John Henson Net Worth

What Is John Henson's Net Worth?

John Henson is an American comedian, talk show host, actor, writer, and producer who has a net worth of $1.5 million. John Henson hosted the E! series "Talk Soup" from 1995 to 1999, and from 2008 to 2014, he was a co-host on the ABC game show "Wipeout." He was also a producer on both shows, and he wrote for "Talk Soup." Since 2017, John has hosted the Food Network reality competition "Halloween Baking Championship," with the exception of the 2020 season. As an actor, he has appeared in the films "Meet Wally Sparks" (1997), "Stag" (1997), and "Life Without Dick" (2002) and guest-starred on television series such as "Charmed" (1999) and "Anger Management" (2014). Henson also had recurring roles as a reporter on NBC's "My Name Is Earl" (2008–2009) and Mike Moon on the Disney Channel's "Austin & Ally" (2012–2015).

Early Life

John Henson was born John Morris Henson on July 11, 1967, in Stamford, Connecticut. He is the son of Barbara and Joe Henson, and he has four brothers. His father served as an educational advisor to presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, and his brother Dan is the CEO and President of GE Capital, Americas. John began acting when he was just eight years old, appearing in student films one of his brothers made at New York University. Henson attended St. Luke's School and Boston University, and he studied acting at New York City's Playwrights Horizons, Circle in the Square, and Three of Us Studios. He appeared in stage productions such as "Heinous Crimes and Other Delights," "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," and "Conduct Unbecoming." John dropped out of college to pursue a career as a stand-up comic, and in a 1997 interview with The Morning Call, he stated, "My dad was a little skeptical when I left college. He feared I was leaping into the giant maw of show business and was going to be eaten alive."

Henson has a white streak of hair on his head, which led to him earning the nickname "Skunk Boy" during his "Talk Soup" days. He told the Los Angeles Times, "It's just a birthmark. It's a lack of pigment. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, the skunk reference was incredibly recurring. When I got to 'Talk Soup' they were like, 'What do we do? Do we dye it? Do we make fun of it?.'"

Career

Henson began his career in the entertainment industry as a stand-up comic, performing at colleges such as Lehigh University and Muhlenberg College during the early years of his career. He appeared on TV shows such as "An Evening at the Improv" (1991–1994), "Two Drink Minimum" (1994), and "Caroline's Comedy Hour" (1995).

In early 1995, he attended a national casting call to replace Greg Kinnear as the host of the E! series "Talk Soup." John was chosen as the new host, and he also wrote for and executive-produced the show. Henson stayed on the show until 1999, hosting more than 1,000 episodes and becoming the program's longest-running host. He was succeeded by Hal Sparks, who hosted the show from 1999-2000, followed by Aisha Tyler, who hosted from 2001 to 2002. The show was rebooted as "The Soup" in 2004 and ran through 2015, hosted by Joel McHale.

In the '90s, he also guest-starred on "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" (1997–1998), "Remember WENN" (1998), and "Charmed" (1999), appeared in the 1997 films "Meet Wally Sparks" and "Stag," and was featured in the 1999 music video "Blink-182: What's My Age Again." In 2000, John appeared in the TV movie "Bar Hopping," and in 2002, he co-starred with Sarah Jessica Parker and Harry Connick, Jr. in the film "Life Without Dick." In 2004, he hosted and executive-produced the Spike TV series "The John Henson Project," and from 2005 to 2007, he hosted "Watch This!" on the TV Guide Channel.

(Photo by Steve Grayson/WireImage)

From 2008 to 2014, Henson co-hosted the ABC game show "Wipeout" with John Anderson. "Wipeout" won an Entertainment Weekly award for Guilty Pleasure Reality Showdown (2010), a Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer TV Show (2014), and three Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Reality Show (2012, 2013, and 2014). From 2008 to 2009, John appeared in six episodes of the NBC sitcom "My Name Is Earl," and from 2012 to 2015, he had a recurring role as Mike Moon on the Disney Channel's "Austin & Ally." He has lent his voice to the TV shows "Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil" (2012), "Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero" (2015), and "Voltron: Legendary Defender" (2018). Henson guest-starred on Charlie Sheen's FX series "Anger Management" in 2014, and in 2016, he competed on the Food Network's "Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition 2," finishing in third place behind Loni Love and Nicole Sullivan. In 2017, he hosted the Fox game show "iWitness," which was created by Judge Judy Sheindlin. That year, John also began hosting the Food Network reality competition "Halloween Baking Championship." He took a break from hosting for the 2020 season, but he returned the following year.

Personal Life

John married television producer Corie Hirschtick on August 26, 2000. After they divorced in 2006, Henson wed actress and comedian Jill Benjamin on June 26, 2010. John and Jill welcomed two children together before divorcing in 2024. In December 2025, Henson revealed on social media that he was celebrating nine years of sobriety, writing, "9 years ago today, I surrendered. And asked for help. At the time, it felt like defeat. But it was the best decision I ever made. If I did it, you can too. I promise."

Award Nominations

Henson received three Daytime Emmy nominations for "Talk Soup": Outstanding Special Class Program in 1996 and 1997 and Outstanding Special Class Writing in 1997. The show also earned him a CableACE Award nomination for Entertainment Host in 1995.

Real Estate

In May 2019, John and Jill sold their Studio City home for $2.525 million,

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