What is Chris Evans' Net Worth?
Chris Evans is an English presenter and producer who has a net worth of $120 million. Chris Evans rose to national fame co-hosting the Channel 4 program "The Big Breakfast" in the early 1990s. Since then, he has hosted numerous other television and radio shows, including "Chris Evans Drivetime," "The Chris Evans Breakfast Show," "The One Show," and "Top Gear." During his career, Evans gained notoriety for his long nights of public drinking, often leading to his firing.
Car Collection
Chris owns an extremely valuable collection of cars. This collection alone is worth north of $60 million. His collection includes a McLaren 675LT, a Ferrari 250 GTO that is worth $8 million and was previously owned by the actors James Coburn and Steve McQueen, a Jaguar XK SS, a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C, the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car, a Ferrari 458 Speciale, a Ferrari California, a Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta and many more.
Early Life and Education
Chris Evans was born on April 1, 1966 in Warrington, England as the youngest child of corner shop manager Minnie and bookmaker and health authority wages clerk Martin. He has a brother named David and a sister named Diane. Evans was first educated at St. Margaret's Church of England Infants and Junior School, and later at the Junior School and Boteler Grammar School. He spent the final years of his secondary education at Padgate High School, and subsequently took several dead-end jobs in and around Warrington.
Career Beginnings
Evans started his professional career in Manchester at Piccadilly Radio in 1983. There, he served as an assistant to broadcaster Timmy Mallett and played a character on his show "Nobby Nolevel." In the evenings, Evans worked as a DJ at local pubs. In 1984, he was upgraded to a full-time position at Piccadilly Radio that involved him going around the Manchester area to visit the homes of listeners. Evans was also made a producer, producing material for such broadcasters as James H. Reeve and Jonathan Ross. After moving to the newly created BBC Greater London Radio, he produced for Emma Freud and Danny Baker. For GLR in 1990, Evans hosted his first program, "The Greenhouse." He subsequently hosted the "Power Up" breakfast show on the Power Station, and after that hosted "Round at Chris's." Evans also hosted a Sunday afternoon show on BBC Radio 1 called "Too Much Gravy."
The Big Breakfast
Evans rose to national fame in 1992 as the co-host of the new Channel 4 breakfast television program "The Big Breakfast." Joining him as co-host was Gaby Roslin. "The Big Breakfast" was notable for broadcasting live from a real house in East London. The show mixed news, weather, interviews, features, and audience call-ins. After two years, Evans left the show in 1994.
The Radio 1 Breakfast Show
Evans made his return to radio in 1995 as the new host of "The Radio 1 Breakfast Show," taking over from Steve Wright. He was given free rein by the station's controller Matthew Bannister, allowing him to indulge in innuendo-filled features such as "In Bed with Your Girlfriend" and "Honk Your Horn." As a result, Evans pulled in hundreds of thousands of new listeners. In 1996, he began hosting editions of Channel 4's "TFI Friday" using a similar formula as his radio show. However, Evans soon got into trouble for his long nights of public drinking, which often disrupted his shooting schedule. Even worse, he made increasingly tasteless comments on air that attracted the ire of watchdogs. As things continued to worsen, tensions with management grew, and Evans finally quit in early 1997.
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Virgin Radio
After leaving Radio 1, Evans joined Richard Branson's Virgin Radio as the host of its breakfast show. Aided by investors, he eventually bought the station through his Ginger Media Group. Later, in 2000, Evans sold his Ginger Media Group to the Scottish Media Group for £225 million, making him the highest-paid entertainer that year in the UK. He continued to host the station's breakfast show, but once again got into hot water for his heavily publicized late-night drinking binges. For repeatedly failing to arrive to work, Evans was fired in 2001.
UMTV and Radio 2
In 2002, Evans established the radio and television production company UMTV, which produced over 375 hours of television through 2005. Some of its shows were "Boys and Girls," "Live with Chris Moyles," and "School of Hard Knocks." After UMTV, Evans hosted several one-off Bank holiday shows for BBC Radio 2, and then joined Radio 2 on a permanent basis to host a weekly Saturday afternoon show. In 2006, he was promoted to the drive-time slot and began hosting "Chris Evans Drivetime." He hosted the program through 2009. Evans subsequently hosted "The Chris Evans Breakfast Show" from 2010 to 2018.
Further Broadcasting Career
Among his other broadcasting projects, Evans hosted the short-lived "OFI Sunday" on ITV in late 2005. From 2010 to 2015, he co-hosted BBC One's magazine and chat program "The One Show" with Alex Jones. During that time, Evans returned to Channel 4 to host the new celebrity reality series "Famous and Fearless," which was ultimately canceled after a single season. Following his time on "The One Show," Evans moved to BBC Two to host the motoring program "Top Gear." He was a controversial presence beyond the scenes of the show due to allegedly inappropriate behavior, and in the summer of 2016 he stepped down. Evans eventually returned to Virgin Radio in 2019 to host its weekday breakfast show.
Personal Life
Evans has been married multiple times. Before getting married, he was engaged to Alison Ward, with whom he had a daughter named Jade in 1986. Evans wed his first wife, broadcaster Carol McGiffin, in 1991. The couple had a nasty breakup in 1993 and divorced in 1998. During and after that relationship, Evans had highly publicized dalliances with such women as Kim Wilde, Rachel Tatton-Brown, Suzi Aplin, Geri Halliwell, and Melanie Sykes. He married his second wife, pop star Billie Piper, in 2001; they separated in 2005 before divorcing in 2007. Evans subsequently wed professional golfer Natasha Shishmanian, with whom he has four children.
