Dawn Wells Net Worth

How much was Dawn Wells worth?

Net Worth:$50 Thousand
Profession:Professional Actress
Date of Birth:October 18, 1938 (aged 82)
Country:United States of America
Height:
5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)

About Dawn Wells

Dawn Elberta Wells was an American actress, author, model, and producer. She attained mainstream recognition in the mid-1960s with her role as Mary Ann Summers in the CBS sitcom Gilligan’s Island. Throughout the rest of the century, she continued to reprise her role in many spin-offs, documentaries, reunions, and timelines of the sitcom such as The New Adventures of Gilligan, Gilligan’s Planet, The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island, and Rescue from Gilligan’s Island.

American actress Dawn Wells had an estimated net worth of $50 thousand dollars at the time of his death, in 2020. Wells is known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom Gilligan’s Island.

She was born on October 18, 1938, in Reno, Nevada. Her father owned of a Reno shipping company named Wells Cargo, while her mother was a school teacher. In the 1940s and 50s, she attended the local Reno High School. Around the same time, she decided to pursue her dreams and become an actress and model. After her graduation from high school, Dawn moved to Missouri where she enrolled at Stephens College.

While attending college, she began pursuing a modeling career and took part in many beauty pageants and contests. In 1959, she was able to win the annual Miss Nevada, which boosted her popularity. The following year, she once again represented the state in the Miss American 1960 pageants, however, she didn’t make it to the final ten.

Following her major in chemistry, the model transferred to Seattle, Washington, where she attended the University of Washington and was part of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She earned a degree in theater arts and design in 1960 and then moved on to acting.

While Wells earned more than two million during her career as an actress, she was hit hard by the 2008 recession leaving her nearly penniless. Ten years later, in September 2018, after suffering a broken knee, she ended up with a hospital bills and money owed to the IRS totaling $194,000. Still devastated from the financial crisis she could not pay. A friend published a GoFundMe page to try and raise the money she needed.

Her professional acting debut came just a few months after she earned her degree in theater arts and design, on an episode of The Roaring 20’s in 1961. That year, she also landed small roles in – Maverick, Cheyenne, Wagon Train, The Detectives, Everglades, and Tales of Wells Fargo. She also had three appearances on the hit action drama series 77 Sunset Strip in which she portrayed three different characters.

In 1962, Dawn began receiving a lot more attention from the media and television because of her work on Bonanza and The Joey Bishop Show. She was able to secure her first main role on television in the CBS sitcom Gilligan’s Island.

Her first appearance on the show came in its pilot from September 1964. She went on to portray the role of the wholesome farm girl Mary Ann Summers in all 3 seasons and 98 episodes of Gilligan’s Island. From her work on the popular show, she not only became a fan favorite but also earned a net worth estimated to be about $300 thousand by 1970. That is the equivalent of nearly $3 million dollars today.

Over the course of her career, the Hollywood actress starred in over 65 films and television series with her most reminiscent roles being in The New Interns, Return to Boggy Clerk, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Lover’s Knot, and Super Sucker to name a few. Concurrently with being an actress, Dawn Wells also became an author and a producer. She directed five productions in the past two decades and released two books – a cookbook titled Mary Ann’s Gilligan’s Island Cookbook (in 1993) and a novel What Would Mary Ann Do? (in 2014).

While Dawn Wells’ net worth may have been as high as $1 million dollars, at its peak. By the time she died it is estimated to have been no more than $50 thousand. After 2008, Wells had been dealing with financial problems relating to the recession.

Dawn’s Total Net Worth

Dawn Wells was asked to reprise her role of Mary Ann Summers in all of them, with her best acts being in Rescue from Gilligan’s Island, The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island, Gilligan’s Planet, ALF, and Baywatch. She also appeared in films like High School U.S.A., Super Sucker, Silent But Deadly, and Life Interrupted.

Shortly after the conclusion of Gilligan’s Island in April 1967, the success of the sitcom led to the creation of many film sequels, as well as spin-offs, reunions and documentaries, and series that aren’t associated with the show.

In total, it is considered that Dawn Wells’ career earnings are $2.5 million dollars. For her appearances on the original three season Gilligan’s Island TV series, she was being paid a reported $1,600 per week. She earned a reported $60,000 for Rescue from Gilligan’s Island and later in her career she was paid far more than that. In fact, for the later films and documentaries associated to the TV series, she is estimated to have earned up to $350,000 per appearance.

The federal and state tax rates have varied a lot over the years, so it is not very easy to work out her exact effective tax rate on all of her earnings. However it is likely been somewhere around 40%.

Of her $2.5 million dollars income, around $350,000 will have been paid in business related costs. The remainder, $2.2 million, will have been taxed at 40%. After tax, it is estimated that her career earnings are at around $1.32 million dollars, having paid $880,000 in taxes.

Dawn Wells married Larry Rosen in 1962 and they later divorced five years later, in 1967. Rosen, who was a television producer and also a top earner perhaps earned a similar amount during their marriage. It is likely that the marriage was dissolved without financial burden on either side, especially considering there were no children involved.

After the 2008 financial crisis hit, Wells experienced financial trouble. By 2018, when she was facing health problems after an accident that broke her knee. A friend of Dawn’s put up a GoFundMe page to help the former star raise $194,000 to allegedly pay off the IRS and cover her hospital bills. Overall, Dawn Wells probably had a net worth of no more than $50 thousand dollars.

Summing-Up

Dawn Wells was one of the leading TV actresses that emerged on screen in the 1960s. At the time of her death in 2020, Dawn Wells’ net worth may have just been $50 thousand dollars however she was previously worth far more than that. Wells financials were devastated by the 2008 financial crisis and she died still owing money to the IRS.

After her truly spectacular work on Gilligan’s Island, she began appearing in multiple films and television series. In 2008 while still acting and producing various projects, she earned her biggest achievement – a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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