Born Kristoffer Kristofferson on the 22nd June 1936 in Brownsville, Texas USA, he is an Academy Award-nominated actor, and country rock musician, best known to the world for such songs as “Me and Bobby McGee”, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’”, and “For the Good Times”, among other creations. He has released 18 studio albums, and has appeared in more than 115 film and television titles, which include leading roles in “Cisco Pike” (1972), then “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid” (1973), and “The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James” (1986).
Have you ever wondered how rich Kris Kristofferson is, as of late 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Kristofferson’s net worth is as high as $80 million, an amount earned through his long and successful career, active since the early ‘70s.
Kris Kristofferson Net Worth $80 Million
Kris is the son of a Swedish father, Lars Henry Kristofferson, and his wife, Mary Ann, who is of English, Scottish-Irish, Swiss-German, Dutch and German ancestry. His father served in the US Army Air Corps, and as Kris was growing up, Lars actually prepared him for the army.
Kris attended San Mateo High School, after which he enrolled at Pomona College, from which he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature. During his college years, Kris excelled in various sports, including rugby, American Football and track and field as well. Thanks to his accomplishments, Kris appeared in the Sports Illustrated edition “Faces in the Crowd”.
After graduating, Kris received a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University and became a student at Merton College. It was there that he met people who would help him launch his career; with the help of the poet Michael Fried, and manager Larry Parnes, Kris reached a deal with the Top Rank Records, and recorded several songs, however, Kris’s early recordings had little success.
However, he finished his studies with a B. Phil degree in English literature.
Following his graduation, Kris joined the military in 1960 on the urging from his father, eventually reaching the rank of Captain and serving as a helicopter pilot, before leaving the army in 1965 and starting a band – his family consequently abandoned him!
He moved Nashville to support his musical beginnings, and held several odd jobs, including sweeping floors at Columbia Recording Studios. He came in touch with June Carter, wife of Johnny Cash, and gave her an audio tape to pass on to Cash. However, Cash stashed the tape with numerous others he got day after day, so Kris took the matter into his own hands, and landed a helicopter in Cash’s front yard. This resulted in a collaboration between the two; Cash decided to give a chance to Kris’s song “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”. The song became an immediate hit, and the Kris was awarded songwriter of the year at the country music awards.
Working as a commercial helicopter pilot for Petroleum Helicopters International and writing songs whenever an inspiration would come, Kris slowly became recognized in the country rock music scene, with songs such as “Jody and the Kid”, “From the Bottle to the Bottom”, “Once More with Feeling”, and many others, however, his recordings didn’t reach full potential.
His debut self-titled album came out in 1970, but the sales were low, despite reaching the top 10 on the US Country chart. However, his next album – “The Silver Tongued Devil and I” – achieved gold status in the US and peaked at No. 4, while his album “Jesus Was a Capricorn” topped the charts and also achieved gold status, increasing his wealth to a large degree.
Kris remains active until the present day, and so far has released 18 studio albums, but since the late ‘70s hasn’t had any notable success, except for the album “Closer to the Bone” (2009), which reached No. 29 on the US Country chart. In addition to his work as a solo artist, he was a part of the country rock group The Highwaymen, with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson – the group released three studio albums between 1985 to 1995, including the eponymous album “Highwayman”, which topped the US Country chart and achieved platinum status in Australia, USA, and gold in Canada, increasing Kristofferson’s net worth considerably.
Thanks to his success in music, Kris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004, having already been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985.
Aside from his musical career, Kris is also an accomplished actor; he has more than 115 titles credited to his name, and is still active in the industry. He made his debut in a minor role in the drama “The Last Movie” in 1971, and the next year had the starring role in the drama “Cisco Pike” (1972). Throughout the ‘70s he had a number of successful appearances, including in “Blume in Love”, “Vigilante Force” and “A Star Is Born”, for which he received a Golden Globe Award in the category Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, among others. In 1984 he featured in the musical drama “Songwriter”, for which he received an Academy Award nomination, and in 1992 starred in the romantic comedy “Christmas in Connecticut”, with Dyan Cannon, and Tony Curtis, while in 1998 he portrayed Whistler in the first installment of the action horror film franchise “Blade”, reprising his role in the sequels “Blade 2” in 2002, and “Blade: Trinity” in 2004. In 2001 he was Karubi in the sci-fi action adventure “Planet of the Apes”, while four years later he portrayed Dr. Thomas Becker in the sci-fi mystery drama “The Jacket”, next to Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley and Daniel Craig. In 2011 he featured in the family drama “Dolphin Tale” (2011) and appeared in its sequel three years later, meantime starring in the action-drama “Midnight Stallion” (2013).
In recent years, Kris featured in the drama mystery “The Red Maple Leaf” (2016), and the western “Traded” (2017), further increasing his net worth. In 2006, Kris became a part of the Texas Film Hall of Fame, thanks to his extreme success in western films.
Regarding his personal life, Kris has been married to Lisa Meyers since 1983; the couple has five children together. He has two marriages behind him, firstly with Frances Beer from 1961 until 1973, which produced two children. He then married singer Rita Coolidge in 1973, and had two children with her, before they divorced in 1980.
Since 2013, Kris has been suffering from short-term memory loss, and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, but it was later revealed as a mistake and is actually Lyme disease.
