Leslie Jordan Net Worth

What was Leslie Jordan's Net Worth?

Leslie Jordan was an American actor, comedian, writer, and singer who had a net worth of $2.5 million at the time of his death in October 2022. Leslie Jordan acted in numerous television series and films, with some of his best-known roles being on the shows "Will & Grace," "Sordid Lives: The Series," "The Cool Kids," "Call Me Kat," and "American Horror Story." He also wrote plays, acted on stage, and released a gospel music album, and during the COVID-19 pandemic became a popular figure on Instagram.

Early Life and Education

Leslie Jordan was born on April 29, 1955 in Memphis, Tennessee to Peggy and Allen. His father, a major in the US Army Reserve, was killed in an airplane crash at Camp Shelby in 1967. Jordan was raised Southern Baptist in Chattanooga, an experience he struggled with. In 1982, he moved to Los Angeles and soon became addicted to drugs and alcohol, leading to multiple arrests. With the help of daily journaling, Jordan eventually recovered.

Television Career

Jordan began acting on television in 1986 when he had guest roles on "The Fall Guy" and "The Wizard." He continued appearing in guest roles over the remainder of the decade, on such shows as "Night Court," "Murphy Brown," and "Newhart." Jordan had his first main role on television on the short-lived CBS sitcom "The People Next Door," in 1989. He had a main role on another short-lived show, the Fox sitcom "Top of the Heap," in 1991. The following year, Jordan began playing the main role of forensics specialist Lemar Samuels on the CBS police drama series "Bodies of Evidence"; he also began a recurring role on the NBC police drama series "Reasonable Doubts." Both shows ran until 1993. That year, Jordan began appearing on "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" and the sitcom "Hearts Afire." He had guest roles on a myriad of shows over the ensuing years, including "Roseanne," "Courthouse," "Coach," "Star Trek: Voyager," "The Pretender," "Wings," "Caroline in the City," "Maximum Bob," and "Martial Law."

Jordan's first major television role of the 21st century was as Dr. Benjamin Harris on Fox's "Boston Public," a role he also briefly played on Fox's "Ally McBeal." He then began arguably his most famous role, as Beverley Leslie on the NBC sitcom "Will & Grace." Introduced in the third season, he remained on the show until its conclusion in 2006, and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Jordan later reprised his role in the "Will & Grace" reboot from 2017 to 2020. During the run of the original version of the show, he appeared in episodes of "Reba" and "George Lopez," had a recurring role on "Boston Legal," and played the Ghost of Christmas Past in the ABC Family television film "Chasing Christmas," a modern-day adaptation of "A Christmas Carol." Jordan went on to guest-star on "Ugly Betty" and play recurring roles on "Hidden Palms" and "12 Miles of Bad Road." In 2008, he reprised his role as Earl Ingram from both the play and film "Sordid Lives" in "Sordid Lives: The Series," which aired its sole season on Logo TV.

In the first half of the 2010s, Jordan appeared in episodes of "Desperate Housewives," "Shake it Up," "The Game," "The Neighbors," "Raising Hope," "American Horror Story," and "Partners," among other series. He also competed in the 14th season of the UK's "Celebrity Big Brother," where he was the second housemate to be evicted. In 2015, Jordan appeared in two episodes of the British sitcom "Benidorm," and in 2016 he had a recurring role in the sixth season of "American Horror Story," subtitled "Roanoke." From 2017 to 2019, Jordan played Aiden in the British series "Living the Dream" on Sky One. During that time, he appeared as Benjamin Franklin in the 2018 Syfy movie "The Last Sharknado: It's About Time," and played the main role of Sid on the Fox sitcom "The Cool Kids" from 2018 to 2019. In the latter year, Jordan returned to the "American Horror Story" franchise with a recurring role in the ninth season, subtitled "1984." He had his next, and final, main role from 2021 to 2022, as Phil on the Fox sitcom "Call Me Kat."

Valerie Macon/Getty Images

Film Career

Jordan had his first major role on the big screen in the 1990 comedy "Ski Patrol." He followed that with appearances in "Hero," "Missing Pieces," and "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday." Jordan had a rare starring role in the 2001 film "Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel," which he adapted from his own play of the same name. He also played Earl Ingram in the 2000 black comedy "Sordid Lives," reprising his role from that play. Jordan's other credits during the decade included the LGBTQ+ short film "Sissy Frenchfry," the Western zombie comedy "Undead or Alive," and the gay sex comedy "Eating Out: All You Can Eat." In the 2010s, he appeared in such films as "Love Ranch," "The Help," "Mangus!," "Southern Baptist Sissies," and "Fear, Inc.," and reprised his role from "Sordid Lives" in the sequel "A Very Sordid Wedding." Jordan's final film role during his lifetime was in the 2021 biographical drama "The United States vs. Billie Holiday."

Stage Career

On stage, Jordan was known for his roles in the plays "Sordid Lives," "Southern Baptist Sissies," and "Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel," the last of which was an autobiographical play that he also wrote. Jordan wrote and starred in some other autobiographical plays, including the one-man show "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet" and the satirical musical "Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life Thus Far." Both were produced off-Broadway. Among his other stage credits, he played Big Al Wright in the 2011 off-Broadway premiere of the musical comedy "Lucky Guy."

Other Work

Jordan achieved a new level of recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he began posting comedy videos to Instagram. His posts drew major media attention, and he ended up attracting over five million followers. Leveraging this newfound exposure, Jordan released the gospel music album "Company's Comin'" and published his autobiography "How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived," both in 2021.

Personal Life and Death

Jordan was gay. He was involved with the nonprofit AIDS Project Los Angeles early in the epidemic and also delivered food for the nonprofit Project Angel Food.

On October 24, 2022, Jordan was driving when his car hit the side of a building in Hollywood, and he was killed. An autopsy revealed that he had experienced sudden cardiac dysfunction stemming from heart disease.

Who's Richer?

Leslie
Jordan

Compare!

Peter
Scolari