David Duchovny Net Worth, Career, Biography, Facts, Age, Life Story

David Duchovny is an American actor, musician, writer, and director who has a net worth of $80 million. Duchovny is best known for the award-winning roles of Fox Mulder on “The X-Files” and Hank Moody on “Californication.” While starring on “Californication,” David was paid $225,000 per episode. Though Duchovny is most well-known for his television roles, he has also appeared in more than 30 movies, including “Kalifornia” (1993), “Evolution” (2001), and “Zoolander” (2001), and he is also an accomplished author and musician.

Early Life: David Duchovny was born David William Duchovny on August 7, 1960 in New York City. His mother, Margaret, was a teacher and school administrator, and his father, Amram (who passed away in 2003), was a writer and publicist. David’s mother is Scottish, and his father was Jewish. Duchovny grew up with 2 siblings, Daniel and Laurie; Daniel directed a 2008 episode of “Californication” and guest-starred in a 1999 episode of “The X-Files” that was directed by David.

Duchovny studied at Grace Church School and The Collegiate School For Boys before attending Princeton University, where he joined the junior varsity basketball team and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English literature in 1982. That year he was recognized by the Academy of American Poets, receiving an honorable mention for his poetry. David also earned a Master of Arts in English Literature from Yale and began working on a PhD but never finished it.

Acting Career: While working on his Ph.D., Duchovny spent the summer of 1987 taking acting classes in New York. He landed his first acting job, a Löwenbräu beer commercial, before heading back to Yale and appeared in “Working Girl” the following year. David played transgender DEA agent Denise Bryson on 3 episodes of “Twin Peaks” from 1990 to 1991, appeared in “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” (1991), and began hosting Showtime’s “Red Shoe Diaries,” which ran from 1992 to 1996. In 1993, Duchovny took on what would become an iconic role: Special Agent Fox “Spooky” Mulder on “The X-Files.” The Fox series ran until 2002, then returned in 2016 for season 10 and 2018 for season 11. The show also spawned the movies “The X-Files: Fight the Future” (1998) and “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” (2008). David sued 20th Century Fox in 1999, claiming that the company had undersold affiliate rights to “The X-Files” and cheated him out of the show’s profits; the lawsuit was settled for approximately $20 million. After season 7, Duchovny decided he no longer wanted to be a regular on the show and only appeared in 12 episodes in season 8 and 9. In 2004, “TV Guide” published a list of the “50 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends,” ranking Mulder #7.

While starring on “The X-Files,” David made several movies, including “Playing God” (1997) and “Return to Me” (2000), and he hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 1995 and 1998. In 2005, he appeared in “House of D,” which he also wrote and directed. Duchovny returned to television in 2007, playing novelist Hank Moody on Showtime’s “Californication,” which ran for 7 seasons. Duchovny acted as an executive producer on the show, a role he would also take on when he starred in NBC’s “Aquarius” from 2015 to 2016.

Music Career: David began playing guitar in 2011 and released the album “Hell or Highwater” in 2015 and “Every Third Thought” in 2018. In addition to providing guitar and vocals, he also wrote all 24 songs that appear on the albums. Duchovny embarked on a U.S. and European tour for each album, and he donated some of the proceeds from “Every Third Thought” to the D’Addario Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports music education.

Writing Career: Duchovny published his first book, “Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale,” in 2015, and it reached #15 on the “New York Times” Best Seller List. He followed up his successful debut with 2016’s “Bucky F*cking Dent” and 2018’s “Miss Subways: A Novel.” “Time Out New York” included “Bucky F*cking Dent” on their list of 2016’s best books. David’s fourth book, “Truly Like Lightning: A Novel,” is set to be published in 2021.

Personal Life: David married actress Téa Leoni in May 1997, and they welcomed daughter Madelaine in April 1999 and son Kyd in June 2002. In August 2008, Duchovny sought treatment for sex addiction at a rehabilitation center, and in October, it was announced that David and Téa had been separated for several months. The couple later reconciled, but they split up again in 2011 and divorced in June 2014, reportedly agreeing that Duchovny would pay $40,000 per month in spousal support and $8,000 per month in child support.

Awards and Honors: In 1997, David won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama for “The X-Files,” and he received the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical for “Californication” in 2008. He also earned a 1997 Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Series, Drama and 1999 “TV Guide” Award for Favorite Actor in a Drama for “The X-Files.” In the late 1990s, Duchovny was honored for a guest appearance on “The Larry Sanders Show,” winning an Online Film & Television Association Award in 1998 and an American Comedy Award in 1999. David received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016; the star of the man who brought Fox Mulder to life is appropriately located in front of the Fox Theatre.

Real Estate: In 2008, Duchovny and Leoni sold their Malibu estate to Mel Gibson for $11.5 million. Also in 2008, they purchased a Manhattan co-op for $6.25 million, and they put it on the market for $9.25 million in 2013. In 2012, David paid $6.25 million for a 3-bedroom home at The Ardsley in New York City.