Known for: Thelma and Louise and Fight Club
Net worth: $240 million
Producer and actor, Brad Pitt has one of the world’s most recognized faces. It’s a pretty one, too. We first recognized it, and the rest of him, in Thelma and Louise as a hitchhiking charmer who Geena Davis’ “Thelma” falls for. The one-nighter proved instructive! In A River Runs Through It , Robert Redford’s 1992 blockbuster, Pitt proved his knack for serious acting, becoming the turning point in his career. Big roles began coming his way. He starred in Kalifornia next. Another significant turning point occurred after starring in the cult-favorite, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles .
Prior to the onset of success, the Gen X favorite got bit parts in big movies like No Way Out, Less Than Zero and No Man’s Land. He bailed on a journalism degree at the University of Missouri just two units shy of a degree in order to move to L.A. to become an actor. He wouldn’t need the advertising degree. But he did have to work as a mover and an El Pollo Loco chicken mascot before becoming one of the wealthiest men in the business. After 20 years in Hollywood, he’s starred in massive hits like 12 Monkeys, Seven, Snatch, and the Ocean’s Eleven film franchise based on the original Rat Pack movie. Look for Pitt in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood next!
Christina Applegate
Known for: Married… with Children
Net worth: $20 million
Remember Kelly Bundy? Christina Applegate played one of the funniest teenage girls (ever), on one of the funniest TV shows (ever). OMG. No comedienne flips the “dumb blond” stereotype like Applegate. Alas, the sitcom Married… with Children ended after running for eleven glorious seasons. But why did it have to end? Maybe adolescence doesn’t last long enough.
Applegate guest-starred in 21 Jump Street and hosted SNL . She starred in Wild Bill , Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks!, Jane Austen’s Mafia! and Bad Moms . She’s won many accolades for her performance in Samantha Who? , and she won a Primetime Emmy for her role on Friends . Applegate is a breast cancer survivor. She supports breast cancer charities like Stand Up to Cancer , a fundraising TV show. She founded Right Action for Women to help with pre-cancer screening. She also helps out World Animal Protection and Adopts a Classroom.
Ralph Macchio
Known for: The Karate Kid and The Outsiders
Net worth: $3 million
Starting out young as a commercial kid, Ralph Macchio advertised for Bubble Yum and Dr. Pepper. Landing a role on the popular 1980s show Eight is Enough made him an actor. After playing “Johnny” in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders , he was catapulted to fame with the rest of the “Brat Pack.” It lifted him to his most popular role-playing Daniel LaRusso in the super-lucrative Karate Kid franchise. His touching portrayal alongside sensei Mr. Miyagi, leaning to “wax on” and “wax off” holds a heaping load of nostalgia.
The movie, in turn, morphed into the popular Cobra Kai TV series. He was also memorable in My Cousin Vinny with Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei. Macchio got into producing and directing. He stars in Cobra Kai and appears on television shows like How I Met Your Mother and Dancing with the Stars.
Vanessa Redgrave
Known for: Julia
Net worth: $20 million
Acclaimed actress Vanessa Redgrave was born great. The fact was announced during curtain call at a London theatre on January 30, 1937. None other than Laurence Olivier told the audience: “Tonight a great actress was born.” The proud father was Olivier’s co-star, Michael Redgrave. The words proved prophetic. Redgrave has won practically every performance award. The Royal Shakespeare Company-trained actress has not only won an Academy Award, but she’s won two Emmys, two Golden Globes, two Cannes Best Actress awards, a Tony, a SAG, and a Laurence Olivier theatre award.
She premiered on film with oddball comedy Morgan! (1966). She won an Oscar for Julia, starring opposite Jane Fonda. The film was an enormous success—critics loved it too. The Jewish Defense League did not. Redgrave was personally threatened for her work in the Holocaust drama. She has been an outspoken opponent to the War on Terror. Her support for the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) has caused her various backlash. In 1995 Redgrave was elected to be a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Jamison Newlander
Known for: The Lost Boys
Net worth: $1 million
Long before Buffy was a thing, Jamison Newlander played a vampire hunter fighting off vamps alongside his brother. The Lost Boys (1987) starring Corey Feldman as his brother, Kiefer Sutherland and Corey Haim was popular! The film franchise includes two sequels, a comic book series, plus a television series in the works.
Newlander graduated from Beverly Hills High School and moved to the East coast to study acting. In 1996 he became an award-winning playwright with his play, “Remember This.” He starred with River Phoenix in the TV movie, Circle of Violence: A Family Drama shortly before Phoenix’s death. In Valerie , he starred with Jason Bateman. Newlander had a bi-weekly podcast called “The Jamison Newlander and Some Other Guy Show” that streamed on Saturdays. He’s currently working on getting another podcast online called “Current Frequencies.” Also on the Internet, he created a Wikisoap, the first-ever soap opera of its kind.