Here's How Much Lake Bell Is Really Worth
Lake Bell may be best known by some for her scene-stealing performances in fan favorite rom-coms like "What Happens in Vegas" and "It's Complicated," but there's a lot more to the New York City native's resume. Bell not only found fame as a movie star, but has taken the small screen by storm with shows like ABC's "Bless This Mess" and voiced multiple animated characters in movies like "The Secret Life of Pets 2" and TV shows, including "Harley Quinn."
When Bell isn't acting, she stays super busy behind the scenes, working as a director, screenwriter, and producer. She's even done all three on several of her own projects including the comedies "In a World..." and "I Do...Until I Don't." "I feel very lucky that when I'm burnt out of acting I take to the pen and I write something I want to direct," Bell said to Business Insider in 2015. "And then when I'm tired of taking on too much responsibility as a director I then look for an acting gig."
With how much Bell has going on, it makes sense that the mother-of-two would have an impressive amount of money in the bank, which per Celebrity Net Worth is about $3 million. It seems Bell has come a long way from her broke drama school days to the successful woman she is today, but worked hard to get to where she is. So how did she make her millions and what does she spend it on? Let's break down what Lake Bell is really worth.
Lake Bell set her sights on an acting career early on
Lake Bell's hustle began at an early age. Even as a tot, she had stars in her eyes, recalling to Esquire, "I was tirelessly motivated, because I felt very clear about what I wanted to do." Bell eventually went to drama school in London at the advice of her mother. She revealed to the Daily Beast's "The Last Laugh" podcast, "My mom was like, if you're going to be an actor, you have to study in England. And I was like, g********, can't I just go out to L.A. and just get a push-up bra and audition for 'Felicity?'"
Bell ended up enjoying drama school though, telling Film School Rejects, "It was awesome and satisfying for every obsession I have." Yet Bell's London days were not quite as glamorous as her life nowadays, considering she lived above a fish-n-chip shop. She joked on "The Daily Show," "I think I need just a little, just a modicum of credit for that. It was very fishy."
Once Bell did go to Hollywood, it apparently didn't take long for her to get work since she made her TV debut at age 23 on "ER" in 2002. Yet she told Backstage she didn't feel like she got her big break until later. She dished, "My first big girl gig was 'War Stories.'" She added, "That was a big, big deal. I was a hostess over at the Mastro's Steakhouse when that happened."
Lake Bell's had a steady acting career
The majority of Lake Bell's income presumedly comes from acting, considering it's what she's done the most of in her career. While Bell has found consistent work as an actor since at least 2002, she told Daily Beast's "The Last Laugh" podcast it was the realization that she was more into comedy that later changed her career for the better. She recalled, "I ended up doing a lot of drama stuff, because I was conservatory-trained. ... I would audition for 'the girl' and I was just gravitating towards the wacky best friend."
Bell even credits a specific 2008 comedy for her rise in the industry. She dished, "'What Happens in Vegas' was a really big turn for me ... that was a huge deal. It was a big movie for me and it was like, 'Hey, this is a comedy person!'" Comedy didn't just make Bell more money, but was a better fit for her personally too. She told Vulture, "I enjoy playing a comedy because it makes me smile at the end of the day."
Yet Bell has pretty much done everything from Indie movies to bigger budget Disney films and beloved Nancy Meyers movies. For Bell, doing more lucrative projects isn't necessarily just about the money though, in that it's also a learning experience. She said to Reuters, "As a writer-director, I like being on other people's sets. I am an actor first and foremost and I think being an actor for hire is how I learn."
Lake Bell also makes money behind the scenes
In addition to being an established actor, Lake Bell gets paid for her off-camera work as a director, writer, and producer. When it comes to the three, Bell has done the most directing, with eight credits on her IMDb. That not only includes projects she's written and produced for herself, like "Bless This Mess," but also episodes of the Emmy-nominated Hulu series "Pam & Tommy," which she wasn't in. While Bell doesn't have to be in everything she directs, she did tell Esquire, "If I write something and I'm going to put in all that love and energy, I want to direct it."
Although directing may have then been a natural next step in Bell's career, writing was something she'd been doing since she was a child. She recalled, "I had all kinds of stupid, horrible scenes." And she continued to pursue it even after finding fame. Bell dished to Elite Daily, "I was working on one project as an actor, and then peeling off and going home — and even in my trailer some times — to write a couple of scenes. I like working while I'm working."
Yet just because Bell has found success behind-the-scenes doesn't mean she plans to stop acting. As she said to the AP, "I learned how to direct by being in the trenches of movies." Having multiple careers may sound like a lot but Bell told Film School Rejects, "I maintain the optimistic idea that movies are a fun endeavor."
Lake Bell gets paid for her voice
You could say that Lake Bell uses her voice to earn money since she's landed several gigs as a voice actor. Bell has been in some beloved animated movies too, like "The Secret Life of Pets 2" and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." She's also lent her voice to popular cartoons, such as "BoJack Horseman" and HBO Max's "Harley Quinn."
Voice work sure seems to be a true passion of the actor's. As Bell told Backstage, "I have historically been arguably obsessed with the voiceover industry." Bell is so into that art form that she even wrote, directed, and starred in a movie about it called "In a World..." She said to the outlet, "It is really a love letter to the craft and to my very patient and investigative interest in voice and voice as an artist's tool."
When Bell started doing voiceover work for Apple commercials, she made history (and, yes, probably a ton of money). As she told Business Insider, she was thrilled to become the spokesperson for such an iconic brand, adding, "To be the first female voice of their products is really great." Bell could also make money from book sales as well, since she completed a five-hour audiobook called "Inside Voice: My Obsession With How We Sound" in 2022. The book is, as you surely gleaned from the title, about voices, with Bell gushing to Variety, "The subject of voice has been a lifelong passion, inspiring my work and life from every angle."
She is passionate about cars
Lake Bell has been into cars since she was kid. She said in Men's Journal, "My father owned race car tracks, so I grew up around the New Jersey Motorsport Park and the Virginia International Raceway." The actor had apparently learned a lot from that time too and eventually scored a writing gig because of it, becoming the automotive critic for The Hollywood Reporter. She gushed, "I'm just thankful The Hollywood Reporter has been so generously willing to enable my secret addiction."
Just because Bell wrote about luxury vehicles didn't mean she was purchasing expensive cars for herself at the time. That's because in a 2011 review she wrote, "I drive a 2004 lowered, short-shift Mini Cooper S — a scrappy, tight little renegade of a car ... that's abused me so much over the years I may have forgotten what a luxury driving experience is all about." And although Bell shared that she was taught to never settle when it came to vehicles, when discussing the Maserati, she pointed out, "I didn't have $145,000 lying around to buy such a machine."
Bell eventually upgraded, telling Men's Journal a few years later that she'd pivoted to electric. She also suggested on Instagram that she dropped some money on a Camaro in 2022, captioning a photo of her sitting in a driver's seat, "Please welcome Janet. 1979 z28 Camaro T top. Three shades of caramel."
Lake Bell's real estate ventures
Like a lot of celebrities, Lake Bell has seemingly spent a good amount of her money over the years on expensive real estate. It appears one of those purchases was a townhouse in Brooklyn that she bought in 2013 for $1.55 million, per Page Six. This wasn't your typical small New York City space either, considering that it had four levels consisting of five bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and a refinished basement. Bell eventually put it on the market three years later, bringing in nearly double what she originally paid for it.
According to CBS, Bell decided to leave Brooklyn for Los Angeles so she and her husband, tattoo artist Scott Campbell, could be closer to work in Hollywood and have more space for their kids. It seems owning land was also something that was important to them. Even years after relocating, Bell told ET, "My husband and I do daily dream about sort of upping and, you know, buying a lot of dirt somewhere and calling it our own."
GQ reports that the couple did drop money on a Spanish-style home in the Valley that was built in the 1920s and had a large pool. "The idea of having a swimming pool was the coolest thing. I always equated that with having made it," Campbell had dished. He and Bell went on to split in 2020 though so it's unclear if one of them kept that house or if it was sold.
Lake Bell gives back
Lake Bell has certainly made it a point to use some of her fortune to give back, having been involved with several charities throughout her career. It's something she seemingly started doing with her friends over a decade ago after she was inspired by her TV series "How to Make It in America." She told Elle in 2010, "We have these game nights in my living room. I charge some ridiculous, random entry fee ... and we play a game and raise money for a charity." It turned out to be pretty lucrative too. "We did an 'Auction for Nothing' night," she said. "We ended up raising $3,700 for the Red Cross."
That wasn't the only time Bell found creative ways to make a difference either. In 2011, she designed a bag for the brand Botkier to benefit Oxfam International. More recently in 2019, Bell told Shondaland that she's on the board of Woman in Film, where she advocates for gender equality in her industry. She also works with the organization This Is About Humanity, an organization that helps cover legal fees for immigration cases. When it comes to her involvement, Bell explained, "I think that's just being human."
Bell has also used her social media platform for the greater good, and in 2021, she organized and promoted a GoFundMe for Afrikicks, a nonprofit that collects shoes for underprivileged areas. She then raised awareness for Alliance of Moms on her Instagram in 2022, which supports young moms in foster care.
How Lake Bell spends her cash
While Lake Bell clearly has millions to spend on whatever she wants, it appears that she's pretty mindful when it comes to shelling out big bucks. She once told Shondaland, "I'm not like a spender. I'm not like, 'Oh my God! I need that bag.' I have the same bags or I borrow my mom's or my grandma's." Yet Bell did point out where things do tend to add up, since she clarified, "I just don't spend a lot of money naturally — unless it's at the grocery store."
However, when Bell does splurge, she apparently likes to do so on traveling. She dished, "That's my only big expenditure. I would like to have first class if I can. When I travel with the kids ... I just get four first class and you take over the whole section." It seems Bell is into visiting exotic places too, like Lagos for example, where she posted photos from in August 2022. A few months earlier, she was also spotted vacationing in Croatia with her reported beau, Chris Rock. The two were even seen on a private boat ride, which suggested that the trip was probably pretty lavish.
From the looks of her Instagram, Bell may also be into dropping money on high fashion, since she's posted herself wearing designer duds from brands like Versace and ASbyDF. You could say she has an eye for jewelry as well, because in another post, she wrote, "Travel day with @jenniferfisherjewelry power ring."
Lake Bell has worked hard for her success
At this point, it's clear that Lake Bell is a Hollywood success story. While things like luck and talent surely factor into it to some degree, work ethic is also a major key. Bell seemingly believes that anyone can find a solid career path as a writer if they keep their nose to the grindstone. She explained to Backstage, "You don't need money or representation or an office to write. ... All you need is discipline, passion, and motivation."
The "Children's Hospital" star also shared what she does to keep her creativity flowing, and in turn, her career hot. "As a creator and as a generator of my own projects, I think it's important to have multiple irons, multiple fires," she told IndieWire. She continued, "I think I'm just stoking them as I go and seeing which one hits first." And while it's probably nice to have a job that leads to millions in the bank, there are some personal costs that come with having a busy show business career. As she told Elite Daily in 2017, "It takes you away from your family, and when you work really hard you have less time to see your friends."
Although Bell has obviously already achieved a lot, she's not one to let herself get too comfortable. As she said in Elite Daily, "I feel really lucky that when people ask, 'Where do you see yourself in five years?' I don't have an answer because it's so wildly unpredictable." Clearly, she's mastered the art of staying on her toes.