David Schwimmer is an actor who rose to fame starring as Ross Geller, in the legendary NBC sitcom Friends. After the show stopped in 2004, he showed the versatility of his talent in movies, theater, directing, and voice acting. As of 2022, David Schwimmer has a net worth of $100 million.
Early Life
On November 2, 1966, David Lawrence Schwimmer was born in Queens, New York. His parents, Arthur and Arlene, are both attorneys at law and he grew up with a sister named Ellie.
When his family moved to Los Angeles, California, Schwimmer got his first acting role in the Jewish version of Cinderella. There, he also took part in Sir Ian McKellen’s Shakespeare workshop. He went to Beverly Hills High School and joined many school plays.
David attended Northwestern University, where he earned his theater and speech degree in 1988. After graduating, he helped establish the non-profit Lookingglass Theatre Company.
Acting Career
In his early career, David had several small roles in various television dramas. His first regular role was with Monty, a Fox sitcom. Here he got to work with Friends producer Kevin S. Bright.
Kevin had David in mind when he wrote the character of Ross Geller, a goofy guy with a lovable demeanor. When the aspiring actor auditioned for the role, he was initially denied. Fortunately, he was given a second chance.
The show started airing in 1994 and later became one of the most popular TV shows ever. Two years later, Schwimmer got his first leading role in a movie with The Pallbearer. Later on, he was cast in other films, including The Graduate, Kissing a Fool, and Apt Pupil.
Other Ventures
After Friends ended, David Schwimmer turned to indie films. In 2005, he was critically praised for his stint in the indie drama Duane Hopwood. He also gained commercial success by voicing Melman in the animated movie Madagascar.
The same year, he went to the Gielgud Theatre to perform in Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s). His Broadway debut came in 2006 when he acted in a play titled The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.
In 2007, he directed his first feature film, Run Fatboy Run, which got him a nomination at the British Independent Film Awards. David made his return to television in 2011 with the mockumentary Come Fly with Me.
Net Worth and Earnings
Though David has indulged in many ventures over the years, the Friends series is his biggest source of wealth. In the show’s first season, Schwimmer was earning $22,500 per episode.
As the seasons progressed, the cast’s salaries continued to rise. In season three he was earning $75,000 per episode, season 4 was 85,000, season five was $100,000. When the final season aired, his per-episode salary grew to an astronomical $1 million.
Though it stopped production years ago, Friends is still airing on Netflix and on various networks around the world. He has been earning syndication royalties since 2000. In 2015, USA Today reported that Warner Bros. was earning $1 billion per year from the show with the cast sharing 2%, worth $20 million per year. This, and Schwimmer’s other media gigs, give him a fortune of $100 million.
Personal Life
Despite many rumors, David Schwimmer has never officially dated Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston. However, he was in a relationship with musician Natalie Imbruglia during the 1990’s.
In 2010, he married Zoe Buckman, and they had a baby girl after a year. Sadly, the couple divorced in 2017. David currently resides in a $4.1 million townhouse in Manhattan, New York, where he drives around in a Ford GT Mustang and Jaguar XK.
