What is Barry Sonnenfeld's Net Worth?
Barry Sonnenfeld is an American film and television director, producer, actor, and former cinematographer who has a net worth of $80 million. Barry Sonnefeld is known for directing such films as "The Addams Family" and "Addams Family Values," "Get Shorty," and the "Men in Black" trilogy. As a cinematographer, he shot the Coen brothers' first three feature films and did a couple for Rob Reiner. On television, Sonnenfeld has directed episodes of many series, including "Pushing Daisies," "Notes from the Underbelly," "A Series of Unfortunate Events," and "Schmigadoon!"
Early Life and Education
Barry Sonnenfeld was born on April 1, 1953 in New York City to Jewish parents Kelly and Sonny. His mother was an art teacher, while his father was an architectural lighting designer and lighting salesman. For his higher education, Sonnenfeld attended Hampshire College, from which he earned his bachelor's degree, and then New York University, where he obtained his MFA from the film school in 1978.
Career Beginnings in Cinematography
Sonnenfeld began his professional career shooting pornographic films. He had his first credit as a cinematographer on a mainstream film with the 1982 Oscar-winning documentary "In Our Water," which he shot with Robert Chappell. Sonnenfeld went on to shoot the Coen brothers' feature film debut, "Blood Simple," which came out in 1984. He subsequently worked with the brothers on their next two films, "Raising Arizona" (1987) and "Miller's Crossing" (1990). Sonnenfeld also served as the cinematographer on Danny DeVito's feature film directorial debut "Throw Momma from the Train" (1987), Penny Marshall's "Big" (1988), and Rob Reiner's "When Harry Met Sally…" (1989) and "Misery" (1990). Additionally, he shot some television films, including "How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days" (1984) and "Welcome Home, Bobby" (1986).
Film Directing
Sonnenfeld made his directorial debut in late 1991 with the supernatural black comedy "The Addams Family," based on the eponymous cartoon characters and the 1960s television series. A box-office hit, the film spawned the 1993 sequel "Addams Family Values," also directed by Sonnenfeld. He had another movie released in 1993, the romcom "For Love or Money," starring Michael J. Fox and Gabrielle Anwar. Sonnenfeld's fourth film as director was the gangster comedy "Get Shorty," based on the novel by Elmore Leonard. Released in 1995, the film was both a critical and commercial success, and earned its star John Travolta the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical.
Sonnenfeld followed the success of "Get Shorty" with an even bigger hit in 1997: the science-fiction action comedy "Men in Black." Based on the Marvel Comics series and starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, the film was the third-highest-grossing of the year. It ended up spawning a franchise, with Sonnenfeld directing the hit sequels "Men in Black II" (2002) and "Men in Black 3" (2012). His other directing credits include "Wild Wild West" (1999), also starring Will Smith; "Big Trouble" (2002), with Tim Allen and Rene Russo; the Robin Williams vehicle "RV" (2006); and the feline comedy "Nine Lives" (2016). Sonnenfeld has also appeared in most of his films in small roles.
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Producing
Sonnenfeld has served as a producer on a handful of films, starting with the 2000 black comedy crime film "The Crew," which he co-produced with Barry Josephson. He and Josephson would go on to co-produce the Coen brothers' "The Ladykillers" (2004) and the Disney film "Enchanted" (2007) and its sequel "Disenchanted" (2022).
Television Directing
On the small screen, Sonnenfeld directed his first episode of television in 1998: the pilot of the short-lived ABC series "Maximum Bob." He returned to television directing in 2001 to direct the pilot of the Fox sitcom "The Tick." After a longer break from the small screen, Sonnenfeld directed two episodes of the ABC series "Pushing Daisies," which ran from 2007 to 2009. For his work, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. Meanwhile, from 2007 to 2010, Sonnenfeld directed six episodes of the ABC sitcom "Notes from the Underbelly." He also directed three television films during that time: "Hackett," "Play or Be Played," and "The Bridget Show." Sonnenfeld's next major television project was the Netflix series "A Series of Unfortunate Events," based on the book series by Lemony Snicket. He directed ten episodes of the show during its run from 2017 to 2019. After that, in 2021, Sonnenfeld directed six episodes of the Apple TV+ musical comedy series "Schmigadoon!".
Personal Life
In 1989, Sonnenfeld married Susan Ringo. They have one child and live together in Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada.
Sonnenfeld penned a memoir entitled "Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother: Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker." It was published in 2020 by Hachette Books.
Real Estate
In June 2020 Barry Sonnenfeld listed his Telluride, Colorado ranch for $13.3 million. The 63-acre property features an 11,000 square-foot home. He sold the property one month later for $13.25 million. Jerry Seinfeld owns roughly 40-acres immediately next door.
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