Depending on your age, you likely know Stacey Dash from one of two things: her breakout role in the 1995 comedy hit Clueless, or her controversial political takes over the past 10 years. Either way, you may be wondering what the actress, commentator, and new edition to College Hill: Celebrity Edition is up to these days, and how much she’s squirreled away from her time in the limelight. While Dash hasn’t exactly been an A-list star for a while, it may shock you to learn that her net worth is a measly $100,000 according to Celebrity Net Worth. Obviously, this amount of cash would be life changing for the average American, but it’s still a surprise to see just how low Stacey Dash’s financial reserves are when compared to that of her contemporaries, many of whom are multi-millionaires.
So, let’s examine Stacey Dash’s body of work, revenue streams, and what we know about her investment portfolio, in order to see what we can learn about her spending and saving trends. With any luck, we may be able to piece together some answers as to how she came to hold this relatively small nest egg, and develop a few dos and don’ts with our own financial habits. Let’s dive right in, and see what we can glean from Stacey Dash’s net worth.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Long before Stacey Dash was the controversial media figure that she is today, she was born to a humble family in the Bronx. Several of her family members have launched successful business ventures, including her younger brother Darien Dash and her cousin Damon Dash. Darien is best known for founding DME Interactive Holdings, which helps global corporations effectively market their products to young Black and Latino communities. DME made waves as the very first African American owned internet company to be publicly traded via Wall Street, making Darien a massive success. Likewise, Damon is a household name in most rap circles for having co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records alongside Jay-Z.
As for Stacey, she began acting when she was still in high school, and made her television debut in 1982 with the crime drama Farrell: For the People. Though the project never made it past the pilot stage, Dash clearly made some solid connections, as just a few years later she was acting in programs such as The Cosby Show, TV 101, and St. Elsewhere. After graduating from high school in 1985, Dash’s career really began to blossom, with major placements in feature length films like Moving, Mo’ Money, and Renaissance Man.
Career Breakthrough and Additional Screen Acting Ventures
Stacey Dash’s career seemed to be on a steady trajectory throughout the late 80s and early 90s, though she never could have predicted the meteoric rise that came with her casting in 1995’s Clueless. The film, which saw Dash starring alongside Alicia Silverstone’s Cher Horowitz, instantly became a cult classic, and is widely recognized today as one of the best teen movies of all time. Clueless instantly made Stacey Dash a household name, with critics far and wide praising her performance as the beautiful and wealthy Dionne Davenport. The film also inspired a short-lived television spin-off of the same name, which saw Stacey Dash reprising her role as a leading member of the ensemble cast.
While her career seemed to be on a major upswing with Clueless, Dash started to plateau as a leading woman after the success of the classic comedy. She continued getting work, appearing in lesser known movies like 1999’s Personals, 2001’s The Painting, and 2003’s Gang of Roses, though none of her follow-up roles could reach the heights or social relevancy of Dionne Davenport. Though Dash has not progressed to become an A-list actress, she has received steady acting work over the years, albeit in mostly low budget projects. At the time of this writing, Stacey Dash has over 65 credited screen appearances on her official IMDb page, including various guest roles, music videos, and one hilarious turn as Mayor Mansfield in Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens.
Political Takes And Commentator Career
Despite Stacey Dash’s waning relevancy, she has managed to pop up in numerous headlines over the last decade due to her unorthodox and outspoken political views. Dash claims that she was a lifelong Democrat up until 2012, when she switched party affiliation to officially endorse Mitt Romney against Barack Obama. This decision was met with a lot of backlash from Dash’s fans, though it would ultimately prove to be the tip of the iceberg in terms of her political aspirations. Dash even managed to land a role as a political commentator for Fox News in 2014. The placement saw her spouting numerous bizarre claims about foreign terrorism Obama’s political strategy, and transgender people using the bathroom. In 2016, Dash publicly endorsed Donald Trump for president, and released a book titled There Goes My Social Life: From Clueless to Conservative.
In her book, the actress lashes out against figures such as Lady Gaga and Caitlyn Jenner for pushing a so-called “liberal agenda” in Hollywood, and argues that transgender individuals are able to choose their gender on a whim, and as such are not entitled to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. Dash doubled down on these sentiments in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, stating “It’s tyranny by the minority. Why do I have to suffer because you can’t decide what you wanna be that day?” When ET host Nischelle Turner raised the argument that trans people don’t pick and choose their gender at will, Dash exclaimed “OK, then go in the bushes. I don’t know what to tell you, but I’m not gonna put my child’s life at risk because you want to change a law.”
Run For Office
By 2017, Stacey Dash had been dropped from Fox News, though that didn’t put an end to her lofty political goals. Just one year later, Dash filed paperwork to run in California’s 44th congressional district, joining the race as a Republican. While seeking an endorsement from Trump, Stacey Dash explained to The Guardian “I plan on breaking out of the box. I want to shake the tree, rock the boat. I want to free people from the shackles of a plantation mentality.” Like many of her comments made on the air with Fox, this stirred up controversy with her fans and critics alike online, and dash ultimately withdrew from the race less than a month later.
Luckily, Stacey Dash hasn’t gone full-on QAnon like so many other MAGA Republicans. In March 2021, just a few months after right-wing extremists stormed the Capitol with the intention of halting a free and fair election on January 6, Dash expressed a public interest in dissolving political lines and making bipartisan progress. While speaking to reporters at Daily Mail, the Clueless actress explained “Being a supporter of Trump has put me in some kind of box that I don’t belong in. But he’s not the president. I’m going to give the president that we have right now a chance.”
There’s no telling exactly how all these political side-quests have impacted Stacey Dash’s overall net worth, though it does seem clear that her outspoken views have made her radioactive for certain productions. Dash has argued on many occasions that she has been blackballed from the Hollywood industry, though it’s hard to say whether this is due to her conservative politics, or due to her propensity for courting public backlash.
What’s Next For Stacey Dash?
For now, it seems as though Stacey Dash is ready to put the political turmoil behind her and return to acting, both in scripted and reality formats. Her last on-screen performances came in 2022, with the film Corsicana and the BET reality show College Hill: Celebrity Edition. The latter saw Dash competing against a number of other C-list celebs for a crash course in college at Texas Southern University, taking classes and quizzes alongside current students. According to IMDb, her next project will be another reality series, titled A New Thing With Stacey Dash. The project is described as following the eponymous entertainer “as she shares about her new interior design life, as well as her struggles and successes, documenting her return to the public eye.”
At the end of the day, Stacey Dash’s 6 figure net worth is probably more than enough to keep her afloat, especially as she continues picking up new work in various places. Despite her claims that she has been blackballed by Hollywood, it seems clear that outlets such as BET are willing to work with her, despite many disparaging comments she has aimed at the network in the past.
