Katharine Juliet Ross was born on 29 January 1940, in Hollywood, California USA, to Katharine W. and Dudley T. Ross. She is a film and stage actress, and author, best known for her roles in the films “The Graduate”, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, “The Stepford Wives” and “Voyage of the Damned”. Her career began in the late 1950s.
A famous actress, how wealthy is Katharine Ross? According to sources, Ross’ net worth reaches $5 million, as of mid-2016. Her wealth has mostly been earned during her acting career, but also through releasing a number of books.
Katharine Ross Net Worth $5 Million
Ross’ family moved from Hollywood to Walnut Creek, California where she attended Las Lomas High School. After matriculating in 1957, she enrolled in Santa Rosa Junior College in California’s Sonoma County, and became interested in acting after watching a production of “The King and I”. She left the college after one year and moved to San Francisco to study acting at The Actors Workshop, where she worked as an understudy for three years. Around this time she appeared in numerous plays, including Jean Genet’s “The Balcony” and John Houseman’s production of “King Lear”.
Ross made her television debut in the 1962 television series “Sam Benedict”, and went on to appear in a number of 60s series such as “The Lieutenant”, “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour”, “Arrest and Trial”, “The Virginian” and “Gunsmoke”. These established her net worth.
In 1965 she landed her first film role as Ann Anderson in the Civil War film “Shenandoah”, and in the same year she appeared in the series “Mr. Novak”, “Wagon Train”, “Run for Your Life”, “The Big Valley” and “The Loner”. In 1966 she was cast in a starring role as Janet, opposite James Garner in the film “Mr. Buddwing”, and went on to take another starring role as Jennifer Montgomery in the 1967 film “Games”. Her net worth started to rise.
Opportunities continued to come her way, and Ross was cast in “The Graduate”, the 1967 comedy-drama film based on Charles Webb’s 1963 novel of the same title. Her role as Elaine Robinson, the girlfriend of Dustin Hoffman’s character, brought her an Academy Award and BAFTA Award nominations, as well as a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress and a Laurel Award for Female Supporting Performance. The movie considerably improved her wealth.
In 1969 Ross played Etta Place in the Western film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” which earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress. The same year she won the same award with her performance as the Indian Lola in the Robert Redford film “Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here”. In 1975 Ross starred in the sci-fi thriller “The Stepford Wives” as Joanna Eberhart, a role which earned her a Saturn Award for Best Actress. The following year she reprized the role of Etta Place in the ABC television film “Wanted: The Sundance Woman” and took a supporting role as Mira Hauser in the drama film “Voyage of the Damned”, winning a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. All added to her net worth.
Ross has since landed roles in several television films, such as “Murder by Natural Causes”, “Rodeo Girl”, “Murder in Texas”, “The Shadow Riders”, “Travis McGee”, “Conagher” and “Donnie Darko”. She was also a regular cast member of the 80s ABC soap opera “The Colbys”. Her last film appearance was in the 2006 film “Eye of the Dolphin”.
Ross’ successful career has enabled her to accomplish a high level of fame and to acquire significant personal wealth. In addition to acting, she has also released numerous children’s books, the most popular being “The Story of the Pilgrims”, which have added to her net worth.
In her private life, Ross has married five times, firstly to actor Joel Fabiani from 1960 to 1962; secondly to John Marion from 1964 to 1967, thirdly in 1969 to cinematographer Conrad L. Hall – they divorced in 1973. Ross’ fourth marriage was to Gaetano ‘Tom’ Lisi, lasting from 1975 to 1979. Since 1984 she has been married to actor Sam Elliot, with whom she starred in the film “The Legacy”, and who has also appeared in several other movies with Ross. The couple has one daughter, who in 2011 allegedly stabbed Ross repeatedly with scissors, leading the actress to obtain a restraining order against her.
