What is Suzanne Vega's Net Worth?
Suzanne Vega is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer who has a net worth of $4 million. A performer of folksy music and vocals, Suzanne Vega has released nine studio albums and won numerous awards. Her most successful single, "Luka," reached #3 in the US and #2 in Sweden. She is also known for her single "Tom's Diner." In 2008 she won a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for Beauty & Crime.
Early Life
Suzanne Nadine Vega was born in Santa Monica, California, on July 11, 1959. Her parents, Richard Peck and Pat Schumacher, divorced soon after her birth, and her mother married Edgardo Vega. Her family moved to New York City and she had no contact with her biological father until she was an adult.
Vega graduated from the High School of the Performing Arts in 1977 and then attended Barnard College, where she majored in English Literature.
As a college student, she began performing musically at the Cornelia Street Café and other venues in Greenwich Village. She also had songs published in "Fast Folk Musical Magazine," a combination magazine and record album that allowed amateur singers and songwriters to have their recordings heard publicly.
Career Beginnings
Vega released four singles that made the United Kingdom's Top 40 charts: "Marlene on the Wall," "Left of Center," "Luka" and "No Cheap Thrill."
One of her songs, "Tom's Diner," was remixed in 1990 by Nick Batt and Neal Slateford, British producers of electronic music. Their version made the Top 10 charts in five countries. Vega's original version of "Tom's Diner" was used as a test during the formatting of codes for digital audio, crowning Vega as "the mother of the MP3."
Albums & Other Work
In 1984, Vega signed her first recording contract with a major label and her self-titled debut album was released the following year. The album, which contained the song "Marlene on the Wall" featured Vega on acoustic guitar. The album went platinum in the United Kingdom.
In 1986, she wrote lyrics for two songs on the album "Songs from Liquid Days," a collection by composer Philip Glass featuring lyrics by well-known songwriters.
That same year, her song "Left of Center," which she co-wrote with record producer and songwriter Steve Adabbo for the film "Pretty in Pink," reached number 32 on the United Kingdom singles chart.
In 1987, her studio album "Solitude Standing," which contained the song "Luka," sold over one million copies in the United States. Years later, she admitted that the song about child abuse stemmed from abuse she had suffered at the hands of her stepfather.
In 1989, she was the first female artist to headline the Glastonbury Festival in England. An obsessed fan sent death threats to her prior to the event, and she performed wearing a bulletproof vest.
In 1990, her third studio album, "Days of Open Hand", was released.
In 1992, her album "99.9F" was released and sold over 500,000 copies in the United States. The album, which was produced by Mitchell Froome, contained the song "Blood Makes Noise," which reached #1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. On March 17, 1995, she married Froome.
In 1996, her album "Nine Objects of Desire" was released. The album contained the song "Caramel," featured in the movie "The Truth about Cats & Dogs" and in the trailer for the movie "Closer." The album also contained the song "Woman on the Tier," which was featured in the movie "Dead Man Walking."
In 1997, she collaborated with English musician, singer, and songwriter David "Joe" Jackson on the album "Heaven & Hell," a musical interpretation of the Seven Deadly Sins.
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In 1999, Avon Books published "The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writings of Suzanne Vega."
In 2001, her studio album "Songs in Red and Gray" was released.
In 2003, her album "Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega" was released. That same year, she hosted the American Public Radio series "American Mavericks" about 20th century composers.
In 2006, she became the first major recording artist to perform live on the internet in "Second Life," an online interactive avatar media platform. She also performed at Central Park during a benefit concert for the "Save Darfur Coalition" and was a musical guest at the Academia Film Olomouc in Europe. Earlier that year, she had signed a recording contract with Blue Note Records.
In 2007, she released the track "Pornographer's Dream." She also released the album "Beauty & Crime," which won a 2008 Grammy award for Best-Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
In 2010, she participated in the collaborative studio album "Dark Night of the Soul." She wrote the melody and lyrics for her song "Man Who Played God."
In 2011 she sang lead vocals on the song "Now I Am an Arsonist" on singer Jonathan Coulton's studio album "Artificial Heart." That same year, "Carson McCullers Talks about Love" premiered, a play she co-wrote with musician and actor Duncan Sheik. It was nominated for "Outstanding Music in A Play" at the 57th annual Drama Desk Awards.
In 2012, her album series "Close-Up, Songs of Family" was released.
In 2014, her album "Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles" was released and reached #37 on the United Kingdom's Top 40 chart.
In 2016, her album "Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers" was released.
In 2020, she played a band leader in the off-Broadway musical "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice."
Personal Life
With husband Mitchell Froome, Vega has a daughter, Ruby, born in 1994. She and Froome were divorced in 1998, and on February 11, 2006, she married attorney and poet Paul Mills.
Real Estate
In May 2000, Suzanne paid $527,100 for a home in the Hamptons town of Amagansett, NY. In 2024, she began offering it as a rental for $40-50,000 per month, depending on the month.
Awards
In 1987, Vega won the award for Best Female Singer at the United Kingdom's New Musical Express Awards. In 1988, she won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video. In 1990, she won a Grammy for Best Album Package. In 1993, she won a New York Music Award for Best Rock Album. In 2003, she won the Glamour Award for Woman of the Year. In 2004, she won the Peabody Award for entertainment, and in 2010, she won a New York Music Award for Best Pop/Rock Compilation for her album "Close-Up, Songs of Family Vol. 1."
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