Darcey Bussell Net Worth

What Is Darcey Bussell's Net Worth?

Dame Darcey Bussell DBE is an English retired ballerina, television personality, and writer who has a net worth of $10 million. Darcey Bussell trained at the Arts Educational School and the Royal Ballet School. She started her professional ballet career with Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet and then became a principal dancer for The Royal Ballet at just 20 years old. Darcey is considered one of the greatest British ballerinas. She stayed with The Royal Ballet through her entire professional career while also performing as a guest artist for many leading ballet companies such as the Kirov, NYCB, the Australian Ballet, and Hamburg Ballet. Bussell retired from ballet in 2007 but is still involved in the world of dance.

Darcey was named President of the Royal Academy of Dance in 2012 and has also served as a Patron of the Sydney Dance Company and the Du Boisson Foundation and the President of the Birmingham Royal ballet's fundraising appeal. Bussell has also served as a judge on the BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing." She received a gold medal from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2006. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1995, Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2006, and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2018.

Early Life

Darcey Bussell was born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle on April 27, 1969, in London, England. She is the daughter of Australian businessman John Crittle and English actress/model Andrea Williams. When Darcey was three years old, her parents divorced, and her mother later married Philip Bussell, an Australian dentist who became Darcey's adoptive father. While the family lived in Australia, Bussell attended school there, then they moved back to London, where she studied at Kensington's Fox Primary School. When Darcey was nine years old, she was diagnosed with dyslexia. She excelled at physical activity at school, which influenced her future career.

Career

While attending the Arts Educational School, Darcey studied "all forms of stagecraft." In 1982, 13-year-old Bussell began studying at the Royal Ballet Lower School, followed by the Royal Ballet Upper School at age 16. In 1987, she joined the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and in 1988, she landed a leading role in choreographer Kenneth MacMillan's ballet "The Prince of the Pagodas," which resulted in Darcey moving to the Royal Ballet. A year later, Bussell, then 20 years old, was promoted to principal dancer, the youngest in the company's history. During her ballet career, Darcey played roles such as Princess Aurora in "The Sleeping Beauty," the Sugar Plum Fairy in "The Nutcracker," and Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake." She played over 80 different roles, and 17 roles were created specifically for Bussell. In June 2007, she retired, ending her ballet career with a performance of MacMillan's "Song of the Earth" at London's Royal Opera House that was broadcast on BBC Two live. In 2012, she served as a jury member at the Prix de Lausanne ballet competition, and she took part in the closing ceremony at the Summer Olympics. In 2021, Darcey played the mayor in the ballet film "Coppelia," and in 2023, it was announced that she would be the first female chair of the Plymouth Theatre Royal's Board of Trustees.

In 2008, HarperCollins Children's Books published six books in new series called "Magic Ballerina." Bussell came up with the idea and storyline for the series, and the books were written by ghostwriters. Within three years, more than 20 books in the series were released. Darcey also co-wrote the Royal Ballet School book "The Young Dancer" and wrote the introduction to Barbara Newman's "The Illustrated Book of Ballet." In 2012, Bussell released the book "Darcey Bussell," a "photographic celebration" of her career and life. She followed it with 2018's "Darcey Bussell: Evolved" to coincide with her 50th birthday. Darcey served as a judge on the reality competition series "Strictly Come Dancing" in 2009, and she returned as a permanent judge in 2012. She announced she was stepping down from her role as a judge on "Strictly Come Dancing" in April 2019. In 2021, she presented the More4 series "Darcey Bussell's Wild Coasts of Scotland," followed by "Darcey Bussell's Royal Roadtrip" in 2022.

Personal Life

Darcey married banker Angus Forbes in 1997, and they have welcomed daughters Phoebe (born June 3, 2001) and Zoe (born February 10, 2004) together. Bussell has been a patron of the Cecchetti UK, the International Dance Teachers Association, Cecchetti Australia, the New English Ballet Theatre, and the Dance Teachers' Benevolent Fund UK.

Awards and Honors

In 1990, "Dance and Dancers" magazine readers voted Bussell Dancer of the Year, and in 1991, she received the Sir James Garreras Award from the Variety Club of Great Britain and was a joint winner in the Performing Arts category at the Cosmopolitan Achievement Awards. In 1994, The National Portrait Gallery, London, commissioned a full-length portrait of Darcey by artist Allen Jones RA. In 2006, she received a gold medal from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and David Austin Roses launched a rose called "Darcey Bussell" at the Chelsea Flower Show. In 2017, Glasgow's Royal Conservatoire presented Darcey with an honorary doctorate, and the following year, Arts University Bournemouth gave her an  honorary Fellowship. In 2019, Megabus named a new fleet of coaches after Bussell. Darcey has also been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1995), Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2006), and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2018).

Real Estate

In 2018, it was reported that Bussell would be demolishing her £3million London home and building a £5million mansion in its place. The original home was built in the 1920s, and Darcey and Angus purchased it in 2014. After the home underwent a yearlong renovation, Bussell's family moved into their new home.