American actor Dennis William Quaid was born on 9th April 1954, in Houston, Texas, of Cajun, Irish and English descent. He has appeared in numerous films – mostly dramas and comedies, being active in the entertainment industry since 1975. He won a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Far from Heaven” in 2002, among other accolades.
So how rich is Dennis Quaid, as of early 2017? As far as Quaid’s net worth is concerned, it has been estimated by authoritative sources at over $45 million, the main source of his wealth being acting.
Dennis Quaid Net Worth $45 Million
William Rudy Quaid and Juanita Bonniedale raised two sons, both of whom have become impressive actors. Their eldest son, Randy Quaid, is an outstanding actor, and a nominee for Academy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe Awards. The younger son, Dennis Quaid, followed in the footsteps of his brother.
Dennis wanted to become an actor from his early childhood; he had a passion for dancing even as he studied at Bellaire High School, and was also taught drama by coach Cecelia Pickett.
Quaid even enrolled into the University of Houston, but dropped out before graduation, as he decided not to waste time as he wanted to pursue the career of an actor as soon as possible. The start of his career wasn’t easy though; he didn’t get the roles he wanted, so it was difficult to prove himself, actually debuting with an uncredited role in the feature film “Crazy Mama” in 1975.
Afterwards, he appeared in films playing small roles until his breakthrough in the film “Breaking Away” in 1979, directed by Peter Yates, which was praised by critics as well as succeeding commercially. Dennis attracted the attention of filmmakers, consequently landing leading roles in films including “The Right Stuff” in 1983, “Innerspace” in 1987, and “The Big Easy” in 1987 and “Great Balls of Fire!” in 1989, both directed by Jim McBride.
In spite of the fact that he experienced problems related to cocaine and alcohol use, his career was going up. Quaid increased his net worth as well as receiving positive reviews for his roles in the 1990s films “Postcards from the Edge”, “Wilder Napalm”, “Wyatt Earp”, “Dragonheart” and “The Parent Trap” (1998) among others.
Furthermore, another upswing of Quaid’s career came in the new millennium, when he was nominated for Saturn and Blockbuster Entertainment Awards for the role of Frank Sullivan in the film “Frequency”, and then won a Screen Actors Guild Award for his role in “Traffic”, both in 2000, but for “Far from Heaven” in 2002, Dennis won four prestigious awards for the role of Frank Whitaker. In addition, over the next several years he created noted characters in the films “The Day After Tomorrow”, “The Express”, “Pandorum”, “The Special Relationship” and “Beneath the Darkness” in 2012.
More recently he starred in the CBS TV series “Vegas” in 2012 and ’13, and the film “Truth” in 2015.
In his personal life, Dennis Quaid has been married three times, firstly to actress P. J. Soles from 1978 to ‘83, then to actress Meg Ryan – the mother of his first son – from 1991 to 2001. In 2004, Dennis married real estate agent Kimberly Buffington who is the mother of their twins, but they finally divorced in 2016 after a very off-on marriage involving several divorce threats by both. Quaid is now rumoured to be dating Santa Auzina, 32 years his junior.
