Kate Pierson Net Worth

What is Kate Pierson's net worth?

Kate Pierson is an American singer, musician, and lyricist who has a net worth of $5 million.

Kate Pierson is a singer-songwriter and musician who has a net worth of $5 million. Kate Pierson is best known as a founding member of the new wave band the B-52s. With the group, she recorded such hit songs as "Rock Lobster," "Private Idaho," "Love Shack," and "Roam." Pierson later began a solo career, releasing her debut solo album, "Guitars and Microphones," in 2015.

Early Life and Education

Kate Pierson was born on April 27, 1948, in Weehawken, New Jersey, and was raised in Rutherford. For her higher education, she briefly attended Wheaton College in Illinois before transferring to Boston University, from which she obtained a degree in journalism.

Career Beginnings

After graduating from college, Pierson traveled across Europe. In Wallsend, England, she worked as a barmaid at a pub for six months. Upon returning to the United States, Pierson moved to Athens, Georgia, where she lived on a farm. For work, she became a paste-up artist for the local newspaper.

The B-52s

In Athens, Georgia, in 1976, Pierson formed the band the B-52s with Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, and siblings Cindy Wilson and Ricky Wilson. They had success with their very first single, "Rock Lobster," which charted in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The song was included on the band's self-titled debut album, released in 1979. With this album, the B-52s established their unique new wave sound, combining elements of earlier pop music with knowing kitsch. Among the band's trademarks was Pierson's eccentric keyboard playing. The B-52s continued to grow their following with their second album, "Wild Planet," which came out in 1980. Featuring the single "Private Idaho," the album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA. The B-52s earned another Gold certification for their next album, 1983's "Whammy!," the final of the band's albums released before the death of Ricky Wilson from HIV/AIDS. However, Wilson did appear posthumously on the band's 1986 album "Bouncing Off the Satellites."

The B-52s had their most commercially successful studio album with "Cosmic Thing," which was released in 1989. Supported by the hit singles "Love Shack" and "Roam," the album reached number four on the Billboard 200 and peaked at number one in Australia and New Zealand. It eventually went four times Platinum in the US. Both "Love Shack" and "Roam" earned the band Grammy Award nominations for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The B-52s went on to release the album "Good Stuff" in 1992, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. Although the group released some compilation albums over the subsequent years, they didn't release another studio album of new material until 2008, with "Funplex." The album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200. Over the ensuing years, the B-52s continued touring. In 2022, they announced their final farewell tour, which concluded in Athens, Georgia, in early 2023. The group went on to have residencies at the Venetian Las Vegas in 2023 and 2024.

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Musical Collaborations

Pierson has collaborated with a myriad of other artists during her career. With the Ramones, she recorded the song "Chop Suey," and with Iggy Pop, she recorded the hit duet "Candy" from Pop's 1990 album "Brick by Brick." Pierson also contributed guest vocals to four songs on R.E.M.'s 1991 album "Out of Time," including "Shiny Happy People" and "Country Feedback." At the end of the decade, she formed the group NiNa with Mick Karn, Yuki Isoya, Takemi Shima, Masahide Sakuma, and Steven Wolf. The group released one album and two singles, exclusively in Japan, where they were hits.

In the '00s, Pierson sang on albums with such artists as Jay Ungar, Molly Mason, Junior Senior, and Peter Jöback. She went on to collaborate with David Byrne and Fatboy Slim on a track from their 2010 album "Here Lies Love." Later, in 2024, Pierson contributed guest vocals to the song "Fix It" from Pylon Reenactment Society's album "Magnet Factory." She also appeared in the music video for the song. Among her other musical contributions, Pierson and her B-52s bandmate Fred Schneider performed the theme song to the Nickelodeon animated television show "Rocko's Modern Life."

Solo Career

Pierson released her first solo studio album, "Guitars and Microphones," in early 2015. Her follow-up, "Radios & Rainbows," came out in 2024. Pierson has also released some non-album singles, including "Better Not Sting the Bee" and a cover of Shocking Blue's "Venus."

Kate's Lazy Meadow Motel

Kate owns a hotel called Kate's Lazy Meadow in Mount Tremper, New York. She purchased the roughly 6.4-acre property in the 2000s, performed a major renovation, and then made it available as a hotel in 2004. The property has 13 bedrooms over multiple structures. In June 2021, Kate listed the hotel for sale for $2.2 million. It ultimately sold for $2.3 million.

Kate's Lazy Desert

In 2011, Kate paid $18,000 for a five-acre property in an extremely remote area in the Mojave Desert in a town called Landers, California. She proceeded to build out an Airstream park on the property that she called "Kate's Lazy Desert." Sold this property in May 2024 for $666,000.

Personal Life

Pierson was previously married to Brian Cokayne, whom she had met while living in Europe in the early 1970s. She later dated artist Tim Rollins. In 2003, Pierson began dating artist Monica Coleman, whom she eventually married in 2015. In an interview that year, Pierson came out as bisexual.

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