Nathan Lane Net Worth 2024: How Much is the ‘The Birdcage’ Actor Worth?

Nathan Lane net worth is estimated to be around $25 million as of 2024. Nathan Lane is an American actor and comedian born on February 3, 1956. He is known for his work in both comedy and drama since 1975. His impressive career includes winning three Tony Awards, seven Drama Desk Awards, two Obie Awards, the Olivier Award, three Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He also earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2010, The New York Times named him “the greatest stage entertainer of the decade.”

Lane made his stage debut in 1978 with an off-Broadway production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” He briefly performed as part of the comedy duo Stack and Lane, before gaining prominence with the 1982 Broadway revival of Noël Coward’s “Present Laughter.” This success led to a long and successful career on stage marked by his collaboration with playwright Terrence McNally starting with “The Lisbon Traviata” in 1989.

Nominated for six Tony Awards, Lane has won three: Best Actor in a Musical for “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “The Producers,” and Best Featured Actor in a Play for “Angels in America.” He was also nominated for his roles in “Guys and Dolls,” “The Nance,” and “The Front Page.” His Broadway credits include “The Man Who Came To Dinner,” “The Odd Couple,” “Butley,” “Waiting For Godot,” “The Addams Family,” “It’s Only a Play,” “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus,” and “Pictures from Home.”

In film, Nathan Lane has appeared in over 35 movies, including “The Lion King,” “The Birdcage,” “Mouse Hunt,” “The Producers,” and “Beau is Afraid.” He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in “Only Murders in the Building.” Lane has also been nominated for Emmys for roles in “Frasier,” “Mad About You,” “Modern Family,” and “The Good Wife.” He has appeared in “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels,” and “The Gilded Age.”

What is Nathan Lane Net Worth in 2024?

Nathan Lane is an American actor and comedian with a net worth of $25 Million as of 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The main source of Nathan Lane’s net worth mainly comes from his successful career in acting.

He has earned significant income through his work in theater, movies, and television. Lane is especially well-known for his roles in Broadway musicals like “The Producers,” where he earned acclaim and high salaries. His voice work, including roles in animated films like “The Lion King” where he voiced Timon, has also contributed to his wealth.

Additionally, Lane’s appearances in popular TV shows and movies have added to his earnings, making him one of the most respected and financially successful actors in the entertainment industry.

Nathan Lane’s Early Life and Education

Nathan Lane was born on February 3, 1956, in Jersey City New Jersey. His father Daniel Joseph Lane was a truck driver and an aspiring tenor who passed away from alcoholism in 1967 when Lane was just eleven years old. His mother Nora Veronica was a housewife and secretary with bipolar disorder and she died in 2000. Lane has two older brothers Daniel Jr. and Robert. His parents were Catholics and all his grandparents were Irish immigrants.

He was named after his uncle a Jesuit priest. Lane attended Catholic schools in Jersey City including St. Peter’s Preparatory School. He was named Best Actor in 1974 and later received the Prep Hall of Fame Professional Achievement Award in 2011.

Nathan Lane’s Career

Rise to prominence

Nathan Lane who received a drama scholarship to Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia was set to start college with his brother Dan. However when he realized the scholarship wouldn’t cover all his expenses he decided to leave and work for a year to save up money. His brother Dan Lane recalls Nathan Lane saying “College is for people who don’t know what they want to do.”

Due to a conflict with another actor named Joseph, Lane registered with Actors’ Equity, he adopted the stage name Nathan after the character Nathan Detroit from the musical “Guys and Dolls.” He moved to New York City where after a challenging start his career began to flourish. He initially found some success in stand-up comedy with Patrick Stack and later appeared in Off-Broadway productions at venues like Second Stage Theatre and the Roundabout Theatre. His Broadway debut came in 1982 with Noël Coward’s “Present Laughter” earning a Drama Desk nomination.

Nathan Lane’s second Broadway role was in the 1983 musical Merlin featuring Chita Rivera and Doug Henning. He then performed in productions such as “The Wind in the Willows,” “Some Americans Abroad,” and Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound.

Off-Broadway he was involved in works like Love Measure for Measure and “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” He also participated in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins workshop in 1989 and appeared on TV shows like “Miami Vice.”

Lane and playwright Terrence McNally had a close friendship. Lane starred in several of McNally’s plays including “The Lisbon Traviata” and “Love! Valor! Compassion!” winning multiple awards. The 1990s marked a period of Broadway success for Lane including his role as Max Prince in “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” and his Tony Award-winning performance in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” He also appeared Off-Broadway in Mizlansky/Zilinsky.

Breakthrough

In 1994, Nathan Lane voiced Timon in Disney’s “The Lion King” and its sequels. He continued voice work in “Timon & Pumbaa” and appeared in the concert version of “The Wizard of Oz.” In 1996, he was featured in “The Birdcage” earning a Golden Globe nomination. He worked with Stephen Sondheim on various projects including “Wise Guys” and “The Frogs.”

Lane’s film roles included “Mouse Hunt” and “Stuart Little.” He also voiced characters in animated series like “Teacher’s Pet” and “George and Martha.” He hosted “Saturday Night Live” and the Tony Awards and starred in the sitcom “Encore! Encore!.” In 2001, he played Max Bialystock with Matthew Broderick in “The Producers” winning his second Tony Award.

Nathan Lane later reprised his role as Snowbell in “Stuart Little 2” and appeared in “Nicholas Nickleby” and “Trumbo: Red White and Blacklisted.” He earned an Olivier Award for his role in “The Producers” in London and continued to receive acclaim for performances in “The Odd Couple,” “Butley,” and “Waiting for Godot.” He was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2008 and appeared on TV shows like “Sex and the City” and “30 Rock.”

In 2009, Nathan Lane took on the role of Gomez in the musical version of “The Addams Family” in Chicago. He continued this role on Broadway the following year earning nominations from the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle. He also won a Drama League Award for his work in musical theater.

In 2012, Nathan Lane played Hickey in a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh” at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. This production which also starred Brian Dennehy and was directed by Robert Falls won six Jeff Awards and became the theater’s most successful play ever.

Established actor

From 2010 to 2019, Lane appeared as Pepper Saltzman on ABC’s “Modern Family” receiving three Primetime Emmy nominations. He also played Clarke Hayden on “The Good Wife” from 2012 to 2014 earning another Primetime Emmy nomination. In 2013, Lane returned to Broadway in “The Nance” a new play by Douglas Carter Beane. His performance received high praise and he won the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance. “The Nance” was later broadcast on PBS in 2014.

In 2014, Nathan Lane was part of the star-studded cast in Terrence McNally’s revised “It’s Only a Play.” The show was a major success. He returned to the role of Hickey in “The Iceman Cometh” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2015 and his performance was highly acclaimed. Lane won the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center Monte Cristo Award for his work and also starred in the Off-Broadway play “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” in 2016.

Lane portrayed F. Lee Bailey in the FX series “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story” which won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series. In 2016, he starred in a Broadway revival of “The Front Page” earning Tony Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations. He also appeared in TV shows like “Difficult People” and “The Blacklist.”

Angels in America

Nathan Lane’s portrayal of Roy Cohn in the 2018 revival of “Angels in America” earned him multiple awards including the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. In 2019, he starred in “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus” which received seven Tony nominations.

From 2020 onwards, Lane appeared in Showtime’s “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” and had a recurring role in Hulu’s “Only Murders” in the Building winning his first Primetime Emmy Award. He also starred in HBO’s “The Gilded Age” which was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.

In 2023, Nathan Lane returned to Broadway in Pictures from Home based on Larry Sultan’s photo memoir. His performance was well-received despite mixed reviews for the play. Lane also appeared in Ari Aster’s “Beau Is Afraid” and the A24 film “Dicks: The Musical” which won the Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. He will lend his voice to the animated film “Spellbound” and appear in the Ryan Murphy miniseries “Monsters: The Lyle” and “Erik Menendez Story.”

Nathan Lane’s Personal Life

Nathan Lane shared a painful moment from his past: when he came out as gay at 21 his mother told him she’d rather he be dead. Lane’s response was “I knew you’d understand” and he later joked that things improved once he got her out of the oven.

Lane publicly came out in 1999 following the murder of Matthew Shepard. He has been deeply involved with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS serving as a board member and fundraiser. For his contributions to the LGBT community, he received several awards in 2015 including the Human Rights Campaign Equality Award and the Matthew Shepard Foundation Making A Difference Award.

Lane has been vocal against Republican figures humorously comparing Paul Ryan to the Wicked Witch of the West due to his stance on Medicaid. In 2018, Lane criticized Donald Trump noting that Trump’s tactics closely mirrored those of Roy Cohn his character in “Angels in America.” Lane supported Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and hosted fundraisers for the Democratic Party.

On November 17, 2015, Nathan Lane married his partner of 18 years theater producer and writer Devlin Elliott. They live in Manhattan and East Hampton New York.

Nathan Lane’s Awards 

Nathan Lane has been nominated for six Tony Awards winning three times for “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “The Producers,” and “Angels in America.” He has also earned seven Drama Desk Awards, six Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Obies the Lucille Lortel Award, and several others including the Drama League Award for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Theater and the Laurence Olivier Award. In 2024, he won the Stephen Sondheim Award and the Harold S. Prince Award for Lifetime Achievement.

In film, Lane received two Golden Globe nominations for “The Birdcage” and “The Producers.” He also won the National Board of Review Award for Ensemble Acting for Nicholas Nickleby and has two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations winning Best Performance by a Cast for “The Birdcage.”

On TV, Nathan Lane has been nominated for eight Primetime Emmys for guest roles in shows like “Frasier” and “Modern Family” winning for “Only Murders in the Building.” He has also won two Daytime Emmys for voice work in “Timon & Pumbaa” and “Teacher’s Pet” and received a People’s Choice Award and an American Comedy Award for “The Birdcage.”

Nathan Lane Real Estate

In 1997, Nathan bought a two-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment in Manhattan for $916,500. The apartment is 2,757 square feet. In June 2021, he listed it for $4.65 million.