Ryan Murphy is a television writer, director, and producer who has created a number of popular TV shows over the years—many of which focus on diverse characters and stories.
These shows have gained fans and followers, won awards, earned spots on lists of popular and successful television series. Learn more about his legendary career and his hefty net worth.
Ryan Murphy Created Many Of Your Favorite TV Shows And Movies
Born in 1965, in Indianapolis, Indiana, Murphy studied journalism at Indiana University. He worked for several publications, including serving as an intern at the Washington Post, before he ventured into the entertainment industry in the late 1990s. He started out by writing scripts, and one, Why Can’t I Be Audrey Hepburn?, was even obtained by Steven Speilberg (though it never made it to development).
Soon, Murphy was creating some of the most successful and beloved television shows of all time, such as Popular, Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story, and Pose. His credits also include movies like Eat, Pray, Love, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, and The Prom.
Overall, this writer, director, and producer has been nominated for 36 Emmy Awards and has earned six, including Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series with Glee, Outstanding Television Movie with The Normal Heart, and Outstanding Limited Series with The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story and The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
Murphy was also given the Award of Inspiration from amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, due to his work in the entertainment industry and his work in the fight against AIDS.
Additionally, Murphy produced the Broadway play The Boys in the Band, which won a Tony Award, and directed the movie The Normal Heart, which earned Emmy and Golden Globe awards. In 2018, more recognition came, as he gained a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Murphy’s Major Deal With Netflix
Something else big happened in 2018: Murphy signed a deal with Netflix. Reportedly the biggest television deal of all time, he signed on to bring projects from Ryan Murphy Productions exclusively to Netflix for five years.
“Ryan Murphy’s series have influenced the global cultural zeitgeist, reinvented genres, and changed the course of television history,” said Netflix’s chief content officer, Ted Sarandos. “His unfaltering dedication to excellence and to give voice to the underrepresented, to showcase a unique perspective, or just to shock the hell out of us, permeates his genre-shattering work.”
Murphy, who said he was a “gay kid from Indiana who moved to Hollywood in 1989 with $55,” shared that the moment was “emotional and overwhelming.”
Ryan Murphy’s Net Worth
In 2019, TIME called Murphy the “King of the Streaming Boom,” as his Netflix deal led to even more shows and films written, directed, and/or produced by him.
Thanks to his many success, Murphy has also been able to build up an extensive real estate portfolio. He bought his Laguna Beach home for $4.475 million, as well as the land next to it for $3 million. After putting in an additional $8 million in landscaping and renovations, he created the perfect compound (that sold for $10.65 million in 2020). Murphy also owned a house in Beverly Hills, which was purchased for $10 million then sold for $16.25 million.
Currently, Murphy owns a stunning West Village townhouse, as well as another compound in Brentwood that includes a $9 million mansion, $6.5 million for the now-demolished house next to it, and a renovated horse ranch nearby he obtained for $7.2 million.
In all, Murphy has built up an estimated net worth of $150 million.