Kerri-Anne Kennerley Net Worth

Kerri-Anne Kennerley has been a familiar face on Australian TV screens for over 50 years. Beginning her career in her teens as a singer and actor, she transitioned to journalism and broadcasting in her 20s. 

While her career has spanned decades across various roles, she is likely best known as the long-time host of morning TV shows like Good Morning Australia and Midday. 

With such longevity and ubiquity in the Australian entertainment industry, many wonder about Kennerley’s current net worth and financial status after 5 decades on TV. 

This article will explore her varied career and income sources and provide an estimate of her overall wealth accrued over a prolific career in show business.

Kerri-Anne Kennerley’s net worth and career

Based on various reports, Kennerley’s net worth is estimated to be between $5 million to $10 million. After over 50 years of working in Australian media and entertainment, she has accumulated significant wealth through her varied roles on television. 

Her career began in the 1960s when she was still a teenager, appearing on children’s programs like The Channel Niners. In the early 1980s, after returning from living in the US for some time, she landed a regular role in the soap opera The Restless Years. 

This helped establish Kennerley’s profile and paved the way for hosting opportunities in the future. Her big break came when she was hired as the host of the breakfast TV show Good Morning Australia on Network Ten, a role she held for 11 years through the 1980s and 90s.

During this time, she also pursued some side projects as a singer, releasing a self-titled album along with a Christmas album in 1985. Her unique singing style was often parodied on comedy shows like Fast Forward.

Kerri-Anne Kennerley in Melbourne, Australia (Source: Instagram)

In 1996, Kennerley made the switch to the Nine Network to host her daytime talk show, Midday with Kerri-Anne. 

She hosted a few other short-lived shows on Nine and Ten before settling back in at Nine in 2002 with Mornings with Kerri-Anne, which helped cement her status as one of Australia’s top female broadcasters. 

In more recent years, since 2012, Kennerley has made appearances on shows like Dancing with the Stars, Sunday Night, The Celebrity Apprentice Australia, and most recently, as a co-host on Network Ten’s morning show Studio 10 from 2018-2020. 

Now at 70 years old, she continues to take on new roles and performances, proving her longevity and versatility across over 5 decades in Australian television and media. 

Kerri-Anne Kennerly’s popular talk show ‘Kerri-Anne’

Kerri-Anne debuted on the Nine Network in 2002 under the title Mornings with Kerri-Anne. It started as a 1-hour program airing weekdays from 9:30-10:30 am. 

After some shuffling with other Nine Network morning shows, by 2003, it had expanded to a 2-hour format airing from 9-11 am. This enabled her to establish itself as a competitive option against similar morning shows on other networks like Network Ten’s Good Morning Australia.

Over its 9-year run, she covered a wide variety of lifestyle topics. She included segments like celebrity news, cooking demos, health advice, technology updates, and more.

Kerri-Anne Kennerley on her show ‘Kerri-Anne’ (Source: IMDb)

It was filmed in front of a live studio audience in Melbourne. It featured advertorials and guest experts like veterinarian Dr. Michael Archinal. The show went through a revamp in 2010 with a new set, graphics, and tweaked format while keeping Kennerley as host. 

Various guest hosts would fill in for Kennerley when she was absent, including Amanda Keller, Catriona Rowntree, and others. In 2011, despite still drawing reasonable viewership, the Nine Network opted to cancel Kerri-Anne after a 9-year run. 

The show aired its final episode on November 25, 2011, with farewell messages and highlights from its tenure. It remains Kennerley’s longest-running daytime talk show in her decades-spanning broadcasting career. 

Kerri-Anne Kennerley has been a part of multiple controversies

Kennerley has made headlines on several occasions for controversial comments made on her morning talk shows and in media interviews. In 2010, she sparked criticism while discussing sexual assault allegations against two Australian rules football players.

She referred to women who socialize with footballers as “strays” and suggested that “responsibility cuts both ways” in a way that was seen as victim-blaming. 

In 2016, she voiced support for TV host Sonia Kruger, who had advocated banning Muslim immigration to Australia. Kruger was later found to have vilified Muslims by a NSW tribunal. 

More recently, in 2019, Kennerley made sweeping statements about the rape of Indigenous women and children in rural communities that were deemed offensive and inaccurate. 

Also, in 2019, she made an on-air comment to a young female reporter wearing a playsuit, asking, “Did you forget your pants today?” This and a follow-up comment were seen as shaming the reporter over her outfit.

During climate change protests in late 2019, Kennerley sparked further outrage by suggesting on Studio 10 that protesters should be run over or starved in prison. 

Her inflammatory remarks led some to accuse her of promoting violence and neglect against peaceful demonstrators. While known for speaking her mind freely, her periodic controversial comments have landed her in hot water through the years. 

She has faced significant criticism from women’s groups, Indigenous organizations, and climate activists over views deemed inflammatory, insensitive, and sometimes factually incorrect. Her outspokenness has made her a polarizing figure in Australian media at times.

Kerri-Anne Kennerly walked out of ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’

In April 2023, at age 69, she appeared as a contestant on the ninth season of the Australian reality show I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! However, she abruptly exited the competition after only 4 days in the South African jungle camp. 

Her early departure stemmed from a tense confrontation with her fellow contestant, Domenica Calarco from Married At First Sight, during an eating challenge.

She refused to participate fully, angering Domenica, who called her “the most self-centered [expletive]” she’s ever met.

Upset by the verbal abuse, Kennerley left in tears, saying she felt ganged up on by having to do three trials in a row. She lamented that she wished she could stay but felt it wouldn’t work, citing unfair treatment in the challenges. 

In post-exit interviews, she hinted there may have been selective editing that didn’t show the full extent of the conflict. She admitted being disappointed at leaving so soon, as she was enjoying living in the jungle and bonding with her celebrity castmates.

While reality show drama sparked her sudden exit after just 4 days, she took the experience in stride. She stood firm that at age 70, she wasn’t going to be pressured into anything she didn’t want to do, even if it cost her the competition early on.