Idris Elba net worth

DJ, British actor and Hollywood star Idris Elba is reported to have a net worth of $20 million.

Born Idrissa Akuna Elba—only child of Winston Elba (a Sierra Leonean) and Eve (a Ghanaian)—on September 6, 1972 in Hackney, London, Idris Elba took to acting right from school.

How did Elba make his millions?

Working for his uncle’s wedding DJ business, in 1986, Elba began his own DJ company in 1987. Leaving school in 1988, he got into the National Youth Music Theatre with the help of a £1,500 Prince’s Trust grant and began appearing in BBC’s Crimewatch.
At 19, Elba metamorphosed into DJ “Big Driis”, playing at nightclubs before he got his first noteworthy roles on TV with Absolutely Fabulous and Bramwell, in 1995. Soon followed supporting roles on the TV series The Bill (1994-1995), Family Affairs (1997), Ultraviolet (1998) and Dangerfield (1999).
Elba moved to New York with wife Henne Norgaard, in 1999, but with no acting jobs, had to work as a DJ in the cheaper Jersey City. The two separated after Norgaard’s pregnancy. His daughter Isan was born in 2002.
Before that, he appeared in Law & Order (2001) and soon got his first breakthrough with The Wire (2002-2004).
Elba then starred in the movies Sometimes in April (2005), Daddy’s Little Girls (2007), 28 Weeks Later (2007), This Christmas (2007), RocknRolla (2008), The Unborn (2009), Obsessed (2009), The Losers (2010), Takers (2010), Thor (2011), Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012) and Thor: The Dark World (2013).
His second breakthrough came in and as Luther (2010-2015).
In 2013, Elba’s title role in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom won him the NAACP Award for Outstanding Actor (2014) and in 2015 his starring role in Beasts of No Nation won him the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male and SAG Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Elba’s deep baritone found good use in the animations Zootopia, The Jungle Book and Finding Dory.
He has also recorded five of his own albums, besides co-producing and performing on the intro to Jay Z’s American Gangster (2007).
In 2014, Elba presented the BBC Radio’s Journey Dot Africa with Idris Elba.
While hosting Discovery’s miniseries Idris Elba: No Limits (2015), he broke the land speed record and also piloted a plane. He has also appeared in Discovery’s Idris Elba: Fighter, showcasing his training in MMA and kickboxing.
Elba also appeared in the films Buffalo Soldiers (2001), One Love (2003), The Reaping (2007), American Gangster (2007), The Human Contract (2008), Legacy (2010), Prometheus (2012), Pacific Rim (2013), No Good Deed (2014), Second Coming (2014), The Gunman (2015), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Bastille Day (2016), 100 Streets (2016) and Star Trek Beyond (2016).
His TV roles include: Space Precinct (1994), The Governor (1996), Silent Witness (1997), In Defence (2000), London’s Burning (2001), The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2002), Soul Food (2003), Girlfriends (2005), The Big C (2010), Walk Like a Panther (2010), How Hip Hop Changed the World (2011), How Clubbing Changed the World (2012), Idris Elba: King of Speed (2013), Playhouse Presents (2013-2015) and Guerilla (2017).
Elba has also lent voice to the video games Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011) and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (2016).
Other awards include: BET Award for Best Actor [The Losers (2010), Takers and Luther (2011)], Golden Globe for Best Actor [The Big C (2011) and Luther (2012)] and the SAG Award for Best Actor [Luther (2016)].
In 2015, he became Maxim’s first all-male cover model and, in 2016, was awarded the OBE.
He lives in Los Angeles with Naiyana Garth and their son Winston (born 2014).
Elba will be starring in the movies The Dark Tower (2017), The Mountain Between Us (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Molly’s Game (2017).