Janelle James Net Worth

What Is Janelle James' Net Worth?

Janelle James is an American actress, comedian, and writer who has a net worth of $4 million. Janelle James is best known for playing Ava Coleman on the critically-acclaimed ABC sitcom "Abbott Elementary" (2021–present). James has won several awards for her performance on the show and has earned four Primetime Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination. She has appeared in the films "Tom of Your Life" (2020) and "One of Them Days" (2025), and she had a recurring role as Joyce on the Showtime series "Black Monday" from 2020 to 2021. Janelle has lent her voice to numerous animated projects, such as the film "The Garfield Movie" (2024) and the TV shows "Central Park" (2020–2022), "Monsters at Work" (2024), and "Super Duper Bunny League" (2025). She has written for "Black Monday" and "Central Park" as well as "The Rundown with Robin Thede" (2017) and "History of the World: Part II" (2023). James has released the comedy album "Black and Mild" (2017), and she has hosted the podcasts "Strong Black Laughs" (2019) and "You In Danger, Gurl" (2020).

Early Life

Janelle James was born on September 23, 1979, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Her father owned a food truck, and when Janelle was seven years old, she started helping him, selling beers to tourists on the beach. At the age of 16, she moved to New York with her mother. As a teenager, James stood in line for 12 hours to try out for MTV's "Wanna Be a VJ" contest. After graduating from high school, she attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, but she left before earning her degree.

Career

In 2009, James began her comedy career at an open mic night in Champaign, Illinois, and she later toured with comedians such as David Cross, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, and Todd Barry. She released the comedy album "Black and Mild" in 2017, and she appeared on the Netflix series "The Comedy Lineup" in 2018 and "The Standups" in 2021. In 2017, Janelle guest-starred on "Crashing" and wrote for the BET late-night talk show "The Rundown with Robin Thede." From 2020 to 2021, she was a staff writer and executive story editor on the Showtime series "Black Monday," and she had a recurring role as Joyce. In 2020, James appeared in her first feature film, "Tom of Your Life," and guest-starred on "Corporate." From 2020 to 2022, she was a writer and story editor on the animated Apple TV+ series "Central Park," and she also voiced several characters.

(Photo by John Nacion/Penske Media via Getty Images)

In 2021, Janelle began playing Ava Coleman on the ABC sitcom "Abbott Elementary." Also starring Quinta Brunson (the show's creator), Tyler James Williams, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and William Stanford Davis, "Abbott Elementary" has won more than 80 awards, including a Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. James reprised the role of Ava in the 2025 "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" episode "The Gang F****s Up Abbott Elementary." During her time on "Abbott Elementary," she has also guest-starred on "Life & Beth" (2022) and voiced characters on "Tuca & Bertie" (2022), "Star Trek: Lower Decks" (2023), "Monsters at Work" (2024), "Kite Man: Hell Yeah!" (2024), "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder" (2025), and "Super Duper Bunny League" (2025). Janelle provided the voice of Olivia the cat in 2024's "The Garfield Movie," which featured the voices of Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, and Harvey Guillén and grossed $257.2 million at the box office. In 2025, James co-starred with Keke Palmer, SZA, and Katt Williams in the buddy comedy "One of Them Days." She hosted the 2022 ABC game show "The Final Straw," the 2023 Writers Guild of America Awards, and 2025 Artios Awards, and she has appeared on "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee," "Night Train with Wyatt Cenac," "Late Night with Seth Meyers," "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," "Live with Kelly and Mark," "Sherri," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," "The Drew Barrymore Show," and "The Jennifer Hudson Show."

Personal Life

Janelle was previously married to a teacher, and they welcomed two sons together before splitting up. James lived in Brooklyn for many years, but she moved to Los Angeles after the first season of "Abbott Elementary."

Awards and Nominations

James has earned numerous awards and nominations for "Abbott Elementary." She has received four Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025), three Critics Choice Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2023, 2024, and 2025), and one Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical-Comedy or Drama Television Series (2023). In 2022, Janelle won a Black Reel Award for Television for Outstanding Supporting Actress, Comedy Series (she won again in 2024 and 2025) and a Hollywood Critics Association TV Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Comedy. She also earned a Dorian Award nomination for Best Supporting TV Performance, a Gotham Independent Film Award nomination for Outstanding Performance in a New Series, and a TCA Award nomination for Individual Achievement in Comedy.

In 2023, James won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series. That year, Janelle and her co-stars won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series; they were nominated again in 2024 and 2025. James also earned a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Comedy/Variety Sketch Series for "History of the World: Part II" in 2024. She was included on Brooklyn Magazine's "50 Funniest People" list in 2016 and Variety's "10 Comics to Watch" list in 2020.

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