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What Was Actor, Director and Pulitzer Winner Sam Shepard's Net Worth?

He won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for "Buried Child" and earned two more Pulitzer nominations for "True West" (1983) and "Fool for Love" (1984).

BY VALLARI VAIDYA

PUBLISHED JAN 9, 2024

Actor Sam Shepard recites a short story at "Toil and Trouble . . Stories of Experiments Gone Wrong" at the World Science Festival | Photo by Amy Sussman | Getty Images

Name	Sam Shepard
Net Worth	$10 Million
Gender	Male
Date of Birth	Nov 5, 1943
Date of Death	July 27, 2017
Age (at the time of death)	73
Nationality	United States of America
Profession	Playwright, Actor, Author, Writer, Screenwriter, Film Director, Television Director, Musician, Teacher, Voice Actor

What was Sam Shepard's net worth?

Sam Shepard, the American actor, playwright, and director, had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death in 2017, per Celebrity Net Worth. Notable for his Academy Award-nominated role in "The Right Stuff" (1983) as Chuck Yeager, Shepard also received Tony nominations for Best Play for "Buried Child" (1996) and "True West" (2000). He won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for "Buried Child" and earned two more Pulitzer Prize nominations for "True West" (1983) and "Fool for Love" (1984).

Image Source: Actor Sam Shepard poses for a portrait while promoting the film — Actor Sam Shepard poses for a portrait while promoting the film "Don't Come Knocking" | Photo by Carlo Allegri | Getty Images

Sam Shepard's sources of income

Writing career

In 1963, Sam Shepard moved to New York City, working as a busboy at the Village Gate. Theater Genesis founded by Ralph Cook premiered Shepard's plays "Cowboys" and "The Rock Garden" in 1964. La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club showcased more of his works in the following years. Shepard won six Obie Awards between 1966 and 1968. His screenwriting debut was in 1968 with "Me and My Brother."

In 1971, Shepard collaborated with Patti Smith on "Cowboy Mouth" and later moved to London. After returning to the U.S. in 1975, he resided at the Flying Y Ranch and worked as a drama professor. Shepard co-wrote "Renaldo and Clara" with Bob Dylan in 1975. He became the playwright-in-residence at San Francisco's Magic Theatre in the same year, writing notable plays like "Buried Child."

In the '80s, Shepard wrote plays such as "True West" (1980), "Savage/Love" (1981), "Fool for Love" (1983), and "A Lie of the Mind" (1985). He continued with works like "Simpatico" (1993), "The God of Hell" (2004), and "Kicking a Dead Horse" (2007). Shepard also authored books like "Hawk Moon" (1973), "Motel Chronicles" (1983), "Cruising Paradise" (1996), and "Day Out of Days: Stories" (2004).

Image Source: Sam Shepard during 2006 Sundance Film Festival - Writing the West Panel at Yarrow in Park City, Utah, United States | Photo by Jemal Countess | WireImage | Getty Images — Sam Shepard during 2006 Sundance Film Festival - Writing the West Panel | Photo by Jemal Countess | Wire Image | Getty Images

Acting career

In 1978, Sam Shepard starred in "Days of Heaven" alongside Richard Gere. Following that, he appeared in various films like "Resurrection" (1980), "Raggedy Man" (1981), "Frances" (1982), "Country" (1984), "Fool for Love" (1985), and "Crimes of the Heart" (1986). Shepard earned an Academy Award nomination for his role in "The Right Stuff" (1983). His filmography also includes "Steel Magnolias" (1989), "Black Hawk Down" (2001), "The Notebook" (2004), and "Klondike" (2014).

In the late 1990s, Shepard received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for "Dash and Lilly." He continued his versatile career with roles in "Hamlet" (2000), "All the Pretty Horses" (2000), "Swordfish" (2001) and "Stealth" (2005). From 2015 to 2017, he had a recurring role on Netflix's "Bloodline." In the last decade of his life, Shepard appeared in films like "Fair Game" (2010), "Mud" (2012), "Cold in July" (2014), "Midnight Special" (2016), and "Never Here" (2017). He also portrayed Butch Cassidy in "Blackthorn" (2011) and Beverly Weston in "August: Osage County" (2013).

Sam Shepard's personal life

Sam Shepard married O-Lan Jones in 1969, and they divorced in 1984. They had a son named Jesse Mojo. Shepard had affairs with Patti Smith and Joni Mitchell during this time. In 1983, he moved in with Jessica Lange, and they had two children before separating in 2009 after 27 years together. Shepard dated Mia Kirshner from 2014 to 2015. In 2009, he faced drunk driving charges, pleaded guilty, and received probation, community service, and alcohol education classes. Shepard was arrested again in May 2015 for aggravated drunk driving, but the charges were later dismissed.

Image Source: Actors Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange attend The Film Society of Lincoln Center honors Jessica Lange at Avery Fisher Hall | Photo by Paul Hawthorne | Getty Images — Actors Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange attend The Film Society of Lincoln Center honors Jessica Lange | Photo by Paul Hawthorne | Getty Images

Death

Sam Shepard passed away on July 27, 2017, at his Kentucky home at the age of 73 due to complications of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).

Awards & recognition

Sam Shepard earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1984 for "The Right Stuff." In 2000, he received a Golden Globe nomination and a Primetime Emmy nomination for "Dash and Lilly." In 2013, Shepard and his "August: Osage County" castmates won Best Ensemble awards from prestigious organizations like Capri, Hollywood, the Hollywood Film Awards, and the Nevada Film Critics Society. In 2014, he won the Robert Altman Award for "Mud" at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. For his stage work, Sam received a Gold Medal for Drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters Awards in 1992 and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1994.