What is Janelle Monáe’s Net Worth?
Janelle Monáe is a multi-talented American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, producer, and actress. She boasts a net worth of $12 million dollars.
Monáe started her music career by releasing her first independent album, “The Audition,” in 2003. It was three years later that she signed with Bad Boy Records. In 2007, Janelle released the EP “Metropolis Suite I: The Chase,” which earned her a Grammy nomination. She then went on to release three studio albums: “The ArchAndroid” (2010), “The Electric Lady” (2013), and “Dirty Computer” (2018).
In addition to her music career, Janelle has also made a name for herself in the acting world. She has appeared in several films, including “Moonlight” (2016), “Hidden Figures” (2016), “Welcome to Marwen” (2018), “Harriet” (2019), “The Glorias” (2020), and “Antebellum” (2020). She has also lent her voice to several animated films, including “Rio 2” (2014), “UglyDolls” (2019), and “Lady and the Tramp” (2019).
In 2020, Monáe joined the cast of the Prime Video series “Homecoming.”
Janelle Monáe’s Background
Janelle Monáe Robinson was born on December 1, 1985, in Kansas City, Kansas. Her parents split up when she was young, and she was raised by her mother and stepfather in a Baptist household. Monáe’s father struggled with drug addiction and spent time in prison, leaving her with anxiety and abandonment issues.
Monáe developed an interest in singing and performing at a young age, and she began singing at a local church. She won three consecutive Juneteenth talent shows performing songs from “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” During her teenage years, she joined the Young Playwrights’ Round Table at the Coterie Theater and started writing musicals.
After graduating high school, Monáe studied musical theater at New York City’s American Musical and Dramatic Academy before dropping out to move to Atlanta. She attended Perimeter College at Georgia State University and began writing music and performing on campus. She self-released the album “The Audition” in 2003 and later formed the Wondaland Arts Collective with producers/songwriters Nate Wonder and Chuck Lightning. Monáe caught the attention of OutKast’s Big Boi with her song “Lettin’ Go” after being fired from Office Depot for answering fan mail on a company computer.
Janelle Monáe’s Career Highlights
Janelle Monáe is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who started her career in the mid-2000s. Here are some of her career highlights:
- Performed on OutKast’s 2006 “Idlewild” soundtrack
- Released the EP “Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase)” in 2007
- Released the album “The ArchAndroid” in 2010
- Performed on fun.’s hit single “We Are Young” in 2011
- Became a spokesperson for CoverGirl in 2012
- Released the album “The Electric Lady” in 2013
- Played Teresa in the film “Moonlight” in 2016
- Portrayed NASA mathematician/engineer Mary Jackson in “Hidden Figures” in 2016
- Released the album “Dirty Computer” in 2018
- Played Marie Buchanon in the 2019 film “Harriet”
- Appeared in the horror film “Antebellum” and the biopic “The Glorias” in 2020
- Started starring as Jacqueline Calico / Alex Eastern on “Homecoming” in 2020
Janelle Monae’s Activism
Janelle Monae has identified as bisexual and pansexual, and has dated both men and women. In 2020, she tweeted the #IAmNonbinary hashtag and shared a “Steven Universe” meme about gender identity. Monae founded the organization Fem the Future in 2016 and is an outspoken activist for social justice.
In 2015, Monae and her Wondaland team released the protest song “Hell You Talmbout” to raise awareness about police brutality and racial violence against African-Americans. She also performed at the Women’s March in 2017 and spoke about the “Time’s Up” movement at the 2018 Grammys.
Janelle Monae’s Awards and Accolades
Janelle Monae has been nominated for numerous music awards, including eight Grammys, four BET Awards, four “Billboard” Music Awards, and two Brit Awards. Her “Q.U.E.E.N.” video earned her an MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction, an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video, and a Soul Train Music Award for Video of the Year.
In 2010, the ASCAP Awards honored Janelle with the Vanguard Award, and “I Like That” was named one of the Top R&B/Hip-hop songs of 2019. She has won two “Billboard” Women in Music awards, two Black Girls Rock! Awards, an Essence Award, a GLAAD Media Award, two Queerty Awards, and a “Variety” Breakthrough in Music Award.
For her acting, Monáe won a Breakout Performance award for “Moonlight” and “Hidden Figures” from the African-American Film Critics Association, and the two films also earned her a Rising Star Award from the Black Film Critics Circle Awards and a Virtuoso Award at the 2017 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. She won Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female for “Hidden Figures” at the 2017 Black Reel Awards, and the Women Film Critics Circle Awards honored her with an Invisible Woman Award for “Harriet” in 2019 and gave Janelle, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Kirsten Dunst a Women’s Work/Best Ensemble award for “Hidden Figures” in 2016. She has shared several awards with her “Moonlight” castmates, including a Film Independent Spirit Award and a Gold Derby Award, and the “Hidden Figures” cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award. Monáe has also received two Hollywood Film Awards: Song of the Year for “What is Love” from “Rio 2” and the Spotlight Award for “Hidden Figures.”
Janelle Monae’s Hollywood Hills Home
Janelle Monae purchased a 3,403 square foot home in the Hollywood Hills for $3.9 million in April 2020. The property is comprised of two houses that are connected by a shared breezeway and features an outdoor kitchen, swimming pool, wet bar, and outdoor claw-footed bathtub.