Chris O'Dowd net worth: Bridesmaids star’s fortune explored as wife claims she’s always “broke”

Chris O'Dowd may be worth millions, but according to his wife, author Dawn O’Porter, it hasn’t made her life any easier at the checkout line.

Speaking on the White Wine Question Time podcast, O’Porter, got real about her financial situation, describing a life of hard work, rejected transactions, and minimal glamour.

“I work pay cheque to pay cheque, I'm always broke. My card got declined last week. I'm like, what the f*** is happening? When will this end?” she shared.

She’s been married to Chris O'Dowd since 2012. And while Celebrity Net Worth pegged Chris O'Dowd's fortune at around $6 million, O’Porter said her own earnings told a very different story.

“I've never seen myself as a celebrity. Even though I'm married to Chris, who is quite a well-known actor, I don't think either of us have ever seen ourselves as celebrities,” she said.

Unlike traditional celebrities who cash in on fame alone, O’Porter’s income is rooted in her craft.

“I guess if I was a celebrity, I’d get paid lots of money to do things that aren’t necessarily my job or don’t really feed what I do, but I don’t. My job is writing with the occasional little ad on Instagram to pay the rent.” she shared.

For her, success hasn’t meant becoming a household name or chasing followers.

“I just want to write and create great work, and that’s it,” she added.

Chris O’Dowd’s wife Dawn O’Porter recalls career struggles during his Hollywood breakthrough:

Dawn O’Porter knew what rock bottom felt like.

She rose to fame with the 2007 BBC documentary Super Slim Me, however life made her meet Chris O’Dowd just as her own career was falling apart.

“Everything had fallen apart, my TV career had just gone. I was so poor. I was so upset. I had zero confidence. I didn't know what I was going to do, I'd just met Chris, and he was on this trajectory up. I thought, well maybe this is just it. I'm just a girlfriend, and that's it.” she recalled.

That moment, standing beside Chris O'Dowd on the red carpet for the Bridesmaids premiere in 2011, was bittersweet.

“I always thought that if I was in this position, it would be because I'd done something to deserve it,” she said.

While Chris O'Dowd's acting career soared, O’Porter’s professional path wavered. A move to Los Angeles didn’t bring the revival she hoped for.

“We were living in LA and I just said to Chris, I've got to go back to London to try and claw back my career.” she shared.

But returning home wasn’t easy either. She had meetings, she had a past track record, but no one was biting.

“I had my own series on Channel 4... and they'd be like, 'What do you want to do?' and I was like, 'I want to do what I do'. But no one wanted to employ me,” she said.

Then came the blow from Stylist magazine.

“They sacked me, as my career just kind of... declined, I think they looked at me and were like, well she's just not that interesting anymore. It was the final blow to my confidence.” she shared.

Just when things seemed at their bleakest, an unexpected email turned things around. “She hadn't realised that I'd just been fired,” O’Porter said of the editor who reached out.

“She said, 'I think you'd write amazing fiction for young adults.' And I remember being like, this is the call. This is the thing I thought I was gearing up to do my whole life.” explained Dawn.

That email led to a publishing deal. In 2013, Paper Aeroplanes, a novel partly inspired by O’Porter’s childhood in Guernsey, marked her debut in the world of fiction.

Chris O'Dowd reveals career decisions are now rooted in home life and fatherhood:

In a February 2025 interview with GQ Magazine, Chris O'Dowd opened up about how his career choices were increasingly shaped by his life at home, rather than the type of projects available.

“It’s more about where I want to be. Do I want to be at home writing for a while? The kids are at the age now where they kind of need you around – doing a play is great for that. I think I wanted to be settled,” shared Chris.

Chris O'Dowd's response reflected a shift in priorities, from chasing roles to carving out space for family life and personal creativity.