Widely regarded as one of the greatest American sitcoms of all time, Seinfeld was created by the comedians Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld was also the show's eponymous lead, playing a fictionalised version of himself for all nine seasons. Seinfeld ran on NBC between 1989 and 1998. Despite ending over two decades ago, its popularity has yet to wane. In 2021, in fact, Netflix spent over $500 million (£367.3m) for the show's streaming rights.
From big-name stars Jerry Seinfeld and Julia Louis-Dreyfus to a whole host of other familiar faces, read on to take a look at the cast of Seinfeld then and now, and discover who is the wealthiest today. All dollar amounts in US dollars.
Heidi Swedberg rose to prominence as Susan Ross, the fiancée of George Costanza (played by Jason Alexander). Swedberg featured in the fourth and seventh seasons of the show, and her character was dramatically killed off after licking the toxic envelopes of her wedding invitations – a plotline that was very on-brand with Seinfeld's dark sense of humour.
Following her shock departure from the show, Swedberg briefly reprised her character in the final season for a flashback scene.
Despite appearing in various other popular TV shows, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place, and Murder, She Wrote, Swedberg has now left her Hollywood past behind.
Today, she teaches music, and also sings and plays the ukulele with her two bands, Heidi Swedberg & The Sukey Jump Band, and The Smoking Jackets. Her net worth is estimated to be $300,000 (£220.4k).
Liz Sheridan’s most famous role might well be that of Helen Seinfeld, the doting mother of the show's lead character. However, the actress already had a bright career prior to landing her part in the hit sitcom.
Sheridan started out on Broadway and even shared the stage with Hollywood icons Meryl Streep and Christopher Lloyd in the 1977 musical Happy End. Prior to Seinfeld, she also had bit-parts in a number of other popular TV shows, such as The A-Team and Remington Steele.
After Seinfeld ended in 1998, Sheridan had roles in a range of TV shows and movies. Notable work includes a guest appearance in the crime drama Numb3rs, as well as a voice role in the cartoon sitcom American Dad!
Sheridan faded out of the spotlight in recent years and died in April at the grand age of 93. Her fortune was estimated to sit between $1 million (£736.7k) and $5 million (£3.7m) at the time of her death.
Seinfeld signalled a big break for Estelle Harris, who passed away in April at the age of 93. She played Estelle Costanza, George's overbearing mother. Before landing her starring part, Harris had mostly appeared in TV commercials.
As Seinfeld didn't require her to be in every episode, Harris had the time to take on other lucrative projects alongside it. This included roles in the Star Trek: Voyager series and the 1995 television movie The West Side Waltz, which also starred Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, and Jennifer Grey.
Harris continued to enjoy a fruitful career following the end of Seinfeld. Her most iconic part was arguably her voice role as Mrs. Potato Head in three of the four Toy Story films. She also appeared in several other Disney projects, including vocal roles in Lion King spin-off show Timon & Pumba as well as the Hercule TV series, and also had a recurring role as Muriel in The Suite Life of Zach and Cody between 2005 and 2008.
Her net worth was estimated at $3 million (£2.2m), though some sources suggest it could be as much as $5 million (£3.7m).
The late Jerry Stiller played Frank, the husband of Estelle Harris' character. A firm fan favourite, Stiller joined the cast in 1993 and remained on the show until it wrapped in 1998. He received widespread acclaim for his portrayal of fiery Frank, and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 1997.
Before Seinfeld, Stiller had already made a name for himself as one half of Stiller and Meara, the comedy duo he had formed in the 1960s with his wife Anne Meara.
After Seinfeld ended, Stiller garnered yet more acclaim for playing Arthur Spooner in the CBS comedy The King of Queens. He also starred alongside his son, Hollywood actor Ben Stiller, in several movies, including 2001's Zoolander, as well as its 2016 sequel, and 2007's The Heartbreak Kid.
Stiller passed away in 2020, aged 92. According to Fox News, his estate was worth about $5 million (£3.7m) at the time of his death.
Wayne Knight played Newman, the poetry-spouting arch-enemy of Jerry Seinfeld. Knight landed the iconic part in 1992 and remained on the show until its finale.
Before Seinfeld, Knight had appeared in various movies, including 1987’s Dirty Dancing and 1992’s Basic Instinct. While starring as Newman, Knight also found the time to act in Jurassic Park, Hercules, and Space Jam.
Knight’s most notable role outside of Seinfeld is arguably as Don Orville in sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. He also voiced the dastardly Big Al in 1999's Toy Story 2, and has lent his vocal talents to various other animated projects including Tarzan and Kung Fu Panda. He's had bit parts in everything from Torchwood to Narcos, and also had a leading role in the 2018 adaptation of Joël Dicker's best-selling novel The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.
According to estimates, Knight's varied acting career has netted him a cool $8 million (£5.9m).
Michael Richards played Cosmo Kramer, Jerry's "hipster doofus" friend and neighbour, whose character was loosely based on comedian Kenny Kramer. Richards' stellar performance in the sitcom landed him three Primetime Emmy awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Richards began his career in stand-up and began to gain attention on ABC's late-night live comedy show Fridays. In 1989, he appeared in a supporting role in UHF, the comedy flick from "Weird Al" Yankovic. That same year, he also landed his career-defining role in Seinfeld.
In 2000, Richards began to work on his own comedy show for NBC, The Michael Richards Show. The comedy-mystery mash-up starred Richards as Vic Nardozza, a hapless private investigator. The show received poor ratings, however, and was axed after just a few weeks. Since then, Richards has voiced a character in 2007's Bee Movie, which was produced by and starred Jerry Seinfeld. He has also returned to his comedy roots by appearing in both Curb Your Enthusiasm and Kirstie.
Richards reportedly boasts a $30 million (£22m) net worth, although some sources suggest he has as much as $45 million (£33.1m) in the bank. Most of his wealth has been amassed via Seinfeld, as the actor was taking home a hefty $1 million (£736.7k) per episode by the final season, and still makes money from Seinfeld DVD sales today.
George Costanza, played by Jason Alexander, was based on Larry David, the comedian and Seinfeld co-creator. The role of Seinfeld's neurotic best friend catapulted Alexander to international stardom and landed him seven Primetime Emmy nods as well as four Golden Globe nominations during his nine years on the show.
Alexander's career began on Broadway, and he received a Tony Award in 1989 for his leading role in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. He also starred in Everything's Relative, the short-lived sitcom from CBS.
Since Seinfeld, Alexander has appeared in a wide range of movies and TV shows, including Curb Your Enthusiasm and Amazon Prime's period-drama comedy series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Although he never quite managed to bag an Emmy for his Seinfeld role, Alexander did land one of the prestigious awards for Outstanding Original Song in 2019. This was for his work in Brainwashed by Toons, an educational television show that informed people about casual racism and sexism in cartoons.
Alexander’s net worth is reportedly $50 million (£36.8m). Like Michael Richards, Alexander was earning a cool $1 million (£736.7k) per episode by the final season of Seinfeld, and is still raking in money from DVD sales.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus made her name playing Elaine Benes, the ex-girlfriend of Jerry Seinfeld. The role landed Louis-Dreyfus both an Emmy and a Golden Globe, as well as five awards from the Screen Actors Guild.
Louis-Dreyfus was born into a wealthy family, with her father the billionaire businessman Gerard Louis-Dreyfus. Her acting career began on Saturday Night Live in 1982, but it was her role in Seinfeld that marked her real big break.
Today, the critically-acclaimed screen darling has won a phenomenal 11 Emmys, and has starred in comedy shows including The New Adventures of Old Christine, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development, and Veep. And the work keeps coming, with 2020 a particularly lucrative year for her. As well as voicing a character in Disney's Onward and starring in the comedy movie Downhill alongside comedy legend Will Ferrell, she also secured herself a multi-year deal with Apple TV+ to produce and star in projects for the streaming service. More recently, she starred in the Disney+ show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Her net worth is pegged at $250 million (£184.3m). Like Alexander and Richards, Louis-Dreyfus negotiated a deal that saw her bank $1 million (£736.7k) for each episode of the show's final season, and she also makes money from DVD sales.
Larry David (pictured on the set of Seinfeld) was best known for his work behind the camera on Seinfeld; he co-created the show and wrote 62 of its 180 episodes. That said, he made several hilarious uncredited cameos in the sitcom throughout its nine-year run, including as Frank Costanza's lawyer. In 1993, David received two Emmy awards in honour of his work on the show.
Before rising to fame with Seinfeld, David had worked as a writer for Saturday Night Live, where he met Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Following Seinfeld, David created and starred in the HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm. The hit show ran between 2000 and 2011, and was then revived in 2017. Its eleventh season aired in 2021. David's other notable work outside of Seinfeld includes a leading role in Woody Allen's Whatever Works and Fish in the Dark, the 2015 Broadway play which he wrote and starred in alongside Rita Wilson.
David’s net worth is reported to be $400 million (£295.2m), although some sources suggest it could be double that. The majority of his wealth comes from Seinfeld deals, with Fox Business reporting in 2021 that the show had made about $3 billion (£2.2bn) from syndication. David and Jerry Seinfeld personally pocket a large share of these profits.
The star of Seinfeld, comedian Jerry Seinfeld played a fictionalised version of himself in the hit sitcom. He bagged a Primetime Emmy in 1993 when the show scooped the gong for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Seinfeld started his career as a comedian, performing at open-mic nights in New York. In 1980, he landed a recurring part in the sitcom Benson, but was fired after just three episodes due to "creative differences".
Following Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld continued his career in stand-up comedy. He also produced, co-wrote, and starred in the 2007 kids' movie Bee Movie, which received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. In 2012, he launched the web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. In case the title isn't quite explanatory enough, each episode of the show centres around Seinfeld giving a comedian a ride (in a different car in each episode), and having interesting and amusing conversations with them. Big-name guests on the show included Tina Fey, Dave Chappelle, Steve Martin, and even Barack Obama.
According to reports, Seinfeld is worth an incredible $950 million (£701m). Like his co-stars, he was paid $1 million (£736.7k) per episode for the final season of Seinfeld, but most of his fortune comes from lucrative syndication deals. Forbes reported that he raked in $51 million (£37.6m) in 2020 alone, thanks to money from tours and his Netflix comedy special 23 Hours to Kill.
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