What Was Toni Morrison’s Net Worth at the Time of Her Death?
Fans and celebrities were saddened to hear about the death of author Toni Morrison. The Nobel laureate died on August 5, 2019, at the age of 88. Here’s a look at Toni Morrison’s net worth, life, and career.
Toni Morrison’s books and rise to fame
Toni Morrison (originally Chloe Wofford) was born in Lorain, Ohio in 1931. She started writing fiction as a result of her participation in a writer’s group at Howard University. Morrison’s rise to fame began after the publication of her first book. She wrote her debut novel, The Bluest Eye, in 1970.
Morrison followed The Bluest Eye with Sula in 1973. Other popular novels include Song of Solomon (1977), Tar Baby (1981), Beloved (1987), and God Help the Child (2015). The book Beloved was released as a movie in 1998. Oprah Winfrey and Actor Danny Glover starred in the film. Morrison also wrote children’s literature, short fiction, plays, and non-fiction. From 1989 until her retirement in 2006, Morrison was the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities at Princeton University.
Toni Morrison’s awards
Morrison received many awards throughout her career. In 1988, she won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel Beloved, which was about the experiences of a former slave in Ohio after the Civil War. She also received the American Book Award for her work. The New York Times reports Morrison said she had “dark thoughts” about whether her book would receive recognition.
I think I know what I feel. It’s true that I had no doubt about the value of the book and that it was really worth serious recognition. But I had some dark thoughts about whether the book’s merits would be allowed to be the only consideration of the Pulitzer committee. The book had begun to take on a responsibility, an extra-literary responsibility, that it was never designed for.
In 1993, Morrison won a Nobel Prize in literature. In 2012, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former president Barack Obama.
Toni Morrison’s views on evil
Morrison’s books address topics that are sometimes tough to read. The Guardian author Hermione Hoby wrote about how difficult it was to read some parts of the book God Help the Child. “There are moments in God Help the Child that made my stomach lurch with the same horror that I felt reading the description of Sethe in Beloved slitting her baby’s throat,” wrote Hoby.
Many loved Morrison’s work because of her knack for storytelling and her boldness when tackling tough topics. In her Guardian interview, Morrison discussed her fascination with how people act in the face of evil. She told the publication she finds evil to be “completely boring.” However, she found it “intellectually fascinating” how people respond to evil. “Cowards are so dangerous. It’s that quality that informs serious hostility–you want to kill somebody for whatever reason, or invent a reason, that’s where that comes from.”
Toni Morrison’s net worth
At the time of her death, Toni Morrison had a net worth of $20 million according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Read more: What Was John Singleton’s Net Worth at the Time of His Death?
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