Ethan Slater's net worth: how much did he earn for Wicked?
Ethan Slater's net worth is estimated to be between $1 million and $3 million. Before his high-profile role as Boq in Wicked, he was a Broadway star known for portraying SpongeBob SquarePants. The actor is now everywhere on TV, film, and theatre, and as he told GQ in 2024:
The world is my oyster
Source: Getty Images
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Key takeaways
- Ethan found success in musical theatre with his Tony-nominated role as SpongeBob in the Broadway production of SpongeBob SquarePants.
- The actor landed his first major onscreen role in the blockbuster movie adaptation of the Wicked musical starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
- Slater was reportedly paid around $350,000 for his role in Wicked.
Ethan Slater's profile summary
Full name | Ethan Samuel Slater |
Date of birth | June 2, 1992 |
Age | 33 years old (as of January 2026) |
Place of birth | Washington, D.C., United States |
Girlfriend | Ariana Grande (2023 to date) |
Wife | Lilly Jay (2018 to 2024) |
Children | One son |
Parents | Jay Slater, Karen Slater |
Siblings | Two older sisters |
Education | Vassar College (BA in Drama) |
Profession | Actor, singer, composer, writer |
Social media |
Ethan Slater's net worth: how rich is he?
Ethan has an estimated net worth of between $1 million and $3 million from his entertainment career in musical theatre, television, and film. He has been on Broadway since 2017 and debuted on the big screen in 2024 as Boq Woodsman/The Tin Man in the film adaptation of Wicked.
Source: Original
How much did Ethan Slater make from Wicked?
Slater's film career peaked when he joined the cast of Wicked (2024) and reprised his role in Wicked: For Good (2025). The movie's star-studded cast also features Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, and Jonathan Bailey.
Ethan Slater's salary as part of the supporting cast is estimated to be $350,000. Previous reports revealed that Erivo was paid $1 million to portray Elphaba, and Ariana got $15 million to play Glinda. Universal came out to refute the claims, saying the lead female stars earned the same amount.
The exact salaries for each cast member have not been made public. Wicked (part 1) made over $758 million at the worldwide box office, according to Box Office Mojo. The second part, Wicked: For Good, generated more than $493 million. The production budget for each part is estimated to be $150 million, according to Variety.
Source: Instagram
Slater is a Tony-nominated Broadway star
Ethan Slater made his Broadway debut as SpongeBob in the SpongeBob SquarePants musical. He began working on the project in 2012, while still a student at Vassar College in New York, and portrayed the character in 2017 when the show opened at the Palace Theatre in New York City.
His performance as SpongeBob earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. He won other awards, including a Broadway Beacon Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Theatre World Award, and Drama Desk Award.
Slater returned to Broadway for the 2023-2024 revival of the Monty Python musical Spamalot at the St. James Theatre. He portrayed several characters, including The Historian and Prince Herbert. His other Broadway musicals include Gutenberg! (2023) and Camelot (2019).
Ethan has also appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and regional productions. He has performed in Assassins, Claudio Quest, Edge of the World, Baghdaddy, and Good Night, Oscar.
Source: Instagram
Ethan's successful transition to onscreen roles
Slater spent his early career on stage productions, but he has been making a slow transition to film and television. He made his television debut on a 2018 episode of Murphy Brown as Officer Reynolds and later landed minor roles in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Instinct, and The Marvellous Mrs Maisel.
After the successful release of Wicked, Slater is set to appear in Em Johnson's upcoming body horror feature film, The Designer. He will star alongside Gina Gershon, Katherine Waddell, and Jesse James Keitel. Ethan told GQ in October 2024 that he is not slowing down anytime soon.
I would say the three things that I really love are filmmaking, whether it's TV or film, theatre, and writing. And if the world is my oyster, I'm writing every day and working on the projects that I've been developing as a writer, I'm doing something in theatre every year, and I'm making a movie every year. That's my three-pronged approach.
Ethan Slater's movies and TV shows
Project | Year | Role |
The Man Behind the Camera | 2025 | Gerald |
Wicked: For Good | 2025 | Boq Woodsman/The Tin Man |
Gen V | 2025 | Thomas Godolkin |
Elsbeth | 2025 | Officer Reese Chandler |
Wicked | 2024 | Boq Woodsman/The Tin Man |
Lost on a Mountain in Maine | 2024 | Henry |
The Marvellous Mrs Maisel | 2023 | Steven |
The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage! (TV adaptation) | 2019 | SpongeBob SquarePants |
Instinct | 2019 | Noah |
Fosse Verdon | 2019 | Joey Grey |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | 2018 | Riley Porter |
Murphy Brown | 2018 | Officer Reynolds |
Ariana Grande's relationship with Ethan Slater raised his profile
Ariana Grande met Ethan Slater on the set of Wicked in 2022. The pair was confirmed to be dating in July 2023 after Ariana Grande separated from her husband, Dalton Gomez. Ethan shared in his 2024 interview with GQ that it was "really hard" to have his private life dissected by the public.
The Broadway star was previously married to his high school sweetheart, clinical psychologist Lilly Jay. They tied the knot in November 2018 and welcomed their first child, a son, in August 2022.
Slater filed for divorce in July 2023, which was officially finalised in September 2024. Lilly shared in her December 2024 essay for The Cut that the public downfall of her marriage was not easy, but they are focused on co-parenting.
Source: Getty Images
Conclusion
Ethan Slater's net worth before Wicked was boosted by his Broadway performances, and his fortune is expected to rise as he books more high-profile Hollywood projects. His critically acclaimed performances have built his reputation as a versatile actor.
READ MORE: Cynthia Erivo's husband & love life: Who is the actress dating?
Briefly.co.za highlighted facts about Cynthia Erivo's love life. The Wicked actress came out as bisexual in an August 2022 Pride issue of British Vogue.
Erivo's first public relationship was with British actor Dean John-Wilson from 2013 to 2017, and later dated Mario Martinez from 2017 to 2019. The Oscar nominee has been linked to Emmy-winning filmmaker Lena Waithe since 2022.
Source: Briefly News
