Here's How Much Salt-N-Pepa's Pepa Is Really Worth
Sandra Denton — more commonly known as "Pepa" of Salt-N-Pepa — has had a long, successful career that began when she was still in college. The all-women rap/hip-hop band was formed when Pepa was a nursing student at Queensborough Community College in New York City (via Channel Guide Magazine).
Cheryl "Salt" James was also studying nursing, but the two young women shared another passion: music and performing. They formed Salt-N-Pepa in 1985 and went on to release five albums. The band was groundbreaking because, at the time, the rap and hip-hop genres were male-dominated.
"We're doing something that only guys are expected to do and doin' it right! At our concerts we'll do one hard-core rap song and then do one where we'll be real sexy," Salt said, according to The Source.
All five albums were a major success, which contributed heavily to both Salt and Pepa's net worths — but Pepa also made money from other endeavors.
Pepa worked as an actress and published a book
In addition to the money she earned as a member of Salt-N-Pepa, Pepa boosted her bottom line through other ventures, including some minor film roles and a recurring role as Officer Andrea Phelan on the TV series Oz from 2000 through 2003 (via IMDb).
Salt-N-Pepa also brought their talents to the small screen in TV shows such as The Salt-N-Pepa Show, and Pepa had a TV series of her own titled Let's Talk About Pep, which aired for one season in 2010. Pepa also penned a memoir titled Let's Talk About Pep: The Salt-N-Pepa Superstar Tells It How It Is, which was published in 2008.
Pepa has joined forces with Salt again for a Lifetime biopic about their band, which premieres Saturday, January 23. The two women served as executive producers of the movie, aptly titled Salt-N-Pepa (via Billboard).
With Pepa's income from her music career combined with other projects like TV shows and her book, Celebrity Net Worth estimates that Sandra "Pepa" Denton is worth approximately $15 million.