What Was Billie Holiday’s Net Worth At The Time Of Her Death?
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer who had a net worth of $1 million. She was posthumously inducted into the Grammy Award Hall of Fame.
She was born on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as Eleanora Fagan.
Her father, Clarence Holiday, was a banjo player and jazz guitarist. He died in 1937.
Her mother was Sadie Fagan (nicknamed “The Duchess”). She gave birth to Billie while she was still a teenager.
Her parents never married.
Billie spent most of her childhood in Baltimore, Maryland.
In early 1925, Holiday was sent to The House of Good Shepherd.
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In 1929, she moved with her mother to Harlem.
At age 18, Holiday was discovered by producer John Hammond.
Debut Song
In November 1933, Billie made her recording debut with the song – “Your Mother’s Son-In-Law.” The song was recorded in collaboration with a band led by American clarinetist Benny Goodman.
In 1935, Holiday inked a recording contract with Brunswick.
In 1936, she toured with groups led by Fletcher Henderson and Jimmie Lunceford.
In 1937, Billie toured with the Count Basie Orchestra.
“Strange Fruit”
In 1939, she first performed the song “Strange Fruit” in her father’s memory at Café Society. Her popularity increased after “Strange Fruit.”
In 1978, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 1999, the song was named “Song of the Century” by Time.
In September 1946, Holiday performed in the film – “New Orleans.” Arthur Lubin directed it. It is her only feature film appearance.
Charged With Narcotics Possession
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In 1947, Billie spent a year in a rehabilitation center after she was arrested for a narcotics violation.
She performed in front of a packed house at Carnegie Hall on March 27, 1948.
Billie’s last major hit, “Fine and Mellow,” was released in 1957.
Her final album, Lady in Satin, was released in 1958. It was released in mono (CL 1157) and stereo (CS 8048) versions.
Husband
In 1941, Holiday married Jimmy Monroe.
Monroe first introduced Holiday to opium in 1941. A federal prosecutor described Monroe as the “worst type of parasite you can imagine.”
After Billie’s mother passed away in 1945, she started using drugs much more frequently.
Holiday and Monroe divorced in 1947.
In 1951, Billie married Joe Guy, an American jazz trumpeter. In 1938, he played with Teddy Hill’s Orchestra.
They divorced in 1957.
Joe died in June 1962, at the age of 41.
In 1957, Billie Holiday married Louis McKay. They met while she was touring Europe.
1956, Billie and Louis were arrested together for possession of narcotics.
Holiday and McKay were estranged at the time of her death.
McKay died at the age of 72 following a heart attack.
Children
Billie Holiday never had any children of her own.
Death
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On July 17, 1959, Billie Holiday passed away at a hospital where she was being held under house arrest for possession of narcotics due to complications brought on by liver cirrhosis. Also, at the time, she was handcuffed to her hospital bed.
She was 44.
More than 3,000 people showed up to Billie’s funeral. However, her death was only briefly noticed in the media. For instance, The NY Times published a short obituary on page 15.
Frank Sinatra said in an interview in 1958 that she “remains the greatest single musical influence” on him.
In April 1986, Holiday was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2000, Billie was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
In 2005, she received a Grammy Hall of Fame award posthumously.
In 2021, the biographical drama film, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, was released.
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Net Worth
So, how much was Billie Holiday worth? Holiday earned most of her wealth from her music career. Therefore, at the time of her death, jazz singer Billie Holiday had an estimated net worth of $1,750. Today, Holiday’s estate is worth around $1 million.
“To me, jazz is good music and a good feeling, and I’d like to say that everybody can play jazz, and no one person originated it, no one person now created,” she said in an unaired 1956 interview.
The year 1937 was Billie’s most commercially successful year, thanks to her 16 top-selling songs. The best-selling record of Billie’s career was “Strange Fruit,” which sold over 1 million copies.
Brunswick paid Billie a flat fee, so her primary revenue was club concerts.
For example, in 1958, she received a royalty of only $11.
In 1956, Holiday published an autobiography with William Dufty called – “Lady Sings the Blues.” It was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues.
Another problem is that she was spending roughly $500 per week (about $10K today) on drugs by the middle of the 1940s.
Upon Billie’s death, she had $750 strapped to her leg. Also, she had 70 cents in the bank account and left an estate of $1,000.
Her husband, Louis McKay, inherited her royalties as well as her estate.
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I am Bulgarea Candin Stefan, and I founded FamousPeopleToday.com in 2018. I’m using my bachelor’s degree in economics and 9 years of experience in blogging to guide millions of people through the incredibly complex world of celebrity net worths.