Steve Harvey, the famous American host and comedian, is a major player in the television business and a household name in the United States. He has done everything from stand-up comedy to hosting game shows to acting in movies. He did not always plan on being a comic, but once he learned the ropes, there was no stopping him.
Steve Harvey’s wealth has skyrocketed over the past several decades, thanks to his success in front of the camera. What follows is an examination of Steve Harvey’s life and work.
Steve Harvey Early Life
Steve Harvey’s coal miner father, Jesse, and his Sunday school teacher mother, Elaine, gave birth to him on January 17, 1957, in Welch, West Virginia. He used to stammer as a youngster, but he learned to control it by repeating his lines before saying them out loud.
Before finally graduating from college, Harvey attended Kent State and West Virginia University when his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. After that, he tried his hand at various professions, including postal carrier, auto mechanic, automobile salesperson, and carpet cleaner, before finally attempting stand-up comedy in the 1980s.
In 1985, Harvey entered and won $50 in his first stand-up comedy competition. Inspired by his success, Harvey decided to pursue a career in comedy, where he soon established himself and began earning $3,000. He failed to provide for his family, and his relationship with his wife and twins suffered. This led to Harvey filing for divorce from his wife.
When Harvey was in his mid-20s and living on the streets, an Orlando couple named Rich and Becky Liss was crucial in getting his life back on track. The pair gave Harvey’s carpet-cleaning business its first contract and gave him the necessary travel money to become famous eventually. Harvey estimates the total cost of the trip to be $11,000.
Steve Harvey career
After placing in the top five in the second annual Johnnie Walker National Comedy Search in 1990, he began appearing in small roles on television series and specials such as The Comedy Concert Hour, Comedy from the Caribbean, Just for Laughs, and It is Showtime at the Apollo.
The Steve Harvey Show, his namesake comedy, debuted on The WB in 1996 and ran for six seasons. Soon after The Steve Harvey Show premiere, Harvey joined D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and the late Bernie Mac on the road for the Kings of Comedy tour. In 2000, he was included in The Original Kings of Comedy, a film adaptation of the tour directed by Spike Lee.
Since September 2010, Steve Harvey has presided over the long-running game program Family Feud. He also presents the prime-time game show Celebrity Family Feud in the summer. His new program, in which he mediates conflicts between two sides, aired in January 2022 under the title Judge Steve Harvey. On May 9, 2023, the second season of the show debuted. The Steve Harvey Morning Show, which Harvey hosts, airs for four hours each weekday morning and is syndicated nationally.
Harvey was the mastermind behind the 2015 Miss Universe competition in Sin City. He hosted Miss Universe in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022 despite his gaffe in 2015, when he wrongly identified the first runner as the winner and had to reveal a few minutes after she was crowned that he had read the results incorrectly.
In the early 2000s, Harvey also got the opportunity to act in a few films. He appeared alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyoncé in the 2003 comedy musical The Fighting Temptations. He also played in the same year’s Love Don’t Cost a Thing, which featured Nick Cannon.
In 2004, Harvey appeared in the road comedy film Johnson Family Vacation alongside a slew of other comedians. Cedric the Entertainer, Bow Wow, Vanessa Williams, Gabby Soleil, Solange Knowles, and Shannon Elizabeth also appeared in the film.
In the sports comedy picture Racing Stripes, released the following year, Harvey provided his voice for the role of Buzz the Fly. Stars including Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, Mandy Moore, and David Spade lent their voices to the film.
Harvey has also been engaged in other projects, such as the publication of the book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man” in 2009, which in turn served as the basis for the group movie “Think Like a Man” (2012). The book’s hardback edition was on the New York Times best-seller list for 64 weeks. The novels “Straight Talk, No Chaser” (2010), “Act Like a Success” (2014), and “Jump: Take the Leap of Faith to Achieve Your Life of Abundance” (2016) are among the works he has authored. In addition, in 2014, he co-founded the dating website Delightful with IAC. Harvey co-created the show “Little Big Shots” with Ellen DeGeneres in 2016 and presented it till 2019. A court comedy based on arbitration, “Judge Steve Harvey,” premiered on ABC with Harvey as host in January 2022.
Steve Harvey Awards
- Four-time winner: NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)
- 2007: Syndicated Personality/Show of the Year – Radio & Records magazine
- 2011: BET Humanitarian Award – 2011 BET Awards
- 2013: Favorite New Talk Show Host – 39th People’s Choice Awards
- 2013: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- 2016: Honorary Doctorate Degree Received at Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama
- 2017: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host – Steve Harvey
- 2017: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host – Family Feud
Steve Harvey Personal Life
Harvey is a three-time widower. Marjorie Bridges, whom he wed in 2007, is his current wife. There are seven members of his family: three from his first marriage, one from his second, and three adopted by him and Marjorie after their marriage.
He and Marjorie established a charity dedicated to helping and educating young people called The Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation. Steve has teamed up with Kent State University for the Disney Dreamers Academy to offer scholarships to deserving students.
Steve Harvey Spouse
The marriage bug has hit Steve Harvey three times. He wed Marcia Harvey in 1980, and the couple produced three children together: Brandi and Karl, who later became twins, and Broderick Jr. The pair officially split up in 1994.
He wed Mary Lee Shackelford in 1996, and the couple later split up in 2005. Harvey tied the knot with Marjorie Bridges-Woods in 2007. The couple tied the knot soon after their chance bookshop meeting. In 2007, they became parents to a son, Wynton, and welcomed two grandkids, Elle and Ben.
Harvey and Marjorie Bridges have recently tied the knot. Although they did not get married until 2007, they had known one another since 1990. After marrying Marjorie, Harvey formally adopted her three children. Their 15th wedding anniversary had just been celebrated.
Steve Harvey salary and net wealth
Steve Harvey’s fortune is estimated to be $280 million. Steve makes over $40 million a year between his income as a radio broadcaster and his “Family Feud” winnings ($10 million).
Steve Harvey has lately spent $1,000,000.00 on a brand new Lamborghini Aventador. Aside from his Lincoln Aviator and DB11, he also has a Ferrari GTC4 and Aston Martin. Steve also has an assortment of high-end timepieces. His watches range from Blancpain and Vacheron Constantin to Hublot and other high-end brands.
Steve Harvey has two enormous mansions outside of Los Angeles: one in Atlanta, Georgia, that he bought for $3.4 million in 2010, and another in the Dallas, Texas, suburbs that stands on 4 acres. Steve moved into a Chicago condo on the 88th level of the Trump International in 2013. The condo is 5,500 square feet in size. In 2018, he made $7.7 million from selling that home. Steve bought the Atlanta home that had belonged to Tyler Perry for $15 million in May 2020. The 35,000-square-foot, guarded mansion covers 17 acres.