What Is Bobby Lee Net Worth?
Bobby Lee is a 1 million dollar actor, entertainer, writer, and podcaster from the United States. After being chosen for the FOX comedy sketches series “MADtv,” where he starred from 2001 to 2009, Bobby Lee became well-known. Bobby possesses almost 80 acting credits, which include roles in the movies “Harold & Kumar.” The television shows “Animal Practice” (2012–2013), “Love” (2016–2018), “What Would Diplo Do?” (2017), “Splitting Up Together” (2018–2019), “Magnum P.I.” (2019–present), “Dream Corp LLC” (2020), “Reservation Dogs” (2021–present), and “And Like That……” (2021–present).
Lee co-hosts the audio recordings “TigerBelly” (2015–present) and “Bad Friends” (2020–present), and he developed, produced, and directed the YouTube series “Talking” (2012–2013). The television shows “Family Guy” (2009; 2011), “The Awesomes” (2013–2015), “Nature Cat” (2015–2019), and “Inside Job” (2021–2022) have all used Bobby’s voice. Additional credits include the film “Wish Dragon” (2022).
Early Life
On September 17, 1971, Bobby Lee was born in San Diego, California, as Robert Lee Jr. He is the son of Korean immigrants Jeanie and Robert Lee, who had apparel stores in Escondido and Encinitas. Robert sadly passed away in 2019 from Parkinson’s illness. Bobby was raised in Poway, California. His younger brother, Steve, is a singer and comedian. Along with Bobby, Steve has guest-starred on “MADtv” and hosted the “Steebee Weebee” and “Scissor Bros” podcasts. While attending Poway High School, Lee participated in a breakdancing team and attended Painted Rock Elementary School and Twin Peaks Middle School. Bobby claims that he had childhood molestation.
Career
Before he decided to pursue a comedy career, Bobby worked at a few cafes and restaurants. In 1994, after the unexpected closure of the coffee shop he was employed at, he “just went next door to get a job, which was The Comedy Store in San Diego.” Following several months of doing odd jobs at The Comedy Store, Lee decided to give stand-up a go on one of the amateur nights at the club. Bobby started playing frequently at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, which was owned by Pauly Shore’s mother Mitzi, after he was requested to open for Carlos Mencia and Pauly Shore within a year of starting regular sets at the club.
Following his 2002 debut on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Bobby’s father expressed regret for his prior rejection of his son’s comedic endeavors. Early in his career, Lee had appearances on TV series including “Late Friday” (2002), “I Love the ’90s” (2004), and “Asia Street Comedy” (2004). He also starred with Ken Jeong, Steve Byrne, and Kevin Shea in the 2005 special “Kims of Comedy.” He acted for the first time in the 1999 film “The Underground Comedy Movie,” and he later appeared in guest roles on “Arli$$” and “The Brothers Garcia” (2001).
As the first Asian cast member of “MADtv,” Lee made his television debut in 2001. He was well-known for his impersonations of Kim Jong-il and Connie Chung as well as for playing characters such as Bae Sung, Tank, and Yamanashi. He made a three-episode return when The CW brought the show back in 2016, after it had been canceled in 2009. While he was a cast member of “MADtv,” Bobby starred in the following movies: “Pauly Shore Is Dead” (2003), “American Misfits” (2003), “Undoing” (2006), “Kickin’ It Old Skool” (2007), and “Killer Pad” (2008). He also co-starred in the 2008 comedy “Pineapple Express,” which brought in $102.4 million at the box office, alongside Seth Rogen and James Franco.
In addition, Lee portrayed Kenneth Park in the 2004 film “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,” a role he would later reprise in the 2011 film “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.” Lee also made guest appearances on several television shows, including “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (2005), “Mind of Mencia” (2005–2006), “The League” (2009; 2014), “Big Time Rush” (2011), “Arrested Development” (2013), “Sean Saves the World” (2013), “The Comedians” (2015), “NCIS: Los Angeles” (2015–2018), “Another Period” (2016), “Son of Zorn” (2016), “Real Rob” (2017), and “Alone Together” (2018).
In addition to costarring in the 2020 comedy “The Wrong Missy” with David Spade, Lauren Lapkus, and Nick Swardson, Bobby starred in the following films: “Hard Breakers” (2010), “Paul” (2011), “The Dictator” (2012), “Final Recipe” (2013), “Wedding Palace” (2013), “Bro, What Happened?” (2014), “Laid in America” (2016), “Keeping Up with the Joneses” (2016), “Public Disturbance” (2018), “How It Ends” (2021), and “Hero Mode” (2021). He played Arthur on ABC’s “Splitting Up Together” (2018–2019), starred in the 2017 Viceland series “What Would Diplo Do?,” and had recurring appearances as Tricky Ricky on “Dream Corp LLC” (2020), Dr. Kang on “Reservation Dogs” (2021–present), and Jackie Nee on “And Just Like That…” (2021–present). Bobby and his then-girlfriend Khalyla Kuhn started the podcast “TigerBelly” in 2015, while Lee and fellow comic Andrew Santino started airing the “Bad Friends” podcast in 2020. Lee recently appeared on “Dark Side of Comedy,” “About Last Night,” and “History of the World, Part II.”
Personal Life
Bobby began using marijuana and methamphetamine at the age of twelve, and he started taking heroin when he was fifteen. At the age of seventeen, he completed three drug rehabilitation programs before being sober. Lee went back to using Vicodin after 12 years of sobriety. He became clean after producer Lauren Dombrowski of “MADtv” stood up for him after he was sacked from the show. In a December 2019 episode of “TigerBelly,” Bobby disclosed that he had relapsed following the death of his father earlier in the year and that he had sought treatment for his sobriety. Lee has identified as an alcoholic in recovery.
Bobby and Khalyla Kuhn, his co-host on “TigerBelly” and girlfriend, broke up in 2022 after ten years of dating. Lee announced “TigerBelly,” saying, “I would like to inform everyone that Khalyla and I have broken up. I want to mention that Khalyla is my best friend and the love of my life. She completely rewrote who I was and altered my life in a variety of ways.” Lee filed a lawsuit against Wondery in May 2023 after the latter canceled an agreement it had signed with “TigerBelly” in late 2022 for distribution and ad sales.
Wondery used a “morals clause” to allude to a narrative Bobby told in 2013 about using the services of “a young-looking sex worker who had tears in her eyes” in Tijuana, which was later shown to be made up. The lawsuit claims that “TigerBelly” would have known about the Tijuana story before signing a partnership with the podcast, and that the corporation did not consent to a morality provision in its Wondery contract.
