Miami Vice was peak 1980s TV, selling a whole fantasy of pastel suits, designer stubble, fast cars, Art Deco glamour and neon-lit danger. Running from 1984 to 1989, the trendsetting crime drama became a pop-culture phenomenon, powered by Jan Hammer's synth-heavy theme tune and stylish music choices.
Its influence has stretched far beyond TV, from advertising and men's fashion to the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the 2006 film adaptation and a reboot now reportedly in the works.
Read on to discover which of the show's stars have built the biggest fortunes after leaving Vice behind, with wealth estimates courtesy of Celebrity Net Worth.
All dollar values in US dollars
Major names, including an array of music legends, lined up to guest star on the show, usually playing crooks. The wealthiest of the bunch is Gene Simmons, worth an estimated $400 million (£297.7m). The KISS rocker appeared in the season two premiere as narcotics trafficker Newton Windsor Blade, dubbed the "Sears and Roebuck of controlled substances".
Phil Collins, who played a sneaky grifter in one episode, is the next wealthiest on the list with a fortune pegged at $350 million (£260.5m). Miles Davis, James Brown, Willie Nelson and Little Richard made appearances too.
The show also became a showcase for up-and-coming talent, who, like the established names, often portrayed characters on the wrong side of the law. Leading the array is Julia Roberts, now worth a purported $300 million (£223.2m). She showed up in season four as a drug lord's assistant and doomed love interest for Tubbs.
Bruce Willis, whose fortune reportedly comes in at $250 million (£186m), played an arms dealer, while Ben Stiller, now worth an estimated $200 million (£148.8m), appeared as a small-time con artist.
Several main cast members are lacking reliable public fortune estimates. Saundra Santiago, who played Detective Gina Calabrese throughout the show, is absent from Celebrity Net Worth.
Ditto Michael Talbott (pictured), who appeared across all five seasons as Detective Stan Switek, and Olivia Brown, aka Detective Trudy Joplin.
All three were key members of the ensemble, helping to ground the show beyond Crockett and Tubbs. But without dependable data, they are excluded from the main ranking.
Gregory Sierra was already a familiar TV face before Miami Vice, thanks to roles on Sanford and Son and Barney Miller. He joined at the start of the show as Lieutenant Lou Rodriguez, the original boss of Crockett and Tubbs, but exited after four episodes and was replaced by Edward James Olmos as Lieutenant Castillo.
Sierra went on to appear in series including Hill Street Blues and Murder, She Wrote, as well as notching up an impressive motion-picture resumé. He was worth an estimated $2 million (£1.5m) at the time of his death in 2021.
As Detective Larry Zito, John Diehl formed one half of the show's other memorable double act alongside Michael Talbott's Stan Switek. The surveillance partners brought comic relief and undercover grit to the Vice Unit, with Zito appearing in the first two seasons and part of the third before being killed off in Down for the Count.
Diehl's has career stretched far beyond Vice, with film roles in Stripes, National Lampoon's Vacation, Stargate, A Time to Kill and Jurassic Park III, plus later TV work on The Shield and Dark Winds.
Philip Michael Thomas became a 1980s TV icon as Ricardo Tubbs, the sharp-suited former NYPD detective who came to Miami seeking revenge for his brother's murder and became Crockett's partner. The actor reportedly scooped up $4.45 million in pre-tax and pre-syndication earnings from the show, which translates to around $13 million (£9.7m) today.
Post Miami Vice, Thomas has headlined TV movies, reunited with Don Johnson on Nash Bridges, and fittingly voiced Lance Vance in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Vice City Stories.
A 1970s screen legend, Pam Grier starred in cult blaxploitation classics including Coffy, Foxy Brown and Sheba, Baby. On Miami Vice, she portrayed Valerie Gordon, an NYPD detective and Tubbs' on-off love interest, appearing in three episodes.
Grier later enjoyed a 1990s career resurgence as the eponymous character in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown. She has also gone on to appear in numerous hit TV shows, including Smallville and The L Word.
Edward James Olmos arrived on Miami Vice early in season one as Lieutenant Marty Castillo, the brooding boss who replaced Lou Rodriguez and became one of the show's standout figures. His performance won him an Emmy and a Golden Globe, and he also directed the episode Bushido.
Away from Vice, Olmos is best known for Blade Runner, Stand and Deliver, which brought him an Oscar nomination, and Battlestar Galactica. More recently, he has scored parts in Dexter, Narcos and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Scottish singer Sheena Easton rose to fame in 1980 via early UK reality show The Big Time: Pop Singer. By the time she debuted on Miami Vice in 1987, she'd bagged a US number one with (9 to 5) Morning Train, sung a James Bond theme song and was riding high in the charts as one of Prince's famous collaborators.
Easton joined the show in season four as Caitlin Davies, Crockett's eventual wife, whose story comes to a tragic end. She stopped recording new music in 2000 to focus on her family, but continues to perform select boutique tours.
Don Johnson tops the main cast ranking. The Missouri-born actor became a household name as James "Sonny" Crockett, the undercover detective whose pastel suits, stubble, speedboats and Ferraris helped turn Miami Vice into a defining 1980s phenomenon.
For season three, Johnson was said to be seeking up to $150,000 an episode, totalling $3.6 million, about $11 million (£8.2m) today. He eventually earned $150,000 per episode on Nash Bridges, which ran from 1996 to 2001. Johnson has complemented his TV career with scene-stealing Hollywood turns, and remains part of a famous screen dynasty together with ex-wife Melanie Griffith and daughter Dakota Johnson.
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