Sandra Oh's Net Worth and Acting Career

Sandra Oh is a Canadian-American actress who is known for her roles in both film and television. Depending on your viewing preferences, you may know her from her roles in Grey’s Anatomy, Killing Eve, Arliss, or one of the many films in which she has starred since the 1990s. Since her career began in 1994, Oh has become a very successful actress, which has made her a rich woman. So, what is Sandra Oh’s net worth, and how did she become so wealthy? Here is a look at Sandra Oh’s net worth and how she achieved her financial success.

Her Early and Personal Life

Sandra Oh was born on 20th July 1971 in Nepean, Ontario. She began acting and ballet lessons when she was four and continued to study both arts at high school, although she knew she was not talented enough to become a professional dancer. Oh also played the flute.

When she left school, Oh rejected a four-year journalism scholarship. Instead, she chose to study drama at the National Theatre School of Canada. After graduating in 1993, Oh starred in a theatre production of Oleanna in London, Ontario.

Sandra Oh was previously married to filmmaker Alexander Payne. They married in 2003, separated in 2005, and divorced in 2006. The former couple did not have any children together. Oh has been in a relationship with photographer Lev Rhukin for several years but tries to keep details of their relationship out of the public eye.

Sandra Oh’s Film Career

Oh promised her parents that if things didn’t work out for her as an actress within a couple of years, then she would return to university. Fortunately for the actress, she began to get work straight away, so her decision is what is responsible for Sandra Oh’s net worth today.

In 1994, she played Jade Li in the Canadian film Double Happiness. Although she worked in television over the next couple of years, Oh didn’t land another film role until 1997, when she was in the films Bean and Bad Day on the Block. The following year was one of Oh’s most successful in terms of film appearances, as she had roles in Last Night, The Red Violin, and Permanent Midnight. Two years later, she played Cindy in Guinevere.

Between 2000 and 2005, Sandra Oh had roles in 19 films. These included The Princess Diaries, Mulan II, Full Frontal, Big Fat Liar, and Cake. Her film success continued until the end of the decade, appearing in a further nine films, such as Ramona and Beezus, Rabbit Hole, and the Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends.

From 2011 to 2022, Sandra Oh appeared in another ten films. Her most recent role was playing Amanda in Umma, for which she was also an executive producer. Oh has an upcoming untitled film set for release in 2023, which is a comedy that also stars Awkwafina.

Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang in Grey's Anatomy — Image credit: Nikki Zzang, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How Television Contributed to Sandra Oh’s Net Worth

While still at university, Sandra Oh had a couple of small roles on television and also had some theatre work. Since then, she has consistently worked in television, and some of her major roles have contributed to Sandra Oh’s net worth.

Throughout the 1990s, Oh had roles in various television films and appeared in single episodes of multiple television series. Her break in the television industry came in 1996 when she landed the part of Rita Wu in Arliss, and she played the role until 2002. From 2001 to 2002, Oh provided the voice for Marsha Mitsubishi in The Proud Family.

One of the roles for which Sandra Oh is best known is playing Cristina Yang in Grey’s Anatomy, the medical series created by Shonda Rhimes. Yang was one of the main characters in an ensemble cast, and she played the role for ten seasons until she left the series in 2005.

Grey’s Anatomy revolves around the lives of Dr Meredith Grey and her colleagues. Meredith is played by Ellen Pompeo. Others who starred in the original line-up include Patrick Dempsey, T.R. Knight, James Pickens Jr, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, and Chandra Wilson.

Her Recent Roles

While appearing in Grey’s Anatomy, Oh continued to take on small roles in other television series, work in films, and do voice work. After Grey’s Anatomy, her next major role was playing Eve Polastri, the titular character in Killing Eve. Oh was also an executive producer of the series, which ran from 2018 to 2022.

In 2019, Sandra Oh was the co-host of the 76^th Golden Globe Awards, and she appeared on Saturday Night Live in the same year. Oh played the main role in The Chair in 2021 and also began providing the voice of Deborah Grayson in the ongoing series Invincible. Since 2022, she has had roles in The Sandman, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, and The Sympathizer.

Oh has appeared in multiple films since 2018. These include Over the Moon, Raya and the Last Dragon, The Same Storm, Turning Red, Umma, Quiz Lady, and The Tiger’s Apprentice. She also has an upcoming role in the 2024 film Good Fortune.