Forest Whitaker Net Worth (2023)- Wiki, Personal and Early life, Famous Movies and Television Shows, Awards and Achievements

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Forest Whitaker Net worth is around $25 million. He is a famous American actor, director, and producer.

During his career, Forrest Whitaker has appeared in a wide range of different films and television shows such as Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, The Fourth Angel, Platoon, The Last King of Scotland, Taken, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Arrival, God Father of Harlem, Criminal Minds, The Shield, The Twilight Zone, North, and South, etc.

Talking about the same He is well-known for movies like “The Last King of Scotland,” for which he has been honored with a number of awards. Whitaker also has an appearance in blockbusters such as Star Wars: Rogue One, Panic Room, and Black Panther.

Besides being a well-known film and television personality, Whitaker is also known for his humanitarian work and activism. UNESCO inducted Whitaker as a Goodwill Ambassador in 2011. Later he received a promotion to Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation and serves as the CEO of Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), a non-profit outreach program.

Forest Whitaker Net Worth in 2023 and Salary

Forest Steven Whitaker has a net worth of around $25 million, and he makes money through his successful career as an actor, director, and producer. He has been a part of a wide range of blockbuster films and television shows.

Throughout his film and television career, Whitaker, a successful American actor, producer, and director, has been the recipient of many honors and accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, etc., for his performances.

Forest Whitaker’s Personal and Early Life

Forest Steven Whitaker was born on the 15th of July 1961 in Longview, Texas. His father was Forest E. Whitaker Jr., an insurance salesman, and his mother was Laura Francis (née Smith), a special education teacher who put herself through college and earned two master’s degrees while raising her children.

According to a DNA test, his mother was of Akan heritage, and his father was Igbo. After the birth of Whitaker, his family soon moved to Carson, California, where he was raised alongside three siblings, two younger brothers, and an older sister. Whitaker completed his elementary education in Carson.

He attended Palisades Charter High School, where he joined the football team, sang for the choir, and graduated in 1979. He attended California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, on a football scholarship, but a back injury made him shift his focus to singing.

Initially, he toured England with the Cal Poly Chamber Singers in 1980 to be trained as an opera singer but again, he switched his focus to drama.

Later, he proceeded to the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music to study opera as a tenor and was subsequently admitted into the institution’s Drama Conservatory.

In 1982 he graduated with a BFA in acting from the University of Southern California. Whitaker later took a post-graduate course at Drama Studio London, and his first role as an actor was the lead in Dylan Thomas’s play Under Milk Wood.

Whitaker got married to actress Keisha Nash in 1996. He first met Keisha Nash he met on the set of Blown Away. They became parents of four children, two daughters together, Sonnet and True from them, and two from their previous relationship.

Whitaker’s son Ocean Alexander and Nash’s daughter Autumn are from their previous relationships. They separated in December 2018 when Whitaker filed for divorce from Nash, citing irreconcilable differences.

Whitaker is a versatile personality as he is an accomplished martial artist, studies yoga, and has a black belt in kenpō. In addition, he trains in Eskrima, originally under Dan Inosanto and currently with Joe Jackson. It was revealed in 2021 that he joined NBA Africa as a strategic investor and minority owner.

He is famous for his distinctive left eye, which critics Susan Wloszczyna call “intriguing” or “contemplative.” Whitaker has explained that he suffers from ptosis, which is hereditary, so he has considered corrective surgery, not for cosmetic reasons but because it affects his vision.

Forest Whitaker’s Films and Television Career

Whitaker’s first noteworthy onscreen appearance was in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” in which he had a supporting role playing a high school football player. The appearance was so impactful that it brought a bundle of notable roles for Whitaker throughout the 80s.

In 1986 he appeared in the highly acclaimed Scorsese movie ‘The Color of Money,’ a Paul Newman and Tom Cruise starer film. Whitaker also reserved a role in the classic Vietnam War film Platoon. A year later, Whitaker worked in another Vietnam comedy film, “Good Morning, Vietnam,” with co-star Robin Williams.

One after one, he continued booking roles in movies and earned the lead role in Clint Eastwood’s film ‘Bird,’ winning widespread praise from critics.

The 1990s were the years of Whitaker’s flourishment, and he continued to work with a number of well-known directors throughout the 90s with major roles. Film Downtown in 1990 and The Crying Game in 1992 was a game changer for Whitaker; he starred in both films and was cast in the pivotal role of Jody a captive British soldier.

Moreover, Whitaker was cast in several movies throughout the 90s, such as Smoke, Phenomenon, and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. In 2000 Whitaker also appeared in the modest commercial disaster Battlefield Earth, but he bounced back with an impactful appearance in Panic Room.

Movies like The Last King of Scotland in 2006 made Whitaker famous. He received a lot of praise for his role in the film, and his performance won Whitaker’s number of awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actor. The following year Whitaker also appeared in the movie “The Great Debaters,” which starred Denzel Washington.

Whitaker also faced some slowdown in his film career for a few years. The next few after The Great Debaters, Whitaker’s film career slowed. However, he rose to fame again in 2013, thanks to parts in The Butler and The Last Stand. In 2016, he made his public debut with a significant role in Star Wars: Rogue One.

After working in several films in the early 1980s, Whitaker also reserved roles in multiple television shows. Whitaker is well-regarded for a variety of television show appearances. He started his television career in the 80s by earning roles in shows like Amazing Stories, North and South, and Different Strokes.

Apart from starring in the shows, Whitaker also acted as the host and narrator for the reboot of The Twilight Zone in 2002 and 2003. He secured a recurring part in the police drama The Shield in 2006. He also made multiple appearances in ER episodes as well as contributed as a voice actor to the Star Wars Rebels animated series.

Best Movies List of Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker, an Oscar-winning actor, has had a long and celebrated acting career though initially, he aspired to be a football player and then an opera singer. He has appeared in several Blockbuster movies. Listed below are some top Movies by Forest Whitaker.

• Bird (1988)
• Arrival (2016)
• Smoke (1995)
• Platoon (1986)
• Panic Room (2002)
• Vision Quest (1985)
• Phone Booth (2002)
• Phenomenon (1996)
• Black Panther (2018)
• Body Snatchers (1993)
• The Crying Game (1992)
• A Rage in Harlem (1991)
• Lee Daniels’s The Butler (2013)
• Good morning, Vietnam (1987)
• The Last King of Scotland (2006)
• Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
• Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

List of Forest Whitaker’s Famous Television Shows

• Roots
• Africa
• Andor
• Brick City
• The Shield
• American Dad
• Extrapolations
• Criminal Minds
• North and South
• Star Wars Rebels
• The Twilight Zone
• Witness Protection
• Godfather of Harlem
• The Feast of All Saints
• North and South, Book II
• Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior

Awards and Achievements of Forest Whitaker

With appearing in a wide range of films and television shows and delivering exceptional work, Whitaker has received many awards and accolades for his contribution to the film and television world. Listed below are some major achievements.   

• Academy Awards
• Cannes Film Festival
• Golden Globes Awards
• Primetime Emmy Awards
• Screen Actors Guild Awards
• British Academy Film Awards
• News & Documentary Emmy Awards

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