Curt Smith Net Worth - Pulptastic

Publish date: 2024-06-17

What Is Curt Smith’s Net Worth?

Curt Smith, the English singer, musician, producer, songwriter, and actor, has a net worth of $40 million. Best known for co-founding Tears for Fears with Roland Orzabal in 1981, Smith has released numerous albums with the band, including “The Hurting,” “Songs from the Big Chair,” and “The Seeds of Love.”

Their first three albums achieved Platinum status or higher in the U.K. and Canada, and their singles, such as “Mad World,” “Change,” and “Shout,” have reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

As a solo artist, Smith has released albums such as “Soul on Board,” “Aeroplane,” and “Deceptively Heavy.” He has also acted in the USA Network series “Psych” and performed the song “Previous Holiday” in a music video for the film “Psych 3: This Is Gus.”

In 2010, he hosted and produced the music web series “Stripped Down Live with Curt Smith.”

Early Life

Curt Smith was born on June 24, 1961, in Bath, Somerset, England. He grew up on the Snow Hill council estate, and he studied at the Beechen Cliff School.

Tears for Fears: From “The Hurting” to “The Tipping Point”

Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal met as teenagers and formed Tears for Fears in 1981. Their debut album, “The Hurting,” topped the UK charts and produced hit singles “Mad World” and “Change.” The follow-up album, “Songs from the Big Chair,” was even more successful, with singles “Shout” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” topping charts worldwide. After releasing “The Seeds of Love” in 1989, Smith left the band due to tension with Orzabal, but they reunited in 2000 and released “Everybody Loves a Happy Ending” in 2004. Smith also released several solo albums, including “Deceptively Heavy” in 2013. In 2021, Tears for Fears released a live album and followed it up with “The Tipping Point,” which topped charts in Scotland and on several “Billboard” charts.

Personal Life

Curt Smith was first married to Lynda “Lynne” Altman from 1982 to 1988. He later married Frances Pennington in 1996 and they have two daughters together, Diva and Wilder, born in 1999 and 2001 respectively. Smith became a naturalized American citizen in 2007 and is a fan of Los Angeles FC and Manchester United Football Club.

During the COVID-19 quarantine in Los Angeles, Smith and his daughter, Diva, performed a rendition of “Mad World” on acoustic guitar. The duo performed the Gary Jules and Michael Andrews version of the song, which was featured in the film “Donnie Darko,” instead of the original 1982 version.

Tears for Fears Earns Video and Music Award Nominations and Wins Brit Award

In 1990, Tears for Fears was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards for their song “Sowing the Seeds of Love.” The band won Breakthrough Video and was also nominated for Best Group Video and Best Post-Modern Video. Additionally, the song earned the band a nomination for Video of the Year at the Brit Awards. Tears for Fears previously won a Brit Award for Best British Single for their song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” in 1986.

More recently, in 2021, the Ivor Novello Awards recognized Tears for Fears members Smith and Orzabal with the Outstanding Song Collection Award. The award honored the duo’s songwriting partnership, which produced popular Tears for Fears albums such as “The Hurting,” “Songs from the Big Chair,” and “The Seeds of Love.” The award also acknowledged the success of hit singles like “Mad World,” “Shout,” “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” and “Sowing the Seeds of Love,” which were both critically acclaimed and era-defining.