She hosted the show for eight years, which enabled her to gain many other opportunities, and which significantly added to her wealth.
The show led Shear to numerous talk show appearances, as well as to features in major magazines, including People and Playboy. It also served as a perfect way for Shear to make a transition into the world of stand-up comedy. Finding great success in this industry too, Shear subsequently opened for some of the major names in comedy, and her TV stand-up comedy credits include “Girl’s Night Out”, “Evening at The Improv”, “Women Aloud” and “Caroline’s Comedy Hour”. In 2013 she created the comedy show called “Comedy PJ Party”, an on-stage female slumber party with a number of comedic talents, and has since toured across the USA, reinforcing her status as a star and improving her net worth.
Aside from her acting and stand-up career, Shear has established herself as a successful entrepreneur as well. In 2003 she and her husband founded a company called Shear Enterprises, LLC, to create a line of sexy intimates for women – Rhonda Shear Intimates. The business grew rapidly and Shear’s line is today represented in more than 40 countries. Its biggest success has been the Ahh Bra, the #1 selling bra worldwide. Shear Enterprises had an explosive 72 million in sales in 2011. All this enabled Shear to amass an impressive fortune.
Speaking about her private life, Shear has been married to Van Fagen since 2001. The family resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.
