Judd Asher Nelson was born on 28 November 1959, in Portland, Maine USA, into an Ashkenazi-Jewish family (from Russia, Lithuania, Romania and Poland), and is an actor, producer and screenwriter. Judd Nelson came to prominence by playing the role of John Bender in “The Breakfast Club”. He has also starred in “St. Elmo‘s Fire”, “Fandango” among many other movies. Moreover, Nelson is a voice actor in animated films, such as “The Transformers: the Movie”. However, he has mostly gained popularity by playing anti-heroes or bad guys.
So how rich is Judd Nelson? Sources declare that his net worth is estimated to be over $8 million, which considerable wealth Judd has accumulated from appearing in abundant movies and TV series during a career spanning more than 30 years in the film and TV industry.
Judd Nelson Net Worth $8 Million
Judd’ father, Leonard Nelson was a corporate lawyer and his mother, Merle (Royte) Nelson was an attorney and state assemblywoman. The actor attended St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, then Waynflete School in Portland, Maine. After that, he studied at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. However, after two years Nelson left college and moved to New York to study acting in the Stella Adler Conservatory.
Judd Nelson started his acting career by starring in “Making the Grade” in 1984. One year later he was cast in probably the most important role of his life in “The Breakfast Club” and became recognized. Later on, he appeared in many different movies, for example, the historical drama “Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes”, comedy “Airheads” and psychological thriller “Flinch”. The actor performed splendidly in the TV miniseries “Billionaire Boys Club”, a thriller based on true events, with his portrayal earning him a Golden Globe Award nomination. The actor was also nominated for Maverick Movie Award, Razzie Award and won MTV Music Award. Further, he extended his arty attempts and appeared not only as an actor, but also wrote and produced the thriller “Every Breath”. All these appearances gave a significant boost to Judd’s net worth.
Nelson had made his television debut with “Moonlight” in 1986, in which he played the role of a police officer – followed by “Billionaire Boys Club” – then in 1996 the actor was cast in an important role in the television sitcom “Suddenly Susan”, which lasted for four seasons and became very successful. Later on, Judd featured in other television series, like “CSI: NY”, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Las Vegas”, and “Two and a Half Men”. Besides, Nelson played a main role in the final season of the TV series Nikita. Additionally, Judd Nelson has contributed his voice to characters from animated movies, such as “Ben 10”, “Family Guy” and “Phineas & Ferb”. Of course, Judd’s net worth rose consistently through these performances.
Judd’s popularity can be judged by the fact that he has so far appeared in almost 70 films, and nearly 20 TV films and series, and shows no sign of retiring anytime soon. Despite being underrated by critics for some appearances in poorly-written movies and series, his portrayal of John Bender from “The Breakfast Club” not only made him a star, but also inspired Matt Groening to create the fictional character of Nelson Muntz in the animated TV series The Simpsons.
Judd is also the author of four books: The Power of Speech, Nine of Diamonds, The Gig and Water Music, which have also contributed somewhat to his net worth.
In his personal life, Judd Nelson has never married but he was in a relationship with and temporarily engaged to the popular actress Shannen Doherty. He currently lives in Los Angeles, and enjoys playing golf, reading, writing and riding this motorbike.
