Jennifer Saunders Net Worth

What Is Jennifer Saunders' Net Worth?

Jennifer Saunders is an English comedian, actress, writer, and producer who has a net worth of $16 million. Jennifer Saunders is known for being part of the comedy duo French and Saunders with Dawn French. She played Jennifer Marsh on "Girls on Top" (1985–1986), Edina Monsoon on "Absolutely Fabulous" (1992–1996; 2001–2004; 2011–2012), and Caroline Martin on "Jam & Jerusalem" (2006–2009), and she starred on the sketch comedy series "French and Saunders" (1987–2005). Jennifer created and wrote all four shows, and she executive-produced the 2016 film "Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie." Saunders has more than 80 acting credits to her name, including the films "Muppet Treasure Island" (1996), "Death on the Nile" (2022), and "Allelujah" (2023) and the television series "The Comic Strip Presents…" (1982–1998; 2011–2012), "Happy Families" (1985), "Friends" (1998), "Let Them Eat Cake" (1999), "The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle" (2007), "This is Jinsy" (2011–2014), and "Blandings" (2013–2014). She has also voiced Fairy Godmother in "Shrek 2" (2004), Miss April Spink in "Coraline" (2009), The Queen in "Minions" (2015), Nana Noodleman in "Sing" (2016) and "Sing 2" (2021), and Dr. Alex Cular in "Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires" (2018). In 2013, Jennifer published the autobiography "Bonkers: My Life in Laughs."

Early Life

Jennifer Saunders was born Jennifer Jane Saunders on July 6, 1958, in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. She is the daughter of biology teacher Barbara Jane Saunders and Royal Air Force pilot Robert Thomas Saunders, and she has three brothers, Peter, Tim, and Simon. Jennifer's father reached the rank of group captain, and after leaving the military, he worked for British Aerospace. Saunders' family moved to Cyprus when she was six months old and to Melksham when she was 10 years old. Jennifer changed schools many times due to her father's job in the Royal Air Force. She attended boarding schools until she was 18, then she studied at St Paul's Girls' School in London and at a comprehensive school in Wiltshire. After Robert left the Royal Air Force, the family relocated to Cheshire in 1971. After graduating, Saunders spent a year working as an au pair in Italy. In 1977, Jennifer was accepted into London's Central School of Speech and Drama, and she met her future comedy partner, Dawn French, there. Though the two didn't initially get along, they eventually became flatmates, and after they graduated, they started performing together on the stand-up, festival, and cabaret circuits.

Career

French and Saunders joined The Comic Strip, an informal comedy collective that was part of the 1980s alternative comedy scene, and in 1982, the group got its own show on Channel 4. In 1985, Jennifer co-starred with her husband, Adrian Edmondson, on the BBC series "Happy Families," on which she played five different characters. From 1985 to 1986, she played Jennifer Marsh on the ITV sitcom "Girls on Top," and in 1987, she began starring on the BBC2 sketch comedy series "French and Saunders," which she co-created with Dawn French. Jennifer and Dawn won a Writers' Guild of Great Britain award for the series in 1991. In 1992, Saunders began playing Edina Monsoon on the BBC2 sitcom "Absolutely Fabulous" alongside Joanna Lumley. Jennifer also created the series, which ran from 1992 to 1996, 2001 to 2004, and 2011 to 2012. In 2000, the British Film Institute ranked "Absolutely Fabulous" #17 on its list of the "100 Greatest British Television Programmes." Jennifer reprised her role in 2016's "Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie." In the '90s, she guest-starred on "Queen of the East" (1995), "Roseanne" (1996), and "Friends" (1998), played Colombine, Comtesse de Vache on the BBC One sitcom "Let Them Eat Cake" alongside Dawn French, and appeared in the films "Muppet Treasure Island" (1996), "Spice World" (1997), and "Fanny & Elvis" (1999).

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From 2006 to 2009, Saunders played Caroline Martin on the BBC One sitcom "Jam & Jerusalem," which she created. She appeared in the 2006 French film "L'Entente Cordiale," then she starred in the title role on the 2007 BBC Two series "The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle," which she co-created with psychologist Tanya Byron. From 2011 to 2014, Jennifer played Miss Reason on Sky Atlantic's "This is Jinsy," and in 2012, she appeared in the miniseries "Dead Boss" and the documentary "Jennifer Saunders: Back in the Saddle." She starred as Lady Constance Keeble on the BBC One series "Blandings" from 2013 to 2014, then she appeared in the films "Patrick" (2018), "Isn't It Romantic" (2019), "Death on the Nile" (2022), "Allelujah" (2023), and "Sumotherhood" (2023). Saunders played Heidi Doyle in the 2020 Netflix miniseries "The Stranger," which was based on a 2015 Harlan Coben novel. In 2021, she and Dawn starred in the special "French & Saunders: Funny Women. Jennifer guest-starred on "Ghosts" (2021) and "Intelligence" (2023), and she played Maester of Dubrovnik/Saester of Dubrovnik in the 2022 Netflix miniseries "The Pentaverate."

Personal Life

Jennifer married actor/comedian Adrian Edmondson on May 11, 1982, and they have welcomed three daughters, Ella (born 1986), Beattie (born 1987), and Freya (born 1990). Beattie and Freya are actresses, and Ella is a singer-songwriter. In July 2010, Saunders revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2009 and that she was in remission after undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, and a lumpectomy. Jennifer is a patron of the U.K.-based nonprofit organization Smart Works Charity, which offers "free interview-appropriate clothing and interview preparation support to all women who are unemployed or on a zero-hours contract."

Awards and Nominations

In 2009, Saunders was honored with an Academy Fellowship in the Television category at the BAFTA Awards. "Absolutely Fabulous" earned her BAFTA Awards for Best Comedy (Programme or Series) in 2003 and Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme in 2012. Jennifer also received British Comedy Award nominations for Best Comedy Actress (1993) and Best TV Comedy Actress (1994) for the series. She has won two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards: TV- Light Entertainment for "French and Saunders" (1991) and TV – Situation Comedy for "Absolutely Fabulous" (1993). For "Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie," Saunders and Joanna Lumley won an AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Buddy Picture, and Jennifer earned a British Screenwriters' Award nomination for Best British Feature Film Writing and a National Film Award (UK) nomination for Best Actress. She also received National Film Award nominations for Best Performance in an Animation Film and Global Contribution to Motion Picture for "Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires" (2019). Saunders earned a Behind the Voice Actors Award nomination for Best Female Vocal Performance in a Feature Film in a Supporting Role for "Sing" in 2017 and a British Academy Children's Award nomination for Best Performer for "Grandpa's Great Escape" in 2018. Jennifer and Dawn French received an Honorary Rose at the 2002 Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival, and Saunders earned a British LGBT Award nomination for Global Icon in 2016.

Real Estate

In 2002, Saunders and Edmondson sold their London home for £2.2 million and moved into a £1 million Chagford farmhouse that they had initially intended to use as a holiday retreat. The farmhouse sits on five acres, and the property includes a swimming pool.

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