Entertainment

Queer Eye Cast’s Net Worth: Who is the Richest Member?

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Mar 25, 2024 / 5578 Views

Queer Eye, one of the most famous shows on Netflix, boasts five incredibly talented cast members each of whom is a multi-millionaire by net worth. The show was initially released on 7 February 2018 and has had eight seasons. In March 2024, Netflix renewed the show for a ninth season to the delight of its massive fan base.

A reboot of the 2003 original series of the same name, the reality TV show revolves around five talented individuals who use their skills to help improve the life of someone through makeovers over a week. The five advisors, famously known as ‘Fab Five,’ include Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France and Karamo Brown.

All five have been series regulars from the first season. Renowned for its LGBTQ+ representation, inclusivity and progressiveness, the show, which has an IMDb rating of 8.5, became a smash hit.

Each cast member subsequently found even more fame with other shows and appearances. Among their most famous works as a team is an appearance in the music video of Taylor Swift’s song “You Need to Calm Down” in 2019 and her Netflix documentary Miss Americana (2020).

Salary of Queer Eye cast members

As far as the net worth of the Queer Eye cast is concerned, their earnings predominantly come from the show. A 2018 Variety report revealed that each of the five members was paid only USD 7,500 per episode for the first two seasons. It was the lowest figure for any TV star listed by Variety in the report. Thus, each of the members earned USD 120,000 for a total of 16 episodes in the first two seasons.

But the success of the show — it has won 11 Primetime Emmys to date — led to a rise in their paychecks. Though the exact figure remains unknown, Karamo hinted to Business Insider in December 2018 that Netflix took care of the cast.

“When you’re coming into any brand-new show – especially when it’s a reboot of a reality show – of course, they’re always going to be unsure of how it’s going to perform. But they have been so fair about making sure that we have been happy and supported going into season 3 — and hopefully, we have a lot more [seasons]. So I will say that we all feel like the process has been exactly what it should’ve been,” he said.

Although the release date of season 9 is yet to be announced, it will not have one familiar face. Berk left the show after season 8, following the end of the contract of all five. The rest, however, decided to continue when Netflix offered to renew their contracts.

“We thought we were done. Mentally and emotionally, I thought we all moved on. I know I did, and I started planning other things,” he told Vanity Fair in January 2024.

Interior designer Jeremiah Brent is taking over Berk’s place in season 9.

The net worth of all five Queer Eye cast members

Antoni Porowski

Net worth: USD 8 million

Age: 40 years

Antoni Porowski worked in films and simultaneously in food servicing earlier in his career. He is the resident food and wine expert on Queer Eye.

According to The New York Times, Porowski was friends with Ted Allen, who was the food and wine expert on the original Queer Eye series on Bravo. Allen helped Porowski land the role on Netflix’s Queer Eye.

The report also said that Porowski never said he was a chef but had experience in the kitchen. The profile, published in 2018 to counter the criticism he received for his cooking, revealed that he worked his “way up to management at the sushi restaurant BondSt.”

Porowski has appeared in films such as Elliot Loves (2012), Daddy’s Boy (2016), Blood Surf (2016), The Pretenders (2018), and Spoiler Alert (2023). He has also been part of TV shows such as Blue Mountain State (2010), The Blacklist (2014) and Polish drama Queen (2022).

He also opened the vegan-paleo restaurant The Village Den with Lisle Richards and Eric Marx in 2018. It permanently shut its doors in 2021. The restaurant was located on the corner of 12th Street and Greenwich Avenue in the West Village neighbourhood of New York City — the same address of a similarly named American-Italian diner which closed after 36 years of operation.

He has written two cookbooks. The first was Antoni in the Kitchen. A New York Times bestseller, it was followed by his second cookbook, Antoni: Let’s Do Dinner.

Jonathan Van Ness

Net worth: USD 8 million

Age: 36 years

Jonathan Van Ness, or JVN, as he is referred to in the media, is a hair guru, television personality and podcaster. Much of his income comes from his salary as a top reality TV star, his haircare brand JVN Hair, and the dog food brand Yummers, which he started with Porowski.

Van Ness hails from an illustrious American family. He is the descendant of Patience Bacon, one of the founders of Northampton, Massachusetts, and the first recorded female surgeon in America. His family owns the newspaper business Quincy Media in their hometown, Quincy, Illinois, which publishes the local paper, Herald-Whig.

Van Ness is widely known for Gay of Thrones (2013–2019), a web series that parodied HBO’s immensely famous Game of Thrones (2011–2019). For his work, he earned his first two Primetime Emmy nominations. Besides Queer Eye, he has appeared in the comedy special Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine (2020), the documentary film Miss Americana (2020), and the 2D animated film Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021), among other works on TV.

A political science major from the University of Arizona, he was a member of the cheer team of his alma mater. An author of three books, Van Ness revealed he is HIV+ in his first book, Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love (2019).

Tan France

queer eye cast net worth — Image credit: T A N . F R A N C E/@tanfrance/Instagram

Net worth: USD 8 million

Age: 40 years

The fashion expert of Queer Eye, Tan France founded his own women’s clothing line, Kingdom & Slate, in 2011. He also owned a different business with Bobby before they worked together on Queer Eye.

“I wanted to create a company that offered modest clothing, but one that was fashionable enough to comPete with other young fashion brands out there,” he reportedly said about his brand in a 2014 interview.

In his career, France has been associated with brands such as Zara, Shade Clothing and Selfridges. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he also founded smaller clothing brands, his designs were sold at Forever 21 and ModCloth, and co-founded Rachel Parcell Inc. in 2016 before selling all of his Businesses and retiring from his profession at age 33. After this, Queer Eye came his way.

Since the success of Queer Eye, France has appeared on talk shows and reality shows such as Dressing Funny (2019–2020), Selling Sunset (2021), The Circle (2023) and Next in Fashion (2020–), of which he is a co-host.

Despite his fame and rising fortune, France has said he likes saving money.

“I save really well. And again, I think the boys think it’s ludicrous — they’re like, ‘Why earn all this money if you’re not gonna spend it?’ You never know what’s gonna happen. This career might not be here forever, and I want to spend my money very wisely,” he told Refinery29 in 2019.

Karamo Brown

Net worth: USD 9 million

Age: 43 years

The culture expert of Queer Eye, Karamon Brown made his TV debut on the MTV reality series The Real World: Philadelphia in 2004. He followed it up with the Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II in 2005.

The success of the shows got Brown fame. He subsequently starred in the comedy mystery web series Where the Bears Are! (2013–2014) and appeared on the reality show The Next :15 (2016), among others. He also undertook hosting duties on Access Hollywood Live (2016) and Are You the One: Second Chances (2017) before landing his part in Queer Eye.

He has since appeared in the reality comPetition show Dancing with the Stars (2018), the TV movie The Thing About Harry (2020), and reality shows Selling Sunset (2020) and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2021). He started his own talk show, Karamo, in 2022.

His successful career in TV has made Brown a millionaire by net worth, according to Celebrity Net Worth. According to the wealth tracker, he purchased a USD 1.2 million property in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles before purchasing a USD 5.4 million house in the Hollywood Hills in February 2022.

Bobby Berk

queer eye cast — Image credit: Bobby Berk/@bobby/Instagram

Net worth: USD 10 million

Age: 42 years

Bobby Berk, an interior designer, is the richest member of the Queer Eye cast by net worth. Much of his wealth comes as a result of his highly successful Business, Bobby Berk Interior + Design, in Los Angeles.

Berk arrived in New York City with just USD 100 in 2003. Three years later, he used his incredible skills at home interior decoration to launch his online store Bobby Berk Home and later opened stores in Manhattan, Atlanta and Miami.

In between, he worked his way up the ladder of success as the creative director of the high-end home furnishing company, Portico.

He has also appeared on the TV shows Lip Sync Battle (2019), Alexa & Katie (2019) and Masked Singer (2021) besides his highly successful appearance in Queer Eye.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– Does Queer Eye pay for everything?

Yes, Netflix and the partners of the show pay for everything that the Queer Eye cast spends for the makeover of the heroes whose lives they aim to improve in the episodes.

– Are the Queer Eye cast friends in real life?

The ‘Fab Five’ became friends during the auditions and over the course of the show.

– Which Queer Eye guys are married?

There are three married cast members. Tan France is married to Rob France, Berk is married to Dewey Do, and Van Ness is married to Mark Peacock.

– Who is the most popular Queer Eye member?

Reports suggest that Jonathan Van Ness is arguably the most popular cast member of Queer Eye.