Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia is an actress, singer, director and screenwriter born on 8th August 1938 in Brooklyn, New York City, USA, and who as Connie Stevens she is possibly still best remembered for her role of Cricket Blake in the American TV detective series “Hawaiian Eye” (1959-1963). However, she has also had numerous other TV and film roles, as well as a successful career as a singer.
Have you ever wondered how rich Connie Stevens is? According to sources, as of mid-2017 it has been estimated that Connie’s net worth is over $60 million, accumulated by portraying over 50 varying roles in her acting career from the late ’50s, and from her concurrent relatively lucrative singing career.
Connie Stevens Net Worth $60 Million
Connie was born to musician Peter Ingoglia – professional name Teddy Stevens – and singer Eleanor McGinely, later adopting her father’s artistic last name. She grew up with her grandparents, since her parents were divorced, and attended a Catholic boarding school. However, after being witness to a murder, she was moved to live with relatives in Boonville, Missouri when she was twelve. As both of her parents were musicians, she developed an early interest in music and joined a group called “The Fourmost” as a teenager. Later she moved to Los Angeles with her father, and joined “The Three Debs” singing group, which encouraged her to enroll in The Georgia Massey Professional School in the San Fernando Valley, and continue to sing professionally, steadily building her net worth.
Her interest in acting also developed, and she started working occasionally as a stand-in in movies, which led to Jerry Lewis noticing her and giving her one of the main roles in his 1958 comedy film “Rock–A-Bye Baby”, soon after which she signed a contract with Warner Brothers. Connie also portrayed the role of Cricket Blake in the popular TV series “Hawaiian Eye”, and this was the role that made her truly famous. Other notable roles she played were in the TV series “Maverick”, “77 Sunset Strip” and “Wendy and Me”, but also in movies including “Never Too Late” (1965), “The Grissom Gang” (1971), “Scorchy”(1976), “Grease 2” (1982) and many others. All contributed steadily to her net worth.
When it comes to her singing career, Stevens released her first album “Concetta” in 1958, which brought a couple of minor hits. However, the next year, after appearing in “77 Sunset Strip”, she recorded the hit song “Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb” that reached no.4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her next big hit came in 1960 with the release of “Sixteen Reasons” which reached no.3 on the same list. During the ‘70s she started singing the theme song for Ace Hardware TV commercials. Connie subsequently released a total of eight studio albums.
Her career was quiet for several years, busy raising her daughters, but with them she released the album “Tradition: A Family Christmas” in 1994, and continued to make occasional nightclub appearances, including in Las Vegas. She made her directing debut in 1997 with the documentary “A Healing” which portrayed Red Cross nurses during the Vietnam War, and which she also wrote.
More recently, in 2009 Connie’s feature directorial debut “Saving Grace B. Jones” was released, plus she appeared in “Just Before I Go” in 2014, and “Search Engines” in 2016.
Connie Stevens has Stars on three Walks of Fame – in Hollywood, Palm Springs and the so-called Italian version in Toronto, Canada.
Aside from entertainment, Stevens has developed and marketed Forever Spring – her own skin care product – and opened the Connie Stevens Garden Sanctuary Day Spa in Los Angeles in the 1990s, which have contributed somewhat to her net worth.
When it comes to her private life, Connie has been married twice, firstly to actor James Stacy which lasted for four years until their divorce in 1967. Her second was to singer Eddie Fisher who she married later that year, but divorced only two years later; this produced two daughters, actresses Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher.
Connie Stevens is also known for her charitable works. She founded the Windfeather project which awards scholarships to Native Americans, and is a supporter of people battling with cancer. In 1991 she received the Lady of Humanities Award and the Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Connie Stevens now resides in Studio City in the San Fernando Valley, California.
