Serena Williams TV earnings of $1.64 million come from 16 roles in TV series and music videos, plus appearances on 119 news and talk shows. The bulk of Williams’ TV earnings comes from the talk and news programs, with only about $140,000 coming from TV series’ and one big screen movie, 2004’s Hair Show. Williams has appeared in TV series’ since 2002, starting with a role in My Wife and Kids and including Law & Order: SVU, ER, The Bernie Mac Show, Avatar: The Last Airbender and the video for Beyonce’s song Lemonade. She has also been on Ellen, Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel and Conan, with up to seven appearances per show. Williams is a formidable talent both on the court and off and that should keep her in the green for life.
I know that you all will be tuning in to the Jimmy Kimmel Show tonight. I will be live… I am preparing for the show, right now.
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) October 16, 2009
Serena Williams TV Money
The table below shows the Serena Williams TV money breakdown. Most of the tennis star’s TV cash comes from her appearances on 119 different talk and news programs including Charlie Rose, Ellen and dozens more. Since Williams has appeared multiple times on several of those shows, her appearances credits are really well up over 300. A star earns an estimated $2,000 to $5,000 per appearance on a major show like Jimmy Kimmel or Jimmy Fallon, which gives Williams a round figure of $1.5 million from those appearances. Fame is easily convertible to currency in the current era. The equation goes something like this: Get famous, then get big endorsement deals that bring in lots of cash. The fame can come from tennis talent as in Williams’ case, from swimming talent such as in Michael Phelps’ situation or from NFL clout like Tom Brady has. Often the road to fame carries its own salary like with LeBron James who now earns over $30 million per year from the NBA. Sometimes however the fame comes seemingly from nowhere like with Kim Kardashian’s leaked sex tape. Once the fame is securely in place however, the fireworks start with big endorsement deals. Williams has earned over $100 million from them as this net worth article shows.
Serena Williams TV Earnings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Role / Appearance | Type | Estimated Earnings | |
| 2002 | My Wife and Kids | TV Series | $5,000 | 16 |
| 2003 | Street Time | TV Series | $5,000 | |
| 2004 | Law & Order: SVU | TV Series | $5,000 | |
| 2004 | The Division | TV Series | $5,000 | |
| 2004 | Hair Show | Movie | $30,000 | |
| 2005 | Higglytown Heroes | TV Series | $5,000 | |
| 2005 | ER | TV Series | $5,000 | |
| 2006 | The Bernie Mac Show | TV Series | $5,000 | |
| 2007 | Loonatics Unleashed | TV Series | $5,000 | |
| 2007 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | TV Series | $5,000 | |
| 2008 | The Game | TV Series | $5,000 | |
| 2012 | Drop Dead Diva | TV Series | $5,000 | |
| 2013 | The Legend of Korra | TV Series | $5,000 | |
| 2015 | 7 Days in Hell | TV Movie | $5,000 | |
| 2015 | Pixels | Movie | $40,000 | |
| 2016 | Beyonce: Lemonade | TV Movie | $5,000 | |
| 1999-2016 | Other Appearances | TV Series | $1,500,000 | |
| Total Serena Williams TV Earnings | $1,640,000 |
Of course the smallest portion of the star tennis player’s wealth comes from Serena Williams TV money. Most of it comes from endorsements and the second biggest chunk is from tennis money. All in all Serena Williams is worth $135 million. That will go up considerably if she can nail down a big win at the US Open and cement her status as the winningest tennis player of all time. If she does that, her endorsement clout is likely to go through the roof.