How Much Is Joey Lawrence Actually Worth?

Joey Lawrence is an actor, producer, director, and singer/songwriter whose net worth is $250,000, according to Celebrity Net Worth. He is best known for his work in television, including the ABC Family-turned-Freeform series "Melissa & Joey," the sitcom "Brotherly Love" (in which he starred alongside his real-life younger brothers), the '80s sitcom "Gimme a Break!" and, of course, the '90s NBC teen sitcom "Blossom." In "Blossom," he portrayed the vapid Joey Russo, brother to Mayim Bialik's lead character (via IMDb). As Joey, Lawrence reached teen heartthrob status, his picture plastered on '90s teen magazines and teen girls' bedroom walls all across America.

In addition to acting, Lawrence has also enjoyed a music career, which he launched in the early '90s with his 1993 debut album "Joey Lawrence," as noted by the website for music producer and songwriter Elliot Wolff, who wrote and produced two songs for the album. Though Lawrence kept his primary career focus on acting, he still writes and records original music to this day.

From television, commercials, and film to music, producing, and directing, Joey Lawrence has truly done it all. Yet he's also experienced some tough times in his personal life — which can account for a net worth that might be lower than you'd expect.

Joey Lawrence was born on April 20, 1976 to a middle-class family with Italian, Scottish, and English roots — he was the first-born child of his insurance salesman father and teacher mother (who later changed careers), according to Celebrity Net Worth. He grew up alongside his two younger brothers, Matthew Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence, in Abington, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.

Joey spoke to Suburban Life about his high school years. "I went to Abington Friends [School], and I miss it. I really do. I don't get back as much as I'd like," he said. "We used to go [to] the Shakey's in Jenkintown and to the old movie theater ... It was so much fun. I have such great memories." If the town of Jenkintown sounds familiar to you, that's because it's the hometown of fellow actor and Philly boy Bradley Cooper, who was actually only one year apart in age from Joey. Another fun fact: Jenkintown is also where ABC's "The Goldbergs" is set — as it's the real-life hometown of creator Adam Goldberg (via Dirt).

Joey described himself as a "sports guy" as a teenager ("Go Eagles!"), telling the publication that he and his group of friends were good kids who "never really got into trouble." He said, "Threw some stink bombs into open windows — that was about the worst of it."

Joey Lawrence began his career appearing in commercials, including a TV commercial for Cracker Jack, as noted by a 2012 interview with The Morton Report. At the age of 5, he sang "Give My Regards to Broadway" on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." You may have caught a very young Lawrence on classic '70s and '80s sitcoms like "Diff'rent Strokes" and "Silver Spoons," though his first regular starring role on TV came in the form of the NBC sitcom "Gimme a Break!" a role which he played from 1983 to 1987.

Lawrence continued working steadily in show biz, appearing in TV movies like "Little Shots" and 1989's "Adventures in Babysitting" (via IMDb), the TV movie follow-up to the hit 1987 feature film of the same name.

However, he became a household name and the object of teen girls' affections everywhere when he was cast as Joey Russo on NBC's "Blossom" in 1990, a role he played until 1995. "That was a great time in my life," Lawrence told The Morton Report, adding, "Being one of the most popular teens on the planet was very neat. Even when I was involved in the middle of it, I was still able to step back and think, 'Wow, this is pretty amazing.' I look fondly back on that time and it was all part of the journey that led to where I am today."

After "Blossom" came to an end in 1995, Joey Lawrence continued to gain steady acting work, though he arguably never landed another role as iconic as that of Joey on "Blossom," which launched "Whoa!" as his signature catchphrase.

Apart from frequent TV movie roles and occasional film roles like that of 2000's "Urban Legends: Final Cut," he appeared in several other TV series over the next 10 years: "Brotherly Love," which placed him alongside his real-life brothers Matthew and Andrew, and the series "American Dreams" and "Run of the House" (via IMDb). In 2006, he came in third place on Season 3 of "Dancing with the Stars," an opportunity he followed up with a role in "Chicago" on Broadway, as noted by The Morton Report.

More recently, he appeared alongside Melissa Joan Hart from 2010 to 2015 on the Freeform sitcom "Melissa & Joey," a show he also produced, along with appearances on "CSI: NY," "Californication," and the new iteration of "Hawaii Five-0." He also appeared on Season 2 of "Celebrity Big Brother."

Lawrence told The Morton Report in 2012, "It's been a long haul, and the fact that I'm still able to do this [act] 31 years later feels pretty great to me."

Back in the day, Joey Lawrence launched a music career, something he's always been passionate about. In 1993, he released his debut album "Joey Lawrence," which sold over 2 million copies. You might even remember the very '90s music video for his single "Nothin' My Love Can't Fix."

Though he seemingly prioritized acting over music in the years that followed, Lawrence never totally brushed music aside. In fact, when it comes to music, he always seems to have something up his sleeve. On Instagram, he regularly shares his music, like his 2017-released Christmas song. That same year, he told People that he formed a band with his brothers called Still Three — the trio had just released their first single "Lose Myself." "We've always just fooled around, but we never actually put pen to paper and worked on something from beginning to end," Lawrence told Entertainment Tonight of the group's beginnings. Of the accidentally leaked single, he said, "We literally did it, like, in one night ... It's not a fully mastered product, but it was good enough ... The response has been amazing!"

In August 2021, Lawrence chatted with Fox 5 about his new single "Turtle" and his love for music, describing his childhood obsession with the show "Donny & Marie," saying, "When I was a little kid, it was really music that inspired me. When I was super, super little ... I was infatuated with that show."

Obviously, the bulk of Joey Lawrence's income these days comes from his acting work, with some from his music. However, Lawrence also engages in other occasional gigs that contribute to his net worth. For example, in 2019, IndyStar reported that the entertainer landed a gig appearing in Hoosier scratch-off lottery ads that same year. In the ads, Lawrence once again utters his famous line of "Whoa!" from "Blossom." 

Interestingly, Lawrence was not originally intended for the campaign; rather, the original campaign focused on different ways of winning, with players, upon winning, uttering such lines as "Whoa" or "My mind is blown." According to Melissa Pursley, marketing and product development vice president for IGT Indiana, the company behind much of the lottery's operations, someone made a random comment during a meeting like "'Oh, that reminds me of Joey Lawrence from the 'Blossom' days.'" From there, the lightbulb went off, and a partnering ad agency contacted the actor to shoot the campaign in Speedway, Indiana.

In addition to the occasional ad campaign, Lawrence has an active Cameo account where he'll record a personally requested video message to fans for a rate of $150 per booking. According to the actor's Cameo page, he typically responds within one day. As of this writing, he's got 57 five-star reviews and a Cameo fan club of 332 members. If you do the math, that can add up pretty quickly.

While 2017 was a successful year for Joey Lawrence musically, he was struggling financially. According to The Blast, Lawrence and his then-wife Chandie Yawn-Nelson filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after reportedly finding themselves "in the red" for upwards of $18,000 each month. Documents obtained by the outlet noted that Lawrence's annual earnings were $534,000 in 2015, but that, by 2016, he only made $58,000 — seemingly the result of the cancelation of his TV show "Melissa & Joey" in 2015.

At the time of the filing, Lawrence reported his average monthly income to be $4,166, while Yawn-Nelson was not working. He also claimed earnings of $2,500 in residuals, with a total average monthly income of just under $7,000. Before the bankruptcy filing, the couple had sold off much of their clothing and furniture. As noted by The Blast, the actor also owed money to the IRS and had his three cars — a 2014 Bentley, a 2016 BMW, and a 2015 Ford — repossessed.

In April 2018, People reported that the case had settled after discharging a hefty amount of the over $355,000 debt accumulation. Only two weeks later, however, TMZ reported that Lawrence was spotted at Craig's restaurant in West Hollywood driving a brand-new Dodge Challenger Hellcat.

In addition to performing, Joey Lawrence has also experienced the business side of the industry. As he told The Morton Report in 2012, while starring in "Melissa & Joey," he not only starred in the series, but he also produced it. "It was not only cool to come back to comedy but also ... have a great deal of creative control as opposed to just being an actor for hire," he explained.

At the time of the interview, Lawrence actually owned his own production company called JL Veritas, in which he had a number of projects in the works: a 30-minute musical comedy for Nickelodeon and a movie script he had sold to Disney for which he was set to star and co-produce. However, in 2017, according to The Blast, Lawrence sold the company for $56,000 — and part of the deal included signing over "all song, TV and movie residuals, royalties and other income" he had been owed "for all work prior to his bankruptcy." 

Interestingly, Lawrence told Entertainment Tonight in 2017 that he didn't want his young daughters to follow in his footsteps as a child actor. When Entertainment Tonight's Michelle Turner asked if this was because of his own experience transitioning from child actor to leading man, Lawrence divulged, "Yes, absolutely. It's been tough."

Filing for bankruptcy is no easy feat — and it's likely that the financial problems that Joey Lawrence experienced during his marriage to Chandie Yawn-Nelson played a role in the demise of the relationship. As noted by Us Weekly, Lawrence filed for divorce in July of 2020, after 15 years of marriage. Divorces, like bankruptcy filings, are also expensive in themselves. A blog post for the law office of Hollywood divorce attorney Laura Wasser claims the average divorce costs $17,500 in California, which is $2,500 above the $15,000 national average, though this can decrease or increase greatly depending on the complexity of the case.

The actor is committed to co-parenting his two daughters — who are four years apart — whom he shares with his ex-wife. Just weeks before the divorce filing, Lawrence posted a heartfelt Father's Day tribute to his daughters on Instagram, writing, "Being the father of these two amazing, strong, powerful young ladies ... has brought more joy and happiness into my life [than] I ever could have imagined ... Our job as fathers is unparalleled and literally the most important and meaningful responsibility we ever could have."

The divorce is not the first for Lawrence. According to Us Weekly, the actor's first marriage in 2002 to Michelle Vella ended in divorce in 2005, the same year he married Yawn-Nelson — years after first meeting in Disney World and later reconnecting.

In August 2021, Joey Lawrence again made headlines, but, this time, for happy news: He popped the question to his girlfriend of one year, actress Samantha Cope, who joyfully accepted. The engagement announcement came about a year after filing for divorce from his previous wife, Chandie Yawn-Nelson, as Us Weekly was the first to report.

Interestingly, the actor met his bride-to-be on the set of a Lifetime movie directed by his youngest brother, Andrew Lawrence. "Out of nowhere, you know, it was a crazy year and a half for everybody, obviously the whole world," the elder Lawrence brother said. "Then when you least expect [it,] amazing things happen and meeting her has just been really the greatest thing ever." He elaborated to the news outlet what it was like to meet his fiancée during this "crazy" year: "Last year, 2020 was really something. And when you least expect it ... you literally meet the perfect person for you." While we're happy for him, we bet his new marriage might make some changes to his financial situation. After all, weddings cost money!

The former "Blossom" star has had a lot to contend with over the past several years: financial woes, a divorce, and now a wedding on the horizon. For now, the actor seems to be more excited than anything else. "There's a lot of stuff going on," he told Us Weekly, "which we'll talk about soon, but yeah, it's a lot of great stuff."

It's unclear where Joey Lawrence and his new fiancée will reside. From our digging, it's also unclear where Lawrence calls home these days, though it's likely, being in the entertainment industry, that he resides somewhere in Los Angeles. Though his current digs is kept under wraps, we know that Lawrence previously lived in a Mediterranean mansion in Calabasas, California, which he purchased for approximately $1.44 million in 2011. He later updated and listed it with Amalfi Estates in 2016 for $2.249 million before lowering to $2.149 million. According to the Los Angeles Times, the actor sold the stunning home for $2 million later that year — shortly before filing for bankruptcy.

The luxurious two-story, 4,600-square-foot property, situated in the community of Westridge, featured a Mediterranean exterior and contemporary interior. Unique features of the four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom home included a circular foyer, updated kitchen, wet bar, suede-lined accent walls, master suite with fireplace and two walk-in closets, and all-new modern faucets, hardware, and fixtures. A lavish backyard with swimming pool and rock waterfall — and extensive outdoor entertaining space — topped off the property.

Previously, Lawrence lived in an even larger home in Encino, California, with six bedrooms and at least 7 bathrooms (reports vary). According to Variety, he paid $1.175 million in May 1994 and listed for $2.599 million in 2011.

Considering his history, it's likely Lawrence will downsize again — even so, we know the property will be fab.