Jami Gertz

Jami Gertz had a good thing going for her. Her Hollywood career was blossoming, and it appeared the sky was the limit for the talented young actress. She had just hit it big with Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys, which starred Gertz alongside the likes of Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, and Kiefer Sutherland. Then she met the man of her dreams and since that point, Gertz has become a very wealthy actress and entrepreneur whose portfolio includes being the owner of the Atlanta Hawks NBA franchise.

JAMI GERTZ IS 57 YEARS OLD AND IS FROM CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Jami Gertz was born on October 28, 1965, in Chicago, Illinois. From all appearances, and from Gertz’s words herself, her childhood was filled with fun, love, and adventure. Gertz grew up in a simpler time, when kids would be out of the house early on a Saturday and not return until the sun went down.

Jami Gertz recalled, via The Huffington Post, growing up in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb of the Windy City. She talked about moving one simple block away, into a new neighborhood where she was swamped by kids in the new neighborhood wanting to know her name, her age, and the most important bit of information they required – did she know how to play kick the can?

She grew up in a Jewish household but says her new neighborhood was filled with families from all walks of life. Because of this, her childhood was surrounded by loving Irish, Jewish, Italian, Greek, and German families, all of who offered some of the best food a kid could ask for.

Holidays were special for Jami Gertz and her family, and although they were Jewish and didn’t celebrate Christmas, she and her siblings were always invited to help decorate Christmas trees while her family would always extend invitations to their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs; it was a time when acceptance was a real thing and not just talk.

Jami Gertz found her calling in film and TV in the early ‘80s. Actually, her calling found her. Gertz was discovered in a nationwide talent search by Hollywood legend – screenwriter, film, and television producer – Norman Lear, who over this past summer celebrated his 100^th birthday. Lear has been involved in one way or another in over 100 shows.

Jami Gertz’s first role was a very small part in the film On the Right Track. She was then seen in the feature, Endless Love, before moving over to television with a role on the sitcom Square Pegs. Her career began to take off as she was seen in other TV series such as Diff’rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, and Family Ties.

Success on television brought her success on the big screen, as well. Gertz began her transition to feature films in 1984 when she was seen in Alphabet City and then in a small role in the hit John Hughes film, Sixteen Candles. Jami Gertz followed that up with roles in films like Mischief, Quicksilver, Crossroads, and Solarbabies, all of which led her to her first starring role.

JAMI GERTZ STARRED IN THE LOST BOYS AND LESS THAN ZERO IN 1987

1987 was a big year for Jami Gertz when she grabbed roles in two of her better-known films. The first was in the vampire thriller, The Lost Boys. In it, she played Star, the half-vampire girlfriend of Kiefer Sutherland’s David. The film also starred Jason Patric, who found eyes for Gertz’s Star, which did not sit well with Sutherland’s group of young vampires.

The second 1987 film that brought more attention to Jami Gertz was Less Than Zero, a film based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name. The film also starred Andrew McCarthy, James Spader, and a young Robert Downey Jr. Although these two films did well for Gertz and her career, this is where Jami Gertz’s Hollywood story takes a turn.

JAMI GERTZ MET TONY RESSLER WHO SHE WOULD EVENTUALLY MARRY

Jami Gertz was building herself a nice career, but for some reason, it didn’t feel right to her. So, instead of going all in on the acting gig, she instead found herself taking time off and heading to Paris to become a scent designer for the French luxury house, Lanvin.

But it was also around this time that Gertz met Tony Ressler, who was at the time working at the banking firm of Drexel Burnham Lambert. The two met when Gertz’s publicist introduced the pair at a dinner party. It apparently went well because the following day, Ressler invited Jami to brunch, which she kindly accepted. At the time, it was Gertz who was the more financially successful.

“Everyone thinks I married a rich guy,” she explained to The Hollywood Reporter. “But I made more money — way more money — than Tony when I met him. I paid for our first house. I paid for our first vacation. I married him because I fell in love with him.”

According to Ressler of their early romance, he knew she was an actress, but didn’t know how successful she had been. “All I knew was that she was a working actress,” said Ressler. “I didn’t know [her movie and TV credits].” It didn’t matter who knew what because the pair fell in love.

“He was a nice guy with a job,” claimed Gertz. “Which is what any Jewish girl from Glenview would want. It would have been nice if it was a doctor or a lawyer, but a banker was OK, too.”

So, in 1989, after Jami Gertz took her two-year sabbatical from making movies, the pair married. Although Wall Street was a massive draw for Ressler, the decision was to stay on the west coast so Jami Gertz could step back into acting. She did and for the next seven years or so she found roles in movies like Listen to Me, Silence Like Glass, the underrated comedy Sibling Rivalry that starred the late Kirstie Alley, and Jersey Girl.

Jami Gertz returned to her television roots with the series, Sibs. She also found time on series such as Seinfeld, Dream On, and Hudson Street, and even got a six-episode run on the hit series, ER. But in 1996, Gertz was part of another big film that had her twisting all around Hollywood.

The film was Twister and it starred Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. Jami Gertz played Dr. Melissa Reeves, one of the storm chasers. The movie was a big hit for Gertz, along with the rest of the cast, and could have set Gertz up for more big blockbusters, but as she did with her early career and throughout the rest of it, Gertz marched to her own drumbeat.

JAMI GERTZ AND TONY RESSLER BECAME BILLIONAIRES AND BOUGHT THE ATLANTA HAWKS

As Jami Gertz was riding the roller coaster that was her acting career, her husband was making a name for himself. First, it was the private-equity firm, Apollo Global, that he co-founded in 1990. Seven years later, Ressler would then launch the unbelievably successful Ares Management.

When asked to describe exactly what Ares Management was all about, Ressler said, “We’re a $125-ish billion asset manager.” Yes, that is billion, with a B. “I guess the right quote would be, ‘We’re the most amazing investment firm in the history of the universe.’”

With their portfolio growing, Jami Gertz and Tony Ressler began their family. They have three sons, Oliver (30), Nick (26), and Theo (23). As for their portfolio, they now have a net worth of $3.1 billion.

Having all that money, though, means a lot can be done. In 2015, Tony Ressler, a lifelong NBA fan, decided that he and Jami should step into the basketball market by purchasing an NBA team. Their first foray into professional sports was an attempt to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers, but they were turned away when the uber-rich Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, ponied up $2 billion for the team.

Thankfully, Jami Gertz and Tony Ressler didn’t have to wait long for another chance at NBA ownership. The Atlanta Hawks suddenly became available and $850 million later, they were official owners. Gertz has since then become the face of the franchise while Ressler is more than content staying out of the limelight.

SHE HAS BEEN A MOVIE PRODUCER

While it may seem so, not everything has come up smelling like roses for Jami Gertz. While completely successful on camera and as a businesswoman, not all of her business transactions have been fruitful. Take, for instance, the time she wanted to be a movie producer.

In 2010, Lime Orchard Productions was created by Jami Gertz. “You reach an age,” she told THR, “and you slow down, and the jobs are a little hard to come by. So I decided to put money into a project of my own.” Lesson learned.

Her production company had all of one big success and that was Chris Weitz’s A Better Life which earned actor Demian Bichir an Oscar nomination. But five years of trying to make the production company work was enough for Jami Gertz. “I tried for five years and was not very successful,” Gertz says, also saying she put in millions of dollars of her own hard-earned cash to no avail – she lost every single penny.

JAMI GERTZ IS NOT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

You won’t see Jami Gertz filling up social media accounts, though she is not shy about being on camera. She is constantly seen working the Atlanta Hawks advertising, doing what she can to bring in the fans. But as far as social media, Gertz has little presence.

JAMI GERTZ RETURNS TO ACTING IN I WANT YOU BACK

The last time Jami Gertz was seen in front of the camera in Hollywood was in 2017. She appeared in one episode of the Hulu series, Difficult People, which starred Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner. Then, after five years away, Gertz took one more turn in front of the camera.

She starred in the 2022 romantic comedy, Amazon Prime’s I Want You Back. The film also starred Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, and Scott Eastwood. It told the story of two 30-somethings (Day and Slate) who get dumped by their significant others and then team up to sabotage their exes’ new relationships in order to win them back.

Will Jami Gertz find another role in Hollywood? Perhaps. For now, though, she keeps herself busy with her family, the Hawks, and all of her philanthropic projects.