David John Matthews is recognized as an American actor, songwriter, singer, musician, and record label owner originally from South Africa. He is also best known as the Dave Matthews Band’s lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist. Having won the Grammy Award in the Best Rock Vocal Performance-Male category, this talented star has come to be revered by many.
Interestingly, the multi-talented superstar has accrued tremendous wealth with his successful works in the entertainment industry, as well as the business sector. He has starred in many box office hit films since making his acting debut in the late 1980s, thus, establishing a budding career in acting.
Asides Music, Dave Matthews Is Quite Famous For His Acting Works
Beyond being known as a singer, Dave Matthews is also an actor. He started his acting career by making appearances in stage productions at the Offstage Theatre situated in Charlottesville, Virginia. One of his prominent stage roles is that of a used car salesman which he played in Just Say No. In 2003, he appeared in Where the Red Fern Grows and later starred alongside Jeff Daniels and Eva Marie Saint in the commercially successful film, Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) which grossed over $285 million at the worldwide box office on a budget of $85 million.
In the next year, Dave Matthews featured as James in Adam Sandler‘s film, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan which also had a theatrical success. He further made a brief appearance in the 2007 movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, where he played a homosexual salesman. In the same 2007, he was cast as Patrick Obyedkov in an episode of the smash medical drama TV series, House.
He also had a role in Lake City before starring in three movies in the year 2011 namely, In the Woods, The Other Side and Just Go With It. Dave has additionally featured in Roman Holiday (2014), Pete the Cat (2018-19), and The Simpsons (2019).
He Has Provided Soundtracks For Several Motion Picture Projects
In addition to being known for his acting prowess, Dave Matthews has equally been in the spotlight for his songwriting skills which he has displayed in several films and TV series, landing accolades in the process. In 1995, he created the ‘Tripping Billies’ for the film, White Man’s Burden, followed by ‘Crash Into Me’ for Excess Baggage in 1997.
He further had songwriting gigs in Scream 2 (1997), Fifty (1999), and Mr. Deeds (2002), with the latter earning him the ASCAP Award for a Motion Picture in the Most Performed Song category in the year 2003. He has additionally provided soundtracks in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), 21 Grams (2003), Out of Time (2003), Smallville (2004), Because of Winn-Dixie (2005), Touch the Top of the World (2006), The Hitcher (2007), House (2005), The Office (2008-11), and many others.
Thus far, he has gained over fifty songwriting credits, hence, building a thriving career in entertainment.
Being The Frontman Of One Of The Highest-grossing Bands Of All-time Accounts For Matthews’ Staggering Wealth
According to reports, the Lake City actor has an estimated net worth of $300 million. He obviously gained that amount from his professional music career, as well as other businesses. One of his solo albums titled ‘Remember Two Things’ was published by the Independent label Bama Rags and was certified gold. The Recording Industry Association of America ranks the Dave Matthews Band in their top 50, with lots of gold and platinum certifications.
He conceived the idea of forming his own group dubbed Dave Matthews Band in 1991 with Carter Beauford, LeRoi Moore, Stefan Lessard, Boyd Tinsley, and Peter Griesar (who left them in 1993). The band played for the Middle East Children’s Alliance for the first time in 1991 and, thanks to their manager Coran Capshaw, they quickly moved to the national level. They have sold more than 33 million records and this earned them a place on the list of the best-selling recording artists of all time.
So far in their music career, Dave Matthews and his bandmates have released several massive hit albums and they include ‘Under the Table and Dreaming’, ‘Crash’, ‘Before These Crowded Streets’, ‘Everyday’, ‘Busted Stuff’, ‘Stand Up’, ‘Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King’, ‘Away from the World’, and ‘Come Tomorrow’. With the DMB’s ninth studio album ‘Come Tomorrow’ debuting atop the Billboard 200 in 2018, the group became the first musical band to have seven consecutive studio albums peak at No. 1 on Billboard 200 chart.
His Wine Production Venture Also Contributes To His Financial Standing
In the year 2000, Dave founded Blenheim Vineyards on the property he acquired in Albemarle County, Virginia. He afterwards, ventured into wine production and in 2011, he collaborated with Sean McKenzie – an award-winning Sonoma County winemaker to produce The Dreaming Tree Wines, named after the music artist’s song ‘The Dreaming Tree’ from his commercially successful album ‘Before These Crowded Streets’.
How are you spending your #QuarantineLife? A good book and a good drink makes for a great evening. @davematthewsbnd @SLessard @DMBGorgeCrew #davematthews #dmb pic.twitter.com/g9LJL8PDMx
— Thomas Beaulieu (@techtom75) April 2, 2020
Dave Matthews has also produced other line of wines aside from The Dreaming Tree such as Petit Verdot. At the moment, his vineyard produces over 5,000 cases of wine annually. Thanks to his successful endeavours in the winery, as well as the entertainment industry, the accomplished businessman is said to be earning an annual salary of over $20 million.
A Look At His Real Estate Acquisitions
Having spent most of his life in Charlottesville, Virginia, Matthews loves being in Virginia. As such, he has numerous investments in the state and is ranked as one of the largest property owners in Virginia. He became the owner of over ten acres of land situated in Albemarle, Virginia in the year 1999. The property which was known as Blenheim Farm was converted by the famous actor to a vineyard and was renamed Blenheim Vineyards in the next year.
More so, he founded a state of the art recording studio called Haunted Hollow in the Charlottesville countryside. He purchased a house on 140 acres of land and renovated it to a music studio, having launched his own record label, ATO in 2000. Outside Virginia, the Grammy Award-winning singer owns a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 2,180 square foot home in Wallingford, Seattle, which he purchased for $360,000 in 2001 and is now valued over $1 million. He also purchased a six-bedroom mansion in Malibu for $6.5 million.
The Accomplished Musician Has Experienced Family Tragedies In The Past Years
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 9th of January, 1967, Dave and his family relocated a lot as he grew up between South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. At the age of nine, Dave Matthews began playing his first instrument, the acoustic guitar. His dad who worked with IBM as a physicist died of lung cancer in 1977. Biographer Nevin Martell claims that the death of Dave’s father could be a strong reason for his song ‘Carpe Diem’.
In early 1994, the elder sister of Dave Matthews, Anne Matthews, who lived in South Africa, was murdered by her husband, who subsequently committed suicide. This affected him very much. Consequently, ‘Under the Table and Dreaming’, an album published later that year by the band was devoted to her. His sister had two kids who survived the tragedy after which they left for the USA, where Dave and his younger sister, Jane, took charge of their upbringing.
Dave Matthews Is Happily Married To His Longtime Girlfriend
In 1994, Dave Matthews married Ashley Harper, his long-time girlfriend. The couple exchanged marital vows in the year 2000 after dating for over seven years. They have twin daughters, Stella Busina and Grace Anne who were born on August 15, 2001, and a son who was born on June 19, 2007, named August Oliver. They reside in Washington, Seattle.
It is interesting to know that the tenderest song and the angriest song from the Dave Matthews Band are about the same specific girl Julia Grey whom he proposed to 3 times and was denied every time. However, the gifted songwriter has found love in the arms of Ashley as the two seem to be enjoying a blissful married life and are often attending social events together.
