Judith Light Net Worth: Judith Light is an American actress who has a net worth of $16 million. After making her Broadway debut in 1970, Light rose to prominence after booking a role in the revival of “A Doll’s House.” Judith then transitioned to television, landing a role on the hit soap opera “One Life to Live” in 1977. While portraying the character of Karen Wolek, Light won widespread acclaim and was awarded two Daytime Emmy Awards.
Over the next period, Light went on to star in a number of television series, earning further Emmy nominations. He also continued to advance on the stage with many plays on Broadway. In 2019, Judith Light received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Outside of acting, she is particularly known for her activism work, particularly in the areas of LGBTQ+ rights and HIV/AIDS awareness.
First Life: Judith Ellen Light was born on February 9, 1949 in Trenton, New Jersey. Raised in a Jewish household, Light graduated from high school in 1966. She then attended Carnegie Mellon University and studied acting. After several rigorous years in college, Light graduated with a degree in theater.
Career: Light’s first acting role came in 1970 when he booked a role in a production of Richard III at the California Shakespeare Festival. Five years later, she really hit the scene with a role in a Broadway production of “A Doll’s House.” It was a year before she appeared on the Broadway stage again in a production of “Herzl.” During this time, Judith advanced her theater career through theater companies such as Milwaukee Repertory Theater and Seattle Repertory Theatre.
Although the 70s started strong for Light, she panicked by the end of the decade. Unable to get any parts, she even considered giving up acting altogether after her financial situation worsened. As the theater world seemed to close its doors to Judith, she turned, without hesitation, to television. Despite vowing never to accept a role on a soap opera, he agreed to audition for “One Life to Live” in 1977 after learning there was a daily salary of $350.
Although Judith originally auditioned for an understudy role, she was cast in the lead role of Karen Wolek. Not only did this role come with great compensation, but it also gave Judith a chance to really flex her acting muscles. Throughout the various storylines in “One Life to Live”, Judith’s character became an alcoholic and a prostitute. Her acting performances helped “One Life to Live” become one of the highest-rated series of the late 70s and early 80s.
After a memorable scene in which Judith admits to the entire staff of her town that she is a prostitute, Light won her first Daytime Emmy Award in 1980 for “Leader Actress in a Daytime Drama Series.” Light’s acting skills were so incredible during this scene that acting instructors continue to show them to students as an example. The next year, he won another Emmy Award for the same role.
After leaving “One Life to Live” in 1983, Light booked another role in “St. Elsewhere”. In the 90s, Judith starred as Angela Bower on the ABC sitcom “Who’s the Boss?” This proved to be a great success in terms of ratings, and today’s critics call it one of the best sitcoms ever made. During this period, Light also booked roles in various TV movies such as “Stamp of a Killer”, “The Ryan White Story” and “Wife, Mother Murderer”.
After his time on “Who’s the Boss?” It ended, Light starred in Phenom, another ABC sitcom. In the late 90s, she appeared on the short-lived CBS sitcom “The Simple Life.” Once again, he split his time between TV series and TV movies like “Men Don’t Tell” and “Too Close to Home.” By 1999, Judith had finally returned to the stage with an off-Broadway production of “Wit.” He had to shave his head to play a cancer patient in this play.
In the 2000s, Light appeared in TV series such as “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “The Stones”. In 2006, Judith rose to prominence again with a key role in the series ‘Ugly Betty’. This brought several awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award. After several failed television pilots, Light focused more on films such as “Ira & Abby”, “Save Me”, “Last Weekend” and “We’ll Never Have Paris”. Also in the 2010s, Judith appeared in the Broadway play The Lombardi, receiving a Tony Award nomination for her performance. Other tracks from this work included “Other Desert Cities” and “The Assembled Parties”.
Over the next few years, Light gained recognition for her appearances in series such as “Dallas” and “Transparent.” In 2015, Judith appeared again on the Broadway stage with “Therese Raquin”. In 2018, Light received critical acclaim for her performance in the FX series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. It also earned another Emmy Award nomination. In 2019, she booked a guest role in the Netflix series The Politician before joining the main cast in 2020.
Relations: In 1985, Judith Light married Robert Desiderio, a television actor. Currently, the pair no longer live together. While Light lives in New York City, Robert lives in Southern California. Judith also owns properties in Beverly Hills and Aspen, Colorado.
