Iconic '80s Actor Jami Gertz's Complete Transformation From Hollywood To Hoops

Perhaps Jami Gertz summarized her unique transformation best when she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018: "It's not your everyday Hollywood actress tale." And she wasn't kidding. Gertz's life evolution is unlike anyone else's, as she's gone from an in-demand Hollywood actor (with credits in the likes of "Twister" and "The Lost Boys") to a billionaire co-owner of a basketball team. Celebrity Net Worth puts her net worth at a staggering $12 billion at the time of writing.

Gertz's enviable evolution began in 1965, when she was born into a working-class Illinois family. She revealed on "Resilience with Richard Cabral" that she caught the acting bug at a young age and started acting in high school. "I was, you know, dreaming that maybe that could be for me but ... I had no one to say, 'This is how you become an actor,'" she recalled. 

However, that changed when a dedicated teacher encouraged her to audition for a school production of "The Wizard of Oz," which changed the trajectory of her life. It gave Gertz the confidence she needed to pursue acting as a career, and came just in time for a little help from none other than legendary late movie producer Norman Lear.

At 16, Jami Gertz got her foot in the Hollywood door. Speaking on "Resilience with Richard Cabral," she recalled getting her big break thanks to Norman Lear, who was scouring the country and auditioning future stars. Gertz attended the talent search unbeknownst to her parents and recalled being so determined to get there that she learned how to drive to make the journey. She clearly impressed the casting team, as she got a call soon after with an offer to fly her out to Los Angeles. "Three weeks later I was shooting a pilot for CBS and that was Embassy Pictures, which was Norman Leer's company. And, so, I shot that part of my junior year of high school, all of my senior year of high school," she said.

That show was "Square Pegs," which debuted in 1982. "I think that's the definitive moment where I became this actor," she later told AV Club of the big-time show. Gertz played Muffy Tepperman and appeared alongside actor and comedian Bill Murray, who she attended improv classes with in California and New York. "It was very interesting, and it was like school for me," she said. 

Around the same time, Gertz continued bolstering her career via her first movie role in Brooke Shields' "Endless Love," and she also appeared in "On The Right Track" with Gary Coleman. She revealed on "Resilience with Richard Cabral" that at 16, she brought in more money than her dad. "That changes the dynamic. That changes a lot of things in your life," she said. The talented teen hadn't given up on her education, though, as she later enrolled at New York University (NYU) to study drama.

It wasn't until 1984 that 18-year-old Gertz decided to permanently swap her home state of Illinois for the bright lights of Los Angeles. She told AV Club that her role in the TV show "Dreams" pushed her to the Golden State, around the same time she got her first apartment and car. "I became an adult on that show, and we had a blast doing it," she said. In the same year, she appeared alongside Molly Ringwald with a small part in the rom-com movie "Sixteen Candles" and landed roles in two major shows of the time, "The Facts of Life" and "Family Ties."

But breaking into the acting world so young meant the teenager had to grow up fast. "I was a young girl working in an adult world, trying to navigate that," she recalled on "Resilience with Richard Cabral." "I was on set, I was trying to be an adult and I wasn't quite an adult yet at 18," she added, noting that she had a lot of responsibility on her shoulders to earn a living, show up on time, and learn her lines while many of her peers were out having fun.

Jami Gertz met the love of her life, investment banker Anthony "Tony" Ressler, around 1986 when her publicist introduced them. Ressler didn't know who Gertz was, despite her making bank as an in-demand actor. "Everyone thinks I married a rich guy. But I made more money — way more money — than Tony when I met him," she told The Hollywood Reporter. The sweet pics of Gertz and Ressler throughout the years prove they're still going strong.

Around that time, she appeared in the movie "The Lost Boys" with Corey Haim and Kiefer Sutherland, as well as "Less Than Zero" with Robert Downey Jr. During a 1986 interview with KCRA, Gertz revealed she'd paused her studies at NYU but planned to continue her education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She admitted that her education had taken a back seat because she'd been more focused on her career, though transferring to UCLA never came to fruition.

Gertz was initially the breadwinner in her relationship ("I paid for our first house. I paid for our first vacation," she told the Hollywood Reporter) while Ressler built his career. After the investment firm her husband worked for shut down in 1990, Gertz told AV Club she called her agent and begged for any role to keep them afloat. That desperate move is what got her a role in the star-studded dark comedy movie "Sibling Rivalry," with the likes of Kirstie Alley, Bill Pullman, Carrie Fisher, and Ed O'Neil. But Ressler soon had a turn of luck after co-founding his own private-equity firm and, later, an investment bank that would earn him millions. Forbes estimates he's worth an eye-watering $10.6 billion, making him the 308th-richest person in the world at the time of writing.

By 1992, Jami Gertz was ready for motherhood, and she and Tony Ressler welcomed their first child, a son named Oliver. The star made it clear on "Resilience with Richard Cabral" that becoming a mom was hugely important to her, and she was determined to balance her new responsibilities with her busy career as an actor. But that wasn't easy. "So, for me to have children, to make sure that they are quality human beings that I'm leaving on this planet, that took a lot of navigating," she explained, getting real about the career implications of pregnancy and motherhood.

Around the time Gertz became a mom, she appeared in multiple episodes of the sitcom "Sibs" and the rom-com "Jersey Girl" alongside popular '90s actor Dillon McDermott. The movie didn't exactly set the world alight, though, and Gertz later admitted she felt the project, which made $35.4 million at the global box office, deserved more love. "No one saw it," she told AV Club. "That's one that I think should've gotten a little look, because I really do think that people would've found it very charming and sweet," she added. Gertz took a little time away from the spotlight after welcoming Oliver, but appeared as a guest star on the hugely popular comedy "Seinfeld" in 1994.

Jamie Gertz's career could have looked very different. "Friends" writer and producer David Crane told Vanity Fair that Gertz was initially offered the role of Rachel Green on the show, but she turned it down. The major gig on the NBC sitcom eventually made a household name of Jennifer Aniston, who Business Insider reported was earning a cool $1 million an episode during the sitcom's final season. But Gertz has no regrets. She told Forward that she decided not to take the gig because she wanted to have another child. "It just wasn't the right time. I've never looked back," she said. Gertz, who had taken a stunning leap from long hair to short in 1994, and Ressler went on to welcome two more sons, Nick and Theo.

Now a busy working mom, the actor took on a slew of one-time and recurring roles, including appearing on the long-running hospital drama "ER" as Dr. Nina Pomerantz. But she told People in 1996 that her focus had changed. "I'd been working since I was 16. It was nice to have a home. I was aching for it," she said.

Jami Gertz's career got a major shot in the arm when she landed a role in the dramatic 1996 weather blockbuster "Twister." But acting in the blockbuster meant time away from her young kids. She told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette in 2012 that she barely saw Oliver (who was 3) and Nick (who was 6 weeks old) while shooting because she was on location in a remote part of Iowa. The movie was a hit at the box office and brought in $494.5 million worldwide.

The actor starred alongside Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, and the latter admitted she felt Gertz deserved more praise and recognition for her role as Dr. Melissa Reeves. "Jami Gertz doesn't get all the glory like Bill and I did. She had the less flashy part, but I think she was part of the secret sauce that made it fun to watch. Maybe more than people realize," Hunt told Entertainment Weekly.

The star's TV and movie roles became a little fewer and further post-"Twister." She didn't star in another movie until 1999's "Seven Girlfriends" and landed a recurring role in the TV series "Ally McBeal," which saw her land an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2001. However, Gertz made it clear to People that year that her career was no longer her priority. "I'm focused on being a wife and mom now," she said, suggesting she was no longer willing to take on gigs that required extensive traveling or a lot of time away from her husband and kids.

In 2010, Jami Gertz decided to move behind the camera when she founded her own production company. "You reach an age, and you slow down, and the jobs are a little hard to come by. So I decided to put money into a project of my own," she explained to The Hollywood Reporter of how Lime Orchard Productions came to be. In 2011, the company produced its first and only movie at the time of writing, "A Better Life."

But flexing her production muscles didn't mean Gertz had turned her back on acting. She landed a main role on the comedy TV series "The Neighbors," which ran from 2012 to 2014. Gertz told AV Club that she didn't get any special treatment because of her past success and auditioned multiple times for the role of Debbie Weaver after being drawn to the project due to its funny script.

But, unfortunately, Gertz's production bet is proof that money doesn't always yield profit. Lime Orchard Productions didn't see huge success and ceased operations in 2015, with Gertz losing millions. "I just felt like people just wanted me for the money," she explained on "Resilience with Richard Cabral," also admitting her heart wasn't truly in production as she was still dabbling in acting. But the demise of Gertz's production company left her open to another business move that proved one of her biggest and most lucrative.

Following the disappointment of Lime Orchard Productions, Gertz poured serious money into another major business move — a basketball team. She and Tony Ressler made a successful bid for the Atlanta Hawks, with The Hollywood Reporter claiming the duo shelled out $720 million alongside their business partners to become owners of the Georgia NBA team. Gertz admitted on "Resilience with Richard Cabral" that she was initially a little reluctant about the massive purchase, but agreed to the deal because her husband and kids thought it was a good idea.

She and Ressler soon left Los Angeles behind and moved to Atlanta to be closer to the team, though she admitted she had no idea how to run a basketball business when they first became owners. But Ressler is so much far more than just a stunning frontwoman. She worked alongside her husband to overhaul the team and stadium over two years, and Ressler gushed to The Hollywood Reporter, "Jami steps in when it comes to so many parts of the business that I did not appreciate or have any experience in."

But despite having so much on her plate (including being an uber-rich mom of three and a co-owner of her own basketball team), she still found time for acting, her first love. In 2016, Gertz appeared in a single episode of the popular Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia drama "This Is Us." The following year, she acted in the comedy series "Difficult People."

By 2018, Jami Gertz was a hugely successful (and super rich!) owner of a basketball team, which meant she had less time to pursue acting. "It's hard to even say it out loud because I love what I do. It's given me so many beautiful things in my life, taught me so many things about myself and the world around me," she told The Hollywood Reporter of her semi-retirement from the screen.

But the star may have spoken too soon. Despite telling the world her focus was firmly on the Atlanta Hawks, the pull of acting proved too strong. In 2022, she took on a minor role in the rom-com "I Want You Back," which starred Scott Eastwood, Gina Rodriguez, and Jenny Slate. At the time of writing, though, the movie marks her last acting credit.

The actor also made a major hair change in 2019. Though her glossy, brunette locks had become a major part of her signature look, she'd started to embrace her natural graying locks. A candid snap taken on the streets of Los Angeles showed that Gertz had used a blending technique to grow out her brown hair to let her roots show. Check out side-by-side pics that highlight Gertz's gorgeous gray hair transformation and some hair trends to help you transition to gray

Despite Lime Orchard Productions shutting its doors, Jami Gertz returned to producing in 2024. She took on an executive producer role for a docuseries about a strip club in Atlanta titled "Magic City: An American Fantasy." Speaking on "Resilience with Richard Cabral" that year, she explained that the project came about after one of her sons suggested that the family who ran the establishment would make for a good movie project, not realizing Gertz and Tony Ressler were already friendly with them. Gertz also made it clear on the podcast appearance that she'd fully embraced her natural color, as she rocked her fully gray hair with confidence.

But was she ready to give acting another go? She admitted it wasn't totally out of the question. Though Gertz hadn't appeared in a movie or TV project since 2022, she said she'd be willing to step in front of the camera again for the right project. "It would have to be something that I just really felt that I could, you know, stick my teeth into. Really care about," the "Twister" actor said.

Though Jami Gertz has lived much of her life in the spotlight, her public appearances had become increasingly few and far between by 2026. As Gertz continues to age like fine wine, she has shunned social media (the actor doesn't have any public accounts at the time of writing) and hasn't been spotted on a red carpet since the premiere of "Magic City: An American Fantasy" in summer 2025. But the Illinois native making fewer public appearances doesn't mean she's become averse to public life or being papped. 

The world got a glimpse of the then 60-year-old star that April when she and Tony Ressler attended the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's opening gala. Ressler and Gertz proudly smiled for the cameras at the high-profile event, and The New York Times reported that the long-time couple donated a whopping $50 million to the museum. Clearly, this multihyphenate has learned to live life on her own terms and, as a mom, wife, businesswoman, and generous philanthropist, she continues to be living proof that women really can have it all.