James L Brooks Net Worth

What is James L. Brooks’ Net Worth?

James L. Brooks, the American director, screenwriter, and producer, has a net worth of $550 million.

Brooks is celebrated for creating iconic television shows such as “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda,” “Phyllis,” “Lou Grant,” and “Taxi.” He has won numerous awards for producing and directing acclaimed films like “Terms of Endearment,” “Broadcast News,” and “As Good as It Gets.” Additionally, Brooks played a significant role in the development of “The Simpsons.”

Despite not intending to return to television work, Brooks was instrumental in launching “The Tracy Ullman Show” and went on to write and produce 80 episodes, earning two Primetime Emmys. Brooks also has several acting credits, appearing in films such as “Real Life” and “Modern Romance” and TV shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda,” and “Saturday Night Live.” He even lent his voice to an episode of “The Simpsons” as himself in 2003.

Early Life and Career

James L. Brooks was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1940. He grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, with his mother and older sister, after his father left when his mother was pregnant with him. Brooks found solace in reading and writing and received positive responses to his short stories. He attended Weehawken High School, where he wrote for the school newspaper and interviewed celebrities like Louis Armstrong.

James L. Brooks Career Highlights

James L. Brooks started his career in television as a host at CBS and later became a news broadcast writer. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1965 to write for documentaries and later wrote for several TV shows, including “My Mother the Car” and “The Andy Griffith Show.” He created the ABC series “Room 222” in 1969 and went on to create and produce “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which led to spin-offs. Brooks formed his own production company and created “Taxi” in 1978. He took a break from television to focus on film work but returned to help launch Fox’s “The Tracey Ullman Show” in 1987. He came onboard as a writer and producer for “The Simpsons,” which premiered in 1989 and has aired over 690 episodes over 32 seasons. Brooks produced four more TV series after “The Simpsons” and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1997.

James L. Brooks’ Film Career Highlights

James L. Brooks started his film career with “Starting Over” in 1979, and his first directorial venture, “Terms of Endearment” (1983), was a huge success, earning him three Oscars. He went on to write, direct, and produce several hit movies, including “Broadcast News” (1987), “Big” (1988), “Say Anything…” (1989), and “As Good as It Gets” (1997). Brooks also produced “The Simpsons Movie” (2007), which grossed $527.4 million at the box office, and two “Simpsons” short films, “The Longest Daycare” (2012) and “Playdate with Destiny” (2020).

James L. Brooks Awards and Accolades

James L. Brooks has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for “Terms of Endearment” in 1984. He has also earned awards from the Golden Globes, Directors Guild of America, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review, and Writers Guild of America.

The Writers Guild has honored Brooks with several awards, including the Herb Sargent Award in 2006, the Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement in 1998, and the Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement in 2018. He also won the award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for “As Good as It Gets.”

Brooks has earned dozens of Primetime Emmy nominations and has won more than 20 times for his work on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Taxi,” “The Tracey Ullman Show,” and “The Simpsons.”

He has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Gold Derby Awards and the PGA Awards, and the Television Critics Association Awards gave him Career Achievement Awards in 2013 and 2015. He was named Director of the Year at the 1989 ShoWest Convention, and he won the Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award from the American Cinema Editors in 2005 and the AFI Filmmaker Award at the 1999 US Comedy Arts Festival.

Brooks has also won awards from the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Online Film & Television Association, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards, Satellite Awards, and Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Personal Life and Political Affiliation

James L Brooks was married to Marianne Catherine Morrissey in 1964 and had a daughter named Amy in 1971. The couple divorced in 1972. He then married Holly Beth Holmberg in 1978 and had three children, Chloe, Cooper, and Joseph, before divorcing in 1999.

Brooks is a Democrat and has donated over $175,000 to the party’s candidates, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Al Franken.

James L. Brooks’ Malibu Home

James L. Brooks and Holly purchased a home in Malibu in 1990. In 2001, James put the home on the market for $8 million. After their divorce, Holly bought a desirable home on the most-desirable street in Malibu for $5.1 million, performed a major renovation, and began renting it for $40-50,000 per month. She listed the home for sale in June 2020 for $16 million. James has been living in nearby Brentwood for several decades.