Wendell James Net Worth

What Is Wendell James' Net Worth?

Wendell James is an American actor, television host, and reality television personality who has a net worth of $500 thousand. Wendell James runs a Palm Springs-based business that works with developmentally disabled adults. In addition to his counseling work, he has appeared in the films "Frankie's Jewels" (2009) and "35 and Ticking" (2011). He is known for his funky sense of style and often appears on the red carpet with Kym Whitley. James was a cast member on Kym's Oprah Winfrey Network reality series "Raising Whitley," which aired from 2013 to 2016.

Early Life

Wendell James was born in the early 1960s in Ohio. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Counseling. James told The Chocolate Voice in 2014, "I left home at 15, and was on the streets, so who would have ever thought that I would amount to anything. I didn't want to listen to my mother. You know how it is in Black families when we say, 'If you can't do what I say get out." I didn't want to listen to what my mother said, so I got out and became a surprise hit. I received an education, started a business and became an actor."

Career

In 2009, James appeared in the film "Frankie's Jewels." In 2011, he co-starred with Tamala Jones, Nicole Ari Parker, Kevin Hart, Keith D. Robinson, Darius McCrary, and Meagan Good in "35 and Ticking." Wendell appeared on the reality series "Raising Whitley," which followed Kym Whitley and her circle of friends (known as "The Village") as they collectively raised Joshua, a baby that Kym gained custody of unexpectedly. She mentored a troubled young woman for 15 years, and after the young woman gave birth, she disappeared from the hospital and only left Whitley's contact information. The show ran for four seasons on the Oprah Winfrey Network and earned NAMIC Vision Award nominations in the Reality Show category in 2014 and 2016.

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Personal Life

In an interview with The Chocolate Voice, Wendell spoke about his friendship with Kym Whitley, stating, "Anybody in Hollywood who knows Kym knows that I really am her Hollywood husband. We share cars, houses and all that kind of stuff." When recounting how the two met, James revealed, "Before coming to Hollywood, I lived in Modesto, CA and I was sitting on my bed, running my company and I said to myself,  'Gee Wendell you're reasonably cute and you're funny, you need to go to Hollywood.' I left for Hollywood just like that and went looking for a publicist. At that time I had no experience in entertainment so, I decided to create a clothing line. I met Kym while I was working on a launch party for my clothing line, and said to my publicist, 'I need a hook, a co-host for the party.'  I then asked, 'what about that girl on BET's 'Oh Drama!' Kym Whitley? I hired her and our friendship took off from there!"

In 2015, Wendell spoke to Huffpost about life as a gay man who grew up in the Baptist religion, stating, "I say to friends all the time that I'd like to be in a relationship with a man, but what happens is I self-sabotage. I think I'm going to hell in a handbasket, as I like to say, because that's not pleasing to God… I'm taught that, that is the flesh wanting that relationship, but that's not pleasing to God." Due to his religion and his family's reaction to his sexuality, James married a woman because he thought it "would please the Lord" as well as people in his life, but they later divorced.

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