In life, some people carve out a career from their natural endowments (models), talent (entertainers), physical and mental strength (athletes) and many others in various walks of life. To some other people, they get committed to what they are led to do and eventually turn it into a successful career. Leslie Jones is one celebrity who fit into the category of the later at a phase in her life and in another phase, the former aptly describes her.
She was spurred into Basketball quite early by her father because of her commanding height, deft on and off the courts in her school years until she found another passion in comedy and acting. Today, Leslie is a renowned entertainer, a Television personality and actress. She is a cast and writer of NBC comedy sketch The Saturday Night Live (SNL) , an American late-night television show which gave her wide popularity. Read on to discover her net worth, who could possibly be her husband or whom she is dating presently.
Leslie Jones Biography (Age)
The American entertainer was born and named Annette Jones on September 7, 1967, in Memphis, Tennessee, the United States. She grew up with 2 siblings; Rodney Keith who was born in 1971 but passed away in 2009 and Rhonda Jones. Leslie is of African-American ethnicity. The early years of her life were spent moving from one city to another due to the nature of her father’s job as a US Army officer. He often moved along with his family till they settled in Los Angeles when he took up a job at KJLH radio station as an electronics engineer when he left the military.
Leslie Jones had her high school education in Lynwood, California where she played basketball as adviced by her father. She mastered the game and played so well that she earned a basketball scholarship to Chapman University. The young athlete enrolled at the school to study communications. She was at the same time steadily improving her basketball skills showing clear tale signs of someone who would go pro. However, when her team coach Brian Berger left Chapman University for Colorado State University, she equally bade her goodbyes to Chapman.
As they say, you never know what a closed door has in stock till you open it. That saying became true for Leslie Jones after a friend of hers who know her to have a humorous attitude convinced her to sign up for a comedy contest on campus. Her performance wowed the audience as she won and emerged ‘the campus Funniest Person’ in that contest. Her win marked her journey into the world of comedy.
She kick-started her career after graduation, performing in clubs, whilst she also worked at Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles before leaving for New York. While in New York, she made an appearance on BET’s ComicView . Despite her efforts and dedication to her infant career, she still did not get the nod in the industry for her brand of humor. This led to Leslie Jones taking a short evaluatory break from comedy.
In 2006, she re-emerged in the entertainment industry after years of absence as she featured in Master P’s movie Repos. The comedian also joined Katt Wiliams in the It’s Pimpin’ Pimpin tour. Since her comeback, she has become one of the finest female comedians in the US and the world at large.
Her first recognized television role came in 2004 when she appeared in Girlfriends playing Mabel. She has featured in well over 17 roles on television shows, the most popular being Saturday Night Live (SNL) from 2014 to 2018 . Leslie joined the league of outstanding comedians who have performed on the show like Chris Rock , David Letterman , Maya Rudolph , Dave Chappelle , and others.
In her film career, she has featured in about 17 films starting from For Love of the Game (1999), followed by Nation Security (2003). Her role as Patty Tolan in the Ghostbusters (2016) alongside Kate McKinnon , Kristen Wiig , and Melissa McCarty was heavily criticized and she even got cyberbullied with racial abuses hauled at her. This led to her leaving Twitter briefly.
The talented comedienne equally gave sports commentaries on the Rio Olympics games on Twitter, a feat that got her a slot in the entourage of NBC sports correspondences and also paved way for her to cover the 2018 winter Olympics. Moreover, she had her first hosting event when she anchored the BET Awards in July 2017.
Her contributions to the entertainment industry have not gone unrewarded. Leslie Jones is a WFCC Award winner and has been nominated for other Awards like Kids’ Choice Awards, the USA , and Primetime Emmy Awards .
Leslie Jones’ Net Worth
The Memphis born entertainer is such a silent achiever, with a successful career in showbiz, comedy, films, and television shows, as well as several endorsements like her advertisement for Amazon’s Echo, Leslie Jones’ net worth is estimated to be $6 million.
Read Also: Maya Rudolph Husband, Kids, Mom, Brother, Family, Ethnicity, Net Worth
Who is Her Husband or is She Dating Anyone?
Leslie has never been married, leaving many people to wonder about her sexuality. Her personal life is what she has carefully kept out of the spotlight and hardly talks about it in the media. However, in an interview, Leslie Jones has cleared the air by declaring that she is straight and even has a boyfriend though she did not divulge who he may be. Well, our ears are on the ground and as soon as she drops the gist, be sure, we will serve you the story hot and fresh.
Height
The African-American humor merchant is among the few tall women who stand at 6 ft 0 inches (1.83 m), no wonder her darling dad wanted her to play basketball professionally.