They’re gradually taking over. Hollywood, the music industry and the small screen are only some of the arenas Australians are making themselves known. But what is not known is the money side of things: who owns what, who earns what and who drives what? Here are some of the best-known Aussie celebs and a bit about their lifestyles.
Elle MacPherson [$50 million net worth]
Elle MacPherson, a Revlon global brand ambassador and supermodel, is 45 this year and still looks better than many a 20-something! Born in Australia, this glamazon has been in movies, on television, on the runway, and in print for the last two decades. She even had a recurring role in the American hit Friends in the 1999-2000 season.
MacPherson, mother to two adorable boys named Flynn and Aurelius, is currently in an on/off relationship with the boys’ father, Arpad Busson. MacPherson also has a successful lingerie line, Intimates, sold in UK and Australian department stores.
The former Victoria’s Secret model, also nicknamed ‘The Body’, appeared on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 10, in which the top 12 contestants modeled her lingerie. MacPherson is rumored to possibly be dating Vito Schnabel (son of artist Julian Schnabel), over 20 years her junior!
Russell Crowe [$27 million, 2004]
Born Russell Ira Crowe, the 44-year-old was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia. He grew up to be one of the best Oscar winning film actors of all time.
Over the last seven years, Russell Crowe’s movies have brought in a sum of more than $735 million at the box office. Russell Crowe received three consecutive Oscar nominations for Best Actor for his work on The Insider, Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind.
Crowe is married to singer/actress Danielle Spencer. The couple have two sons: Charles Spencer Crowe, 4 and Tennyson Spencer Crowe, 2. Crowe lives with his family in Australia: he has a Sydney home in Woolloomooloo and a 320-hectare property in Nana Glen close to Coffs Harbour, New South Wales.
Hugh Jackman [$20 million per annum]
Hugh Jackman, a Sydney, Australia native, just recently closed production on the upcoming spin-off to the blockbuster hit X-Men, called X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In the film, Jackman returns to his role as Logan, aka Wolverine.
The film co-stars Ryan Reynolds and Liev Schreiber among others. Jackman is also working on two more films, If You Could See Me Know and Drive.
Hugh Jackman averages somewhere around $250,000 for each movie on which he works. The highest grossing movies which Hugh Jackman has played a part in are the X-Men movies and Happy Feet.
The original X-Men grossed over $157 million, X2: X-Men United grossed almost $215 million and X-Men: The Last Stand at over $234 million. Happy Feet, featuring the voice of Hugh Jackman, grossed $198 million.
Earlier this year, Jackman, his wife Deborra-Lee Furness and their children Oscar and Ava were seen hunting for a house in the exclusive Rose Bay area, Australia.
Keith Urban [$20 million, 2006]
Keith Urban, the 41-year-old from Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand who was born Richard Keith Urbanski has been rather busy of late. He’s gone from rising country music star to rehab resident to new daddy.
Urban’s most recent accomplishment would have to be the birth of his brand new baby daughter with superstar wife Nicole Kidman. Just weeks after celebrating their second wedding anniversary, Urban and Kidman welcomed Sunday Rose Kidman Urban on July 6, 2008.
It has been reported that the first photographs of the newest addition to the Urban Kidman household will bring in a whopping $3 million.
At this year’s CMA awards in September Urban’s work will be featured, helping boost his career to the next level. Also in September, he will be performing at the Fashion Rocks concert with a canyon view.
Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman will be raising their little girl in a new $4.7 million five-bedroom; five-bathroom mansion in California. One thing is for certain: bad credit is not a term either of this high earning pair will be familiar with!
Greg Norman [$15 million per annum]
Greg Norman is the name that speaks of great Australians, and one of the names that seems to defy the aging effect of time. So in any discussion of success and independence the name that often comes to mind is none other than Greg Norman, a professional golfer and entrepreneur.
In 2005, Norman raked in about $15 million. His personally-designed golf courses only add to hit net wealth of a reported $1 billion.
Greg Norman is famous for the 331 weeks that he spent as world’s golf number one in the 1980s. For this, he acquired the name ‘The Great White Shark’, perhaps implying that he could take on anyone and win with his aggressive style of playing golf.
Greg Norman is a native of Mount Isa in Queensland, Australia. Jokingly, he is a mixed breed of Australia and Finland, since his father is an Australian and mother is a native of Finland. Hats off to this golfer of the century.
Cate Blanchett [$13 milllion per annum]
There are hardly any people that don’t know Cate Blanchett, especially with her role as Queen Elizabeth in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and being nominated for Best Performance by an actress in a Leading Role for the same movie at the Oscars in 2008. However, she won an Oscar in 2004 for Best Supporting Actress in The Aviator.
Forbes reported that she earned almost $13 million in the year 2007. She is currently based in Australia with her husband and two boys. Blanchett is known to be one of the most classy and elegant actress in Hollywood, with a number of awards and nominations under her belt.
With baby Ignatius added to the family, she is definitely the glowing mother. After all, a woman is most beautiful when she is pregnant.
Nicole Kidman [$13 million per annum]
Nicole Kidman, 41, recently gave birth to her third child, Sunday Rose. This is her first biological child, and she has two adopted children with ex-hubby Tom Cruise.
While Nicole and country crooner Keith Urban are starting their new journey in parenthood in Nashville, the actress has recently purchased a nearly $5 million manse in good ole Beverly Hills, CA.
It remains to be seen if she and Urban will ever take up residence in the house or whether this is strictly an investment property.
Regardless, Kidman and Urban are wasting no time in resuming their lives as normal. Kidman was spotted leaving a yoga workout when Sunday was merely two weeks old, and already looking fabulously fit!
Though she recently took a break to focus on pregnancy and motherhood, Kidman is next up to star in the movie Nine. Set to be released in December 2009, Kidman will start filming this October.
Anthony LaPaglia [$10 million per annum]
Born in January of 1959 in Adelaide, South Australia, Anthony LaPaglia is usually cast as a New York tough guy. LaPaglia is best known as senior agent Jack Malone on CBS’s hit ‘Without a Trace’, making somewhere near $10 million a year.
LaPaglia is currently filming a political thriller called Balibo, a film about the events surrounding the shooting of five Australian journalists in East Timor in 1975.
This is LaPaglia’s first Australian film since his spectacular performance in the hit Lantana. LaPaglia presently lives in Santa Monica, California with his wife of 25 years.
Kylie Minogue [$9 million per annum]
Kylie Minogue has won the Best Music International 2008 for the Golden Camera Award. Being the hot and sexy international artist, she is constantly having to travel and perform all over the world. Her latest achievement is being appointed the OBE by the Prince of Wales at the Buckingham Palace.
Apart from that, Kylie has published her own limited edition photographic book, with only 1,000 copies available. It is hand-signed by Kylie and William Baker.
Being diagnosed with cancer and survived the ordeal in 2005 makes her stronger and appreciate life better. She owned a house in Chelsea (in London) but sold it in 2005, before she went on tour. However, there is also news that she bought a house in the English countryside for privacy.
Miranda Kerr [$3.5 million per annum]
Aussie native Miranda Kerr, 25, is another of the lovely Victoria’s Secret models. She’s starred in two of the lingerie giant’s televised fashion shows, as well as an episode of American sitcom hit How I Met Your Mother.
Kerr currently resides in New York City, and is rumored to be dating actor Orlando Bloom.
While some say Kerr is the next Elle MacPherson, Kerr has talents all of her own. She is reportedly writing a self-help book aimed at teen girls, hoping to help them raise and keep healthy self-esteem.
The book, called Treasure Yourself, is just one way that Kerr shows she cares for more than the glamorous life of a model. She also supports wildlife and children’s charities, making her beautiful inside and out!
Gemma Ward [$3 million per annum]
Natural beauty and talent on the catwalk makes Gemma Ward the most desirable model among the top designers. With big names such as Versace, Gucci, Chanel and Valentino, she is surely destined for stardom.
Surprisingly, she is not only talented in modelling but has started to act in movies, such as Pink Pyjamas. Being as tall as she is (1.78m) makes her one of the best models in the world, alongside other supermodels currently seen on the catwalk.
Ward is currently based in New York, although she was born in Australia. She was once connected to the late Heath Ledger before his death. For the fans of Gemma, you can expect to see her on the big screen in The Black Balloon and The Strangers in 2008.
The Veronicas [$2 million per annum]
Identical twin sisters Lisa Marie and Jessica Louise Origliasso lead the award-winning Australian group The Veronicas. The Veronicas presently reside in Los Angeles, California, in the United States.
Lisa Origliasso started dating Dean Geyer, a former contestant on Australian Idol, in April of 2007; a year later they announced their engagement.
However, the engagement as well as the relationship came to an end just this month because of ‘personal and professional commitments’. The second album for The Veronicas, Hook Me Up is due to be released in September. The Veronicas enjoy an income upwards of $2 million a year.
Shane Warne [$2 million per annum]
There’s a saying that goes ‘Shane Keith Warne revitalized the art of spin bowling when it was fading’, and that is synonymous with the legend that Shane Warne is. Shane was born and raised in Ferntree Gully, Victoria, in Australia and was destined to become a professional cricketer.
He is highly acclaimed as one of the best leg spinners in the history of cricket. At one stage he was on a contract worth $300,000. He has now signed an agreement with 888 Poker and was the VB spokesman for the 2007/2008 cricket series.
Warne’s first major cricket match was on 15 February 1991, at the Melbourne Junction Oval where he played for Victoria. His spectacular performance at the match led to his inclusion in the Australia B team and subsequently, the then A team.
Finally, he joined the Australian Test Team. Despite his initial skills being unimpressive, Warne’s excellent performance in a crucial match against Sri Lanka enabled him to join the exclusive club of the then well-known bowlers. IPL victory is one of his recent achievements.
Jennifer Hawkins [$1.25 million per annum]
The 24-year-old Australian-born Jennifer Hawkins is a television presenter, beauty queen and model that is known best for her reign as Miss Universe 2004. Last year, she also signed a $4 million deal to be the spokesperson for a department store in Australia known as Myer.
In 2006, Hawkins became Australia’s first Covergirl makeup spokesperson and famously turned down a $50,000 offer to pose nude in Zoo Magazine, a magazine for men.
Jennifer has appeared on several television shows, such as The Apprentice, Deal or No Deal on which she won $2,000, Dancing with the Stars, and appeared as a judge for the 2008 Miss Universe Pageant.
Hawkins recently announced the upcoming release of her own line of swimwear called Cozi.
Eric Bana
Eric Bana is an acclaimed Australian actor whose fame spans the vastness of two countries, namely his native Australia where he began his career as a stand-up comedian, to the USA.
Bana’s ancestry, like his fame, is an amalgamation of two different nationalities; his dad Ivan was of Croatian descent and his mother of German descent.
He was raised in Tullamarine, a suburb in Melbourne. He was the younger of his parents’ two children.
Bana’s incredible acting talent was evident from a young age as he is noted to have preoccupied his preteen years doing impressions of his family members, most notable being his grandfather’s walk.
Bana’s fame is mostly attributed to his role in the high budget blockbuster movie Troy where he was recommended by Brad Pitt. He recently sold his house in Melbourne’s suburb of Hampton for $2 million.
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