1970s and 1980s stars who are still millionaires
The 1970s and 1980s were a groundbreaking time for television, film, and music. Many of the celebrities who sit at the top of Hollywood’s A-list today got their start during these decades, setting a precedent for stars to come. Quite a few of the stars who rose to prominence during this time were children of the Golden Age of Hollywood, meaning that their parents and grandparents were among the first to experience that level of fame. Others were from humble beginnings, making it big on their passion and talent alone. Read on to discover the path these stars took to the top, and learn how they have stayed there.
Robert Duvall
Many know Robert Duvall for his roles in M.A.S.H. and in The Godfather, but not everyone knows that he fought in the Korean War. His experience as a soldier may explain the cold demeanor of some of his characters and his success portraying Major Frank Burns.
More recently, Duvall played opposite Will Ferrel in the 2005 comedy Kicking and Screaming. In 2015 he became the oldest actor ever nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Jennifer Grey
The ‘80s wouldn’t have been the same without Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Dirty Dancing, in both of which Grey was a leading role. Considering the fact that she studied acting and dancing in Manhattan, it isn’t much of a surprise that the starlet hit it big with these classics.
Her elegant upbringing is thanks to her family of celebrities. Her father is award-winning actor Joel Grey and her mother is the well-known singer Jo Wilder. Grey’s last television appearance was on the show Dancing With The Stars.
Bruce Springsteen
Before he was known as the Boss and before he became one of the most influential American musicians of all time, Bruce Springsteen grew up humbly on the Jersey Shore. He cut his teeth with local bands in the late ’60s before forming his E Street Band in the 1970s.
While Springsteen’s early albums like Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle were well-received by critics, it wasn’t until 1975’s Born to Run that he became a truly national star.
Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy found success at a young age, joining Saturday Night Live in 1980 at the tender age of 19. Despite his relative inexperience, Murphy’s comedic chops were immediately evident, and he became a bright spot during a generally low ebb for the iconic show.
Murphy’s charisma and talent ensured that he’d hit the big screen before long, and he became one of the highest-grossing stars of the 1980s thanks to films like Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, and Raw — a standup special that’s seen today as a comedy landmark.
Kevin Bacon
One of the staples of the ‘80s was, is, and forever will be the movie Footloose. As the star of the film, Kevin Bacon established himself as one of the heartthrobs of the decade. He went on to star in a flurry of films across all genres through the ‘90s and won two awards for his performance in the HBO film Taking Chance.
He created a charity called SixDegree.org which allows people to raise money for any charity in the United States. He also is in a band called the Bacon Brothers led by him and, you guessed it, his brother.
Madonna
Born Madonna Louise Ciccone in Bay City, Michigan, Madonna moved to New York in the late ’70s to pursue dance before transitioning to singing and songwriting.
It didn’t take long for Madonna to find success, and she became one of the most talked-about stars of the 1980s — not just for her enormously popular albums, but also for her public image, which created plenty of tabloid fodder.
Erik Estrada
Many fans know Erik Estrada as Officer Frank “Ponch” from the hit 1970s television series CHiPs. From 1977 until 1983, he was one of the most recognizable stars around. After CHiPs, he acted on shows like Scrubs and Sabrina the Teenage Witch as well as Spanish-language telenovelas. In more recent years, Estrada has appeared on infomercials and reality TV shows.
CHiPs was a hit in syndication and still receives high ratings.
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore is another one of those celebrities who was born into a family of stardom. All of her grandparents and great-grandparents on her father’s side were actors. As you may have expected, both of her parents were actors as well.
Considering her background, it should come as no surprise that Drew made her film debut at just five years old with the Hollywood blockbuster E.T. She went on to found her own production company at just 20 years old and has since explored the world of directing and modeling.
Sylvester Stallone
“Sly” Stallone was struggling and nearly destitute in the early ’70s, determined to star in a story that he wrote himself. This dream eventually came to fruition with 1975’s Rocky, where he agreed to sell the script under the provision that only he could play the lead character.
Buoyed by the film’s success (it won three Academy Awards), Stallone went on to turn the film into a long-running franchise. In the ’80s, he introduced another iconic character, John Rambo, who would become the focal point of another series of films.
Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep is regarded as one of the greatest actresses in film history, with her career getting started with several supporting roles in the late ’70s. She earned her first of many Academy Award nominations thanks to her work in 1978’s The Deer Hunter.
The following year, she won her first Oscar for Kramer vs. Kramer, and she quickly became one of Hollywood’s most bankable — and most talented — stars in the 1980s.
Al Pacino
Pacino is almost as famous for turning down roles as he is for starring in them. He’s turned down leads in Die Hard, Star Wars, and even Pretty Woman. Then again, you can pretty much get away with anything if you starred in The Godfather, which he thankfully did do.
The suave actor rose to prominence in the 1970s. In the ‘90s he began both starring in and directing films. Trained by theater legend Lee Strasberg, Pacino has been a success both on and off-camera.
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson got a relatively late start to drama, acting in professional theater after graduating from Morehouse College. It wasn’t until the latter half of the 1980s that he became a recognizable film star thanks to roles in Spike Lee’s School Daze and Do the Right Thing.
While Jackson wouldn’t become a massive star until the 1990s, it was in the ’70s that he cut his teeth in acting, and in the ’80s that he moved into film roles.
Jane Fonda
Not many people can say that they’ve won seven Golden Globes, among other awards. Jane Fonda can. The supermodel was known for her striking looks, but her talent superseded her beauty and has kept her in the limelight for decades.
She dared to try acting after Lee Strasberg, the same guy who taught Al Pacino, convinced her that she was good enough. By the 1980s she wasn’t just an acclaimed actor but was also a voice for feminism. Most recently she starred in her own show Grace and Frankie.
Harrison Ford
Harrison was born to an executive and actor father and a radio actress mother. He initially sought to follow in his mother’s footsteps but didn’t have any luck with radio when he arrived in Los Angeles. After years of little success, Harrison became a carpenter and started a family. Then Star Wars happened.
After his starring roles as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, it was off to the races. Not only did he go on to star in several more films over the decades, but he also became part of the Governing Board of the Archaeological Institue of America.
Bill Murray
Bill Murray was known exclusively as a comedic actor during his early career, thanks to the fact that he graduated from Chicago’s Second City improv troupe before joining Saturday Night Live in 1977.
Murray’s roles in beloved 1980s films like Caddyshack and Ghostbusters established him as a reliable comedic star. While he never fully moved away from comedic roles, he later went on to prove himself as a credible dramatic actor as well.
Rob Lowe
First rising to prominence as a member of the 1980s group of actors known as the “Brat Pack,” Rob Lowe was a big star from a young age — but a series of personal challenges in the late 1980s threatened to derail his career.
With his career in shambles, Lowe slowly but surely reinvented himself as a television star before moving back into film roles.
Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper has been a record-setter from day one. Her debut album back in 1983 was the first to have four top-five hits on the Billboards. Naturally, she won a Grammy for Best New Artist two years later. But she didn’t stop there.
In 2006 she became the first woman to win the Best Original Score solo for her composition of the Broadway musical Kinky Boots. She also created the True Colors Residence for LGBT homeless youths.
Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis first got into acting when he took classes that helped him overcome a childhood stutter. A series of off-Broadway roles and TV commercials in the late ’70s led to a breakthrough role on the comedy-drama series Moonlighting.
Moving to the big screen, Willis starred in 1988’s Die Hard as John McClane. The film was memorable and nearly immediately iconic, thanks in no small part to Willis’ tough, charismatic on-screen persona.
Michael J. Fox
A young Michael J. Fox first found Hollywood success with a role in the sitcom Family Ties. In 1985, while Family Ties was still ongoing, Fox was cast in Back to the Future as Marty McFly, which became his most iconic role.
Two sequels followed, but Fox’s career suffered a major setback in 1991 after the 29-year-old was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. While the disease continues to affect Fox, he’s maintained a public persona and has authored several memoirs.
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro’s rise to fame began with the 1970s. He’s spent much of his career in collaboration with filmmaker Martin Scorsese, which started with the movie Mean Streets in 1973. The following year his notoriety skyrocketed along with the rest of the cast of The Godfather Part II.
De Niro takes his role preparation seriously, so much so that he turned down a role in The Departed so that he could focus on his part in The Good Shepherd. His dedication has paid off as he’s won several awards, including four Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts began her acting career in the ’80s and made it big just before the decade was over. After earning the attention of audiences in the 1988 film Mystic Pizza, she garnered the acclaim of critics the following year with her part in Steel Magnolias.
The 1989 film earned her an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. She went on to be one of the top leading ladies of the ’90s. She is also an executive producer and a philanthropist.
Elton John
Elton John’s flashy character isn’t just for the attention. His outlandish costumes and performances manifested as a result of a restrictive childhood. His musical talent earned him a scholarship at a prestigious music school at age 11, and by the 1970s he was writing hits.
John founded his record label, The Rocket Record Company, in 1973. Though he gradually shied away from the limelight in the proceeding decades, appearing less onstage and in music videos, his albums continued to capture a wide audience.
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand came from humble beginnings after the sudden death of her father left her family in poverty. She lived on her own as a teenager and got herself into the music industry with her raw talent and beauty. By the 1970s her songs were at the top of the charts.
In the 1980s she took a break from pop music and began starring on Broadway. She has acted on both stage and film and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Funny Girl.
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones began his career on Broadway in 1969 and he landed his first film role the following year. He jumped back and forth between stage and film through the rest of the ’70s and earned his first Golden Globe in 1980.
After receiving critical acclaim throughout the following years, he landed a role alongside Will Smith in Men in Black. At that time he was one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. Fun fact: the Texan speaks fluent Spanish and has a home in Argentina.
Stevie Nicks
The musical career of Stevie Nicks began in high school when she met Lindsey Buckingham. The two were in a band together that dwindled down to just the two of them by 1972. The two joined the band Fleetwood Mac in 1975 and the songs Nicks had written were brought to life.
Two of these songs were “Landslide” and “Rhiannon,” both of which are still well regarded today. Beyond her music, her style influenced the fashion of the era. She also started the charity Stevie Nicks’ Band of Soldiers to assist wounded members of the military.
Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson has been nominated for more Academy Awards than any other male actors; of his twelve nominations he’s won three. The 1969 film Easy Rider put him on the map. He performed in a plethora of Hollywood hits throughout the next several decades.
Many will recall Nicholson’s leading role in the Stephen King thriller The Shining. As of 2013, Nicholson has remained generally of the radar in terms of acting, stating that he no longer has the drive he once did.
Jamie Lee Curtis
The classy and quirky Jamie Lee Curtis was born in Santa Monica to acting parents. At 20-years-old she landed her debut film role in the film Halloween. After a few more horror roles she won her first award for the 1983 film Trading Places.
In 1994 she won a Golden Globe for her role in True Lies. More recently, she won an Academy Award for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. She also has published several children’s stories and is a philanthropist.
Gene Hackman
Though Gene Hackman is now retired from acting, his career spanned six decades and earned him several awards and five Academy Award nominations. His fame hit in 1967 with his role in Bonnie and Clyde, however, it was in the 1970s that he began cranking out films.
By the 1990s, Gene was starring alongside big names like Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, and Robin Williams. Gene announced in 2004 that he was through with acting, turning his attention toward writing novels.
Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin rose to fame in the early 1970s on the sketch comedy show Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. She released two comedy albums in 1972 and one in 1975. Tomlin ventured into the genre of drama with her role in Nashville, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award.
She also starred in the film Moment to Moment with John Travolta and 9 to 5 with Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda. Tomlin and Fonda currently are the stars of the comedy Grace and Frankie. You may also be surprised to find that Tomlin is the voice of the teacher in The Magic School Bus.
Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas is the son of actors Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill. He received his bachelor’s degree in Drama in 1968 and landed his first television role a year later. He then earned a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Male Newcomer.
He produced the film One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975 and produced and starred in the film The China Syndrome in 1979. Douglas starred in several popular films of the ’80s such as Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct.
Cher
There’s a reason that Cher has been well-known for generations. Her music has transformed over the years so that she seems to always have a popular song on the radio. In fact, she’s the only artist who’s had singles on the Billboard charts for six decades straight.
Apart from seemingly refusing to age, she also is a human rights advocate and an Oscar-winning actress. You may remember her alongside Nicholas Cage in the movie Moonstruck! or in Burlesque with Christina Aguilera.
