Shirley Veronica Bassey was born on the 8th January 1937, in Tiger Bay, Cardiff Wales, and is one of the most successful female vocalists of the second half of the 20th century. Her career spans more than 60 years, during which she has released more than 30 studio albums, won numerous prestigious awards and honors, including being made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, plus rewarded as Best British Female Solo Artist in the previous 25 years by BRIT Award. Some of her most famous songs remain “Goldfinger” b/w “Strange How Love Can Be”, recorded for the soundtrack for the James Bond film “Goldfinger”, “Diamonds are Forever”, also for the James Bond film, and “If You Go Away”, among many others. Her career started in 1953.
Have you ever wondered how rich Shirley Bassey is, as of mid- 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Bassey’s net worth is as high as $10 million, an amount earned through her successful career in the entertainment industry.
Shirley Bassey Net Worth $10 Million
Shirley is the youngest child of six, born to Eliza Jane Start, and Henry Bassey, of part-Nigerian ancestry. She grew up in Splott, an adjacent community of Tiger Bay, Cardiff, and went to Moorland Road School, where teachers first came to notice her voice, but from the very start, Shirley wasn’t much encouraged, on the contrary, she was told not to sing and was excluded from the school choir. She attended Splott Secondary Modern School until she was 14 years old, when she left schooling and found a job at the Curran Steels factory, but also pursued a singing career, as she performed in public houses and clubs during the evenings.
As early as 1953 Shirley’s professional career started, when she became a part of the touring variety show “Memories of Jolson”, which is a musical based on the life of singer, actor and comedian Al Jolson. The following year she joined “Hot from Harlem”, but she had to return to Cardiff to work as a waitress due to an unwanted pregnancy. She apparently never discovered who the father is.
She returned to performing in 1955, and appeared in numerous theaters, until she was noticed by the impresario Jack Hylton, on whose invitation Shirley featured in Al Read’s “Such Is Life” at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End, where she was spotted by Philips Records producer Johnny Franz who immediately offered her a recording deal. Soon she had her first single released, “Burn My Candle”, which sold quite well, despite being banned by BBC due to suggestive lyrics. She continued to record for Philips until 1959, releasing “Born to Sing the Blues” in 1957, which is her debut studio album, and “The Bewitching Miss Bassey”. However, in 1958 she also signed with EMI Columbia, which marked the start of her rise to fame. She released the single “As I Love You” and in 1959 the song topped the UK Chart, and remained there for the next four weeks – her net worth was well established.
Throughout the ‘60s, Shirley had numerous successful recordings, including “As Long As He Needs Me”, then “Goldfinger” and “Big Spender”, among many others. She continued successfully until the late ‘70s, switching from EMI to United Artists record label, and releasing such hits as “Something”, “Diamonds are Forever”, “For All We Know”, “Never, Never, Never”, and many others, which only increased her wealth.
Little changed for Shirley in the ‘80s, as she focused more on touring, including charity concerts, but also released a number of albums – “I Am What I Am” (1984), and “La Mujer” (1989), for different labels, as her contract with the United Artists expired. She returned to the studio in the ‘90s, releasing five albums, including “Sings the Movies” (1995), which achieved gold status, and “The Show Must Go On” (1996), which achieved silver status.
Despite her age, Shirley remains active even today, and from the start of the new century has emerged again on the music scene, with her albums achieving gold status, which has only increased her wealth. In 2007 she released the album “Get the Party Started”, and most recently, she released her 37th studio album “Hello Like Before” (2014), through the RCA Records, and it reached No. 24 on the UK Album chart.
Regarding her personal life, Shirley has married two times; her first husband was Kenneth Hume from 1961 until 1965 – the reason for divorce was Shirley’s affair with actor Peter Finch, however, the two broke up soon after. Then in 1968 she married Sergio Novak, but they divorced in 1977 – Novak served as her manager throughout their time together. Also, the two adopted Shirley’s grand-nephew, Mark. Her relationship with Mark stranded over the years, but according to the later reports, the two have managed to sort things out.
Shirley also had two daughters, Samantha and Sharon, but their father or fathers are unknown. Samantha was found dead in 1985 – the police ruled it as suicide. Shirley put all efforts to re-open the case, but after another investigation, the results remained the same.
