A Star on the Rise! 'The Little Mermaid' Actor Halle Bailey's Net Worth

Halle Bailey is an impressive young woman. At just 23, she's already made a name for herself in the music, television and the movies. Bailey began acting and singing at age 3, but really broke onto the Hollywood scene in 2012 when she held minor roles in two films and became a YouTube sensation for her music career with her sister, Chloe.

Previously, Bailey was most known for her chart-topping music in the R&B group Chloe x Halle, but she's recently broken into a new level of fame playing Ariel in Disney’s 2023 live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. As a young, up-and-coming actor and singer, you’ll be surprised at just how much Halle Bailey’s net worth is in 2023.

This is everything you need to know about how Halle Bailey got her start and how much she is making in 2023.

How did Halle Bailey become famous?

Halle Bailey’s career began at a young age when she held minor roles in movies, like Last Holiday (2006), TV shows like Tyler Perry’s House of Payne (2007) and TV movies like Disney’s Let It Shine (2012). However, she’s most well known as part of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle with her sister Chloe Bailey—who she bears a striking resemblance to, despite the fact that Chloe is nearly two years older.

The Bailey sisters got their musical start on YouTube in 2008, and after a few years of posting homemade videos performing together, they were invited onto the talk show so many child stars had their “big break” on—The Ellen Show.

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After Ellen, the duo went on to win Radio Disney’s The Next Big Thing talent competition in 2013, which really put them on the map and was a huge deal for their target audience at the time: young Disney-obsessed girls who forced their parents to listen to Radio Disney. Winning Radio Disney’s N.B.T. took Bailey back to Disney Channel where she and her sister performed on an episode of Austin & Ally.

And if being a part of one of the biggest media companies wasn’t enough, after Disney, Chloe x Halle were signed by Parkwood Entertainment (Beyoncé’s record label). From there, the musical duo took off, releasing their first EP, Sugar Symphony, and starring in Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade, all in the same week.

Since signing with Parkwood Entertainment in 2016, Chloe x Halle have released the mixtape The Two of Us (2017), which made Rolling Stone’s list of top R&B albums in 2017, and two albums, The Kids Are Alright (2018) and Ungodly Hour (2020). Their song “Do It” on Ungodly Hour earned them their first spot on the Billboard Hot 100 list—as well as a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song in 2021. The duo has earned four Grammy nominations, eight BET nominations, five MTV Video Music Award (VMA) nominations and one People’s Choice Award nomination. Plus, they won a Billboard Women in Music award.

The Bailey sisters don’t only sing together, they act together as well. The duo were featured on Freeform’s Grown-ish from 2018 to 2022—though Chloe held a slightly larger role. Chloe x Halle was also responsible for the Grown-ish theme song, “Grown,” as well as a song featured on A Wrinkle in Time’s (2018) film soundtrack, titled “Warrior.”

In 2019, it was announced Bailey would play the role as Ariel in the live action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid (2023), which basically made Bailey a household name. She is also set to star in The Color Purple and The Line, which will both be released later in 2023.

What is Halle Bailey’s net worth in 2023?

Despite Halle Bailey’s immense talent and experience in music, TV and film, the young actress is estimated to have a net worth of only about $1 million. It’s likely that these numbers don’t reflect her The Little Mermaid salary and are probably based on her music career—where, remember, she did share with her sister, so all profits would likely be split.

Related: Watch and You'll See! Everything We Know About the Live-Action Little Mermaid Movie

What is Halle Bailey best known for?

Prior to 2019, Bailey was most known for her musical group Chloe x Halle with her sister. However, in 2023 she is likely most known for her role as Ariel in Disney’s live action remake of The Little Mermaid.

How much does Halle Bailey make per movie?

Before her role in The Little Mermaid, Bailey was only in one movie, Last Holiday (2006). Unfortunately, that movie was a flop—not even grossing enough to cover the budget—and Bailey didn’t have a large role. It’s unknown how much Bailey could have made, but because she was only about 6 years old at the time, the money likely was managed by her parents or placed into a trust.

It’s believed that Bailey made about $1.5 million for her role as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, but that number could increase depending on how well the film performs opening weekend and beyond.

How much did Halle Bailey make for The Little Mermaid?

The live action remake is just hitting theaters, so it’s hard to determine how much Bailey will take home for her lead role. However, it’s rumored that Disney has spent more than $200 million making the movie and it’s speculated that the company will earn about $110 million for opening weekend alone.

Because Bailey is a younger star just getting her start, she’s likely taking home a smaller paycheck than some of her bigger-named cast members. It’s rumored she was paid around $1.5 million, but depending on her contract, she could earn more after the movie is released in theaters and subsequent streaming service and video releases.

How much does Halle Bailey make per TV show?

Bailey’s biggest television role was her portrayal of Sky Forster on Grown-ish, the spinoff to Black-ish. She was a main character for the first three seasons, but was downgraded to a recurring character in season four, and did not appear in any subsequent seasons.

Typically, the main cast’s paychecks grow with every successful season. So, by season three Bailey was likely making her highest amount before earning less for a recurring role in season four. The actual amount would depend on her contract, which has not been revealed at this time.

How much does Halle Bailey make for her music?

Aside from her current role as Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid remake, most of Bailey’s income comes from her music career as a member of Chloe x Halle.

Chloe x Halle famously signed with Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment label in 2016. It was reported that the pair received between $600,000 and $1 million in advances for promising six albums under the label. They’ve currently produced two albums under Parkwood.

The duo have also produced songs for TV and movie soundtracks for The Walt Disney Company, which would have brought in a paycheck as well.

How well does Halle Bailey’s music sell?

Chloe x Halle’s music is quite popular. Their debut mixtape The Two of Us made Rolling Stone’s list of top R&B albums in 2017. And their debut studio album The Kids Are Alright was an even bigger success earning them their first Grammy, BET and VMA nominations.

In 2020 their second album, Ungodly Hour, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart—and their song “Do It” was the first one to be featured on the Billboard Hot 100 chart where they spent 11 weeks. Multiple songs from Ungodly Hour were featured on Billboard’s R&B Digital Song Sales for selling 2,000 songs in just one week.

How much does Halle Bailey make for her appearances?

Most of Bailey’s appearances have been as a member of Chloe x Halle—where the group has performed at the Super Bowl and Grammy Awards, opened for Beyoncé on tour, and hosted the Glamour Women of the Year Awards. If she does get paid for the events, the paycheck would, again, be split with her sister Chloe.

The NFL famously does not pay its performers, and it’s been reported that the Grammy’s don’t pay its performers either. The incentive to perform at these events is that the large stage could drum up buzz around a performer, leading to more streams, brand deals and other moneymakers.

Some awards show hosts get a small paycheck, but it’s unclear if the Glamour Women of the Year Awards pays its hosts.

As for being an opening act, while Beyoncé is raking in millions of dollars for her tours, the openers might only walk away with a couple thousand dollars. It’s reported that typically openers make about $15,000 for a performance, but there are expenses that come along with it too. Depending on how much things like transportation and production cost, openers might spend almost their entire paycheck on expenses.

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