Tina Weymouth Net Worth

What is Tina Weymouth's Net Worth?

Tina Weymouth is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who has a net worth of $30 million. That is a combined net worth with her husband and fellow Talking Heads bandmate, Chris Frantz.

Tina Weymouth is best known for co-founding and serving as the bassist of the band Talking Heads. One of the most acclaimed music groups of the 1980s, the band had such hit songs as "Once in a Lifetime," "Burning Down the House," "Road to Nowhere," and "Wild Wild Life." Weymouth also co-founded the side project Tom Tom Club with her husband and Talking Heads bandmate Chris Frantz.

Early Life and Education

Tina Weymouth was born as Martina Weymouth on November 22, 1950 in Coronado, California as the third of eight children of Laura and US Navy Vice Admiral Ralph. She has Breton ancestry through her mother. Weymouth joined her first music group, Mrs. Tufts' Potomac English Hand Bell Ringers, when she was 12 years old. She toured with the amateur group, which was directed by Nancy Tufts. At the age of 14, inspired by such folk musicians as Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, Weymouth began playing the guitar. For her higher education, she attended the Rhode Island School of Design.

Talking Heads

While studying at the Rhode Island School of Design, Weymouth met fellow students David Byrne and Chris Frantz, who were in a band called the Artistics. Weymouth began dating Frantz, and served as the band's driver. After the three graduated, they moved to New York City together. There, Weymouth learned the bass and formed the band Talking Heads with Byrne and Frantz. The band played its first gig, at CBGB, in mid-1975. Two years later, Talking Heads added Jerry Harrison on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals. The band subsequently released its first album, "Talking Heads: 77," which launched the hit single "Psycho Killer." Over the next three years, Talking Heads released the critically acclaimed Brian Eno-produced albums "More Songs About Buildings and Food," "Fear of Music," and "Remain in Light." These albums spawned such successful singles as "Take Me to the River," "Life During Wartime," and "Once in a Lifetime."

Following a hiatus, Talking Heads had its commercial breakthrough in 1983 with the top-ten hit song "Burning Down the House," from the album "Speaking in Tongues." Like the song, the album became the band's highest-charting in the US, peaking at number 15 on the Billboard 200. The next year saw the release of the hit Talking Heads concert film "Stop Making Sense," directed by Jonathan Demme, which was filmed on the tour for "Speaking in Tongues." The band's success grew even larger in 1985 when it released its all-time best-selling album, "Little Creatures." That album included the hit singles "Road to Nowhere" and "And She Was." The next Talking Heads album, "True Stories," came out in 1986; it featured the hit single "Wild Wild Life." That was followed by the band's final studio album, "Naked," which was released in 1988.

The End of Talking Heads

Talking Heads officially disbanded in December 1991, and the split was largely attributed to David Byrne's decision to walk away from the band. Notably, Byrne informed the press of his departure before directly telling his bandmates, a move that left the others feeling blindsided. Frantz later revealed he learned Byrne was leaving by reading an article in the Los Angeles Times, saying "as far as we're concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave." This abrupt ending, without proper communication, caused resentment among the other members.

Weymouth, Frantz, and Jerry Harrison continued to make music together – they toured in the early '90s under the name "Shrunken Heads" (without Byrne) and later released an album in 1996 as "The Heads." That 1996 album, "No Talking, Just Head," featured guest vocalists instead of Byrne. Byrne was unhappy with this use of the band's identity and took legal action to stop them from using "The Heads" name, reflecting the bad blood that lingered after the split.

Since the breakup, Talking Heads have only reunited in full once for a live performance. All four members came together to perform at their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2002, playing a short set of songs. In 2023, they appeared together for a Q&A interview at the Toronto International Film Festival for the 40th anniversary of "Stop Making Sense," their first public appearance as a group in over 20 years, though this was not a musical performance.

Tom Tom Club

While Talking Heads was on hiatus in the early 1980s, Weymouth and Frantz formed the side project Tom Tom Club. The band was made up of a collection of musicians and sound engineers from Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, including Weymouth's sisters Lani and Laura. Tom Tom Club had immediate success with its self-titled debut studio album, which came out in 1981 and included the hit singles "Genius of Love" and "Wordy Rappinghood." Less successful was the group's second album, "Close to the Bone," which came out in 1983. Tom Tom Club didn't release its next album, "Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom," until 1988. That was followed by "Dark Sneak Love Action" in 1991. A nine-year gap ensued before the release of the album "The Good, the Bad, and the Funky" in 2000. Following another, even longer break, Tom Tom Club released the album "Downtown Rockers" in 2012.

Other Musical Contributions

Beyond Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, Weymouth co-produced, with her husband, the 1992 album "Yes Please!," by the British rock band Happy Mondays. Later, in 2001, she contributed backing vocals and percussion to the song "19-2000," by the British band Gorillaz. A couple of years after that, Weymouth collaborated with the German feminist ensemble Chicks on Speed on its cover of the Tom Tom Club song "Wordy Rappinghood."

Personal Life

With Chris Frantz, whom she married in 1977, Weymouth has two sons. In 2022, Weymouth and her husband were in a head-on car collision with a drunk driver, during which Weymouth sustained three fractured ribs and a fractured sternum.

Real Estate

In 1985, Tina and Chris bought a 3-acre property in Westport, Connecticut, for an undisclosed amount. Today, this property is likely worth $4-5 million. In 1997, they paid $380,00 for a home in Brooklyn, New York that today is worth around $1.5 million.