Justin Berfield Net Worth

What Is Justin Berfield's Net Worth and Salary?

Justin Berfield is an American actor, writer, and producer who has a net worth of $6 million. Justin Berfield is best known for appearing on the popular TV series "Malcolm in the Middle." Justin appeared in all 151 of the show's episodes over seven seasons between 2000 and 2006. He previously appeared in 100 episodes of "Unhappily Ever After." Upon recording the 100th episode of "Malcolm in the Middle," Justin became the youngest person in history to appear in 100 episodes of two different television shows.

Following "Malcolm in the Middle," Berfield shifted his focus behind the camera. He co-founded the production company J2TV with Jason Felts, later serving as Chief Creative Officer at Virgin Produced, a content division of Richard Branson's Virgin Group. In that role, he helped develop and produce feature films, scripted television, and digital media projects. Though Berfield has largely stepped away from acting, his career reflects a successful evolution from child star to creative executive, maintaining a lasting connection to the entertainment industry through producing and entrepreneurial ventures.

Early Life

Justin Berfield was born on February 25, 1986, in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of Gail and Eric Berfield and the younger brother of actor Lorne Berfield. Growing up in Southern California, Justin showed an early interest in performing and began acting while still in kindergarten. By the time he reached elementary school, he was already appearing in television commercials, quickly building a reputation as a confident and expressive child performer. Over the next several years, he starred in more than 20 nationally broadcast commercials, including a memorable early spot for Folgers coffee at age five. These experiences helped him develop comfort on camera and led naturally to guest roles on network sitcoms by the time he was eight years old.

(Photo by Sam Greenwood/WireImage)

Career

Berfield began booking television roles in the early 1990s, appearing on shows such as "The Good Life," "The Boys Are Back," "The Mommies," and "Hardball." His breakthrough came in 1995 when he was cast as Ross Malloy, the wisecracking youngest son on the WB sitcom "Unhappily Ever After." The show, created by Ron Leavitt and Arthur Silver, ran for five seasons from 1995 to 1999 and centered on the dysfunctional Malloy family. Berfield starred alongside Geoff Pierson, Stephanie Hodge, Kevin Connolly, and Nikki Cox, as well as a talking puppet voiced by Bobcat Goldthwait. Over the show's run, Berfield appeared in 100 episodes, gaining valuable experience and national visibility. That same year, at just nine years old, he was among 3,000 young actors who auditioned for the role of young Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace," though the part ultimately went to Jake Lloyd.

In 2000, Berfield was cast as Reese, the rebellious and dim-witted older brother of Frankie Muniz's title character in the hit Fox comedy "Malcolm in the Middle." The show, created by Linwood Boomer, became an instant success and ran for seven seasons from 2000 to 2006. Berfield's portrayal of Reese was both hilarious and surprisingly endearing, earning him critical praise and a devoted fan following. The main cast also included Jane Kaczmarek and Bryan Cranston as the family's high-strung parents, along with Erik Per Sullivan and Christopher Masterson as Malcolm's brothers. The series won multiple Emmy Awards and became one of the most influential sitcoms of its era. By the time "Malcolm in the Middle" reached its 100th episode, Berfield had made television history as the youngest actor ever to appear in 100 episodes of two different network series.

After "Malcolm in the Middle" ended in 2006, Berfield chose to step back from acting and focus on production. He served as a producer or executive producer on projects including "The Country Bears," "Romance and Cigarettes," "Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive," and "Sons of Tucson." He also lent his voice to animated shows such as "Kim Possible" and "The Fairly OddParents." In 2010, he made a brief cameo appearance on "Sons of Tucson," marking one of his few on-screen roles after his time as Reese. In later years, Berfield transitioned fully into producing and creative development, helping launch projects through his company J2TV and later working with Virgin Produced, the entertainment arm of Richard Branson's Virgin Group.

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Charity Work

Berfield was asked in 2001 to serve as a National Youth Ambassador for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. He participated in the charity for three years until he turned 18. Since then, he has been active with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Virgin Unite, the charitable organization of Virgin Group. In 2002, Justin donated $100,000 to the Ronald McDonald House World Children's Day Benefit.

Personal Life

Justin married Liza Almeida in 2017. They have two children.

Real Estate

In May 2008, Justin paid $1.145 million for a home in Venice, California. He sold this property in July 2011 for $850,000.

In January 2006, Justin paid $3.4 million for a home that was being sold by soon-to-be divorced singers/reality stars Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey. This is the home where Jessica and Nick filmed much of their "Newlyweds" reality TV series. Berfield listed the home for sale in August 2019 for $3.995 million. That price proved to be very optimistic, with Justin accepting $2.5 million in November 2010. However, time would prove that he just needed to be patient. Today the home is worth around $5 million.

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