Phoebe Cates Net Worth, Acting Career, And Manhattan Apartment
Phoebe Cates is an American actress, model, and entrepreneur, boasting a net worth of $35 million. This figure represents a combined wealth with her husband, actor Kevin Kline, with whom she has shared over three decades of marriage. Phoebe Cates gained fame for her roles as Linda Barrett in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Kate Beringer in Gremlins (1984) and its sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Cronin in Drop Dead Fred (1991). Additionally, she showcased her talent on Broadway in a 1989 production of Paddy Chayefsky’s The Tenth Man.
Career Overview
Phoebe Cates largely stepped back from acting in the mid-1990s to prioritize raising her children. Her final credited film appearance was in the 2001 movie The Anniversary Party.
Manhattan Apartment
Kevin and Phoebe have resided in an exclusive Manhattan building at 1125 Fifth Avenue for several decades. While details about their residence remain limited, estimates suggest the unit’s value could range from $10 million to over $20 million, depending on its layout. Notably, Bette Midler listed a penthouse in the same building for $50 million in 2019, although she later withdrew the listing.
A year prior, a unit directly below was listed for $20 million, which also came off the market. In addition to their Manhattan home, the couple owns a 5+ acre farm property in Garrison, New York, purchased in 1988 for $770,000.
Early Life
Phoebe Cates was born Phoebe Belle Cates on July 16, 1963, in New York City. Her mother, Lily, was born in China, while her father, Joseph Cates (originally Katz), was a notable Broadway producer involved in creating the game show The $64,000 Question. Growing up alongside her older sister Valerie and younger sister Alexandra, Phoebe attended the Professional Children’s School and later the prestigious Juilliard School.
She began modeling at age 10 and appeared in magazines like Seventeen. Although she earned a scholarship to the School of American Ballet, an injury at age 14 forced her to abandon dance. Reflecting on her modeling career, Phoebe remarked, “It was just the same thing, over and over. After a while, I did it solely for the money.”
Acting Career
Dissatisfied with modeling, Phoebe Cates transitioned to acting, making her film debut in Paradise (1982). Initially hesitant due to the film’s nudity requirements, her father encouraged her to take the role. In addition to acting, she sang the theme song and recorded an album titled Paradise. However, she later alleged that producers filmed unauthorized close-ups of her character using a body double and subsequently refused to promote the film.
Her breakout role came later that year in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, where she delivered what Rolling Stone described as “the most memorable bikini drop in cinema history.” The film was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress for its cultural significance. In 1983, Cates starred in Private School and appeared in the TV movie Baby Sister, contributing songs to the Private School soundtrack. In 1984, she starred in the horror-comedy Gremlins, which grossed $212.9 million at the box office.
She reprised her role in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) and contributed to the video game Lego Dimensions (2015). Cates continued acting through various projects until she played Elizabeth “Lizzie” Cronin in Drop Dead Fred (1991) and later appeared in films like Bodies, Rest & Motion (1993) and My Life’s in Turnaround. Although cast as Steve Martin’s daughter in Father of the Bride, she withdrew after becoming pregnant with her first child. In 1994, Cates starred alongside Kevin Kline in Princess Caraboo, marking her last film before stepping away from acting.
Personal Life
Phoebe Cates shared an apartment with her boyfriend Stavros Merjos during the early ’80s. She met Kevin Kline while auditioning for The Big Chill in 1983; they began dating two years later when they were both single. The couple married on March 5, 1989, welcoming son Owen on October 14, 1991, and daughter Greta on March 21, 1994.
They all appeared together in The Anniversary Party (2001). Owen has pursued careers as a writer and director while Greta has made a name for herself as a singer-songwriter. In addition to her family life, Phoebe opened a boutique named Blue Tree on Madison Avenue in New York City in 2005.
