Geena Davis Net Worth

What Is Geena Davis' Net Worth?

Geena Davis is an American actress, writer, producer, and model who has a net worth of $30 million.

Geena Davis has enjoyed a career that spans over four decades, marked by critically acclaimed performances and a strong advocacy for gender equality in media. She first gained attention in the early 1980s with her quirky role in the comedy "Tootsie" (1982), which led to a breakout performance in Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice" (1988). That same year, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Accidental Tourist."

Davis solidified her leading-lady status with the feminist road movie "Thelma & Louise" (1991), earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and cementing her place in pop culture history. She followed up with action and comedy roles in films like "A League of Their Own" (1992), where she played a trailblazing female baseball player, and "The Long Kiss Goodnight" (1996), an early female-led action thriller.

In the 2000s, Davis transitioned to television, winning a Golden Globe for her role as the first female U.S. president in the drama series "Commander in Chief" (2005–2006). Beyond acting, she has become a major force for change in Hollywood through the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which she founded in 2004 to promote gender balance and challenge stereotypes in entertainment.

Known for her intellect (she's a member of Mensa) and her Olympic-level archery skills, Davis has crafted a career that blends artistry, advocacy, and an enduring push for better representation in media.

Early Life

Virginia Elizabeth Davis was born on January 21, 1956, in Wareham, Massachusetts. She grew up in a small-town New England environment and showed an early interest in music, performing, and academics. She studied piano, flute, and organ, and later became fluent in Swedish after spending time as an exchange student in Sweden.

Davis attended New England College before transferring to Boston University, where she studied drama. After graduating, she moved to New York City and began working as a model. Her height and striking appearance helped her land work with the Zoli modeling agency, but acting remained her larger ambition.

Early Acting Career

Davis got her first major film break in 1982 when director Sydney Pollack cast her in "Tootsie." The film, starring Dustin Hoffman, became a major critical and commercial success and introduced Davis to a wide audience. Although her role was relatively small, it gave her an important Hollywood foothold.

She followed that with television work, including roles on "Buffalo Bill" and "Sara," and began building a reputation as an actress with both comedic instincts and dramatic potential. Her early career was marked by a combination of offbeat characters, intelligence, and a willingness to take roles that did not fit the standard Hollywood mold.

Breakthrough in Film

Davis's film career accelerated in the mid-1980s. In 1986, she starred opposite Jeff Goldblum in David Cronenberg's science fiction horror film "The Fly." The movie became one of the defining genre films of the decade and helped establish Davis as a major actress. Her performance brought emotional weight to a story that could have been driven purely by special effects and body horror.

In 1988, Davis appeared in Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice," playing Barbara Maitland, one half of a recently deceased couple trying to reclaim their home from the living. The film became a cult classic and remains one of her best-known movies.

That same year, Davis starred in "The Accidental Tourist," opposite William Hurt and Kathleen Turner. Her performance as Muriel Pritchett, an eccentric dog trainer who brings warmth and disruption into the life of a grieving travel writer, earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The win confirmed her status as one of the most respected actresses of her generation.

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"Thelma & Louise" and 1990s Stardom

In 1991, Davis starred opposite Susan Sarandon in Ridley Scott's "Thelma & Louise." The film became a cultural landmark, telling the story of two women whose weekend trip turns into a flight from the law after an act of self-defense. Davis's performance as Thelma, a sheltered housewife who gradually discovers her courage and independence, earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

"Thelma & Louise" became one of the defining feminist films of its era and remains central to Davis's legacy. Its final image became one of the most famous endings in modern film history, and the movie's impact shaped Davis's later interest in how women are represented onscreen.

In 1992, Davis starred in "A League of Their Own," playing Dottie Hinson, the star catcher in a fictionalized story inspired by the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The film, directed by Penny Marshall and co-starring Tom Hanks, Lori Petty, Rosie O'Donnell, and Madonna, became another beloved classic. Davis's performance combined athleticism, restraint, humor, and emotional depth, helping make Dottie one of her signature characters.

Action Films and Later Acting Work

During the 1990s, Davis also took on action and adventure roles. She starred in "Cutthroat Island" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight," both directed by her then-husband Renny Harlin. "The Long Kiss Goodnight," in particular, later developed a strong cult following, with Davis playing a schoolteacher who discovers she was once a highly trained assassin.

Davis continued working in film and television in later years. She starred in the sitcom "The Geena Davis Show," played the first female president of the United States on "Commander in Chief," and appeared in shows such as "Grey's Anatomy," "The Exorcist," and "GLOW." For "Commander in Chief," she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama.

(Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Turner)

Advocacy and the Geena Davis Institute

One of Davis's most significant contributions outside acting came through her advocacy for gender representation in media. After watching children's programming with her daughter, she became concerned by the lack of female characters and the limited ways girls were portrayed onscreen.

In 2004, she founded what became the Geena Davis Institute, an organization dedicated to researching and improving gender representation in film, television, and media aimed at children. The institute became known for using data to demonstrate disparities in screen time, speaking roles, occupations, and character representation. Davis's work helped shift industry conversations from vague impressions to measurable evidence.

Her advocacy earned her numerous honors, including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Personal Life

Geena has been married four times. She was married to Richard Emmolo from 1982 to 1983. She was married to actor Jeff Goldblum from 1987 to 1990. They met in 1985 on the set of "Transylvania 6-5000."

Davis married director Renny Harlin in 1993 after five months of dating. Geena filed for divorce in August 1997 from Harlin, one day after her personal assistant gave birth to a child fathered by Harlin. Their divorce became final in June 1998. Davis then began dating neurosurgeon Reza Jarrahy and allegedly married him in September 2001. They have three children together. In May 2018, Jarrahy filed for divorce from Davis and listed their separation date as November 15, 2017. In a surprise twist, Davis responded by filing a petition in which she claimed she and Jarrahy were never legally married.

In addition to acting and advocacy, Davis is known for her athletic interests. She took up archery as an adult and became skilled enough to compete at a high level, even trying out for the U.S. Olympic archery team.

Real Estate

In 2007, Geena paid $4.2 million for a home in LA's Pacific Palisades neighborhood. She listed the home for sale in August 2020 for just under $6 million. She sold this home two months later for $5.64 million.

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