Mary Higgins Clark Net Worth

February 26, 2024

What Was Mary Higgins Clark’s Net Worth?

Bestselling mystery and suspense author Mary Higgins Clark passed away in 2020 with a net worth of $140 million. She sold over 100 million books in the U.S. alone, with each of her 51 published books becoming a bestseller in the U.S. and Europe. Higgins Clark received massive royalties and advances throughout her career, including a $64 million advance in 2011 for her next four books.

Her breakout hit was 1975’s “Where are the Children?” which was adapted into a feature film in 1986. Several of her other novels were adapted into TV movies. She also co-wrote the “Under Suspicion” series with crime novelist Alafair Burke. Higgins Clark was a part-owner of the New Jersey Nets and produced the 2003 TV movie “A Crime of Passion.” In 2011, she was inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame.

She published an autobiography, “Kitchen Privileges: A Memoir,” in 2001. Higgins Clark died at the age of 92 of natural causes.

Early Life of Mary Higgins Clark

Mary Higgins Clark was born in The Bronx, New York, on December 24, 1927. She was the daughter of Luke Joseph Higgins and Nora C. Durkin. Mary had two brothers, Joseph and John, and tragically, Joseph died from spinal meningitis while serving in the Navy not long after graduating from high school.

Higgins Clark showed early promise as a writer, penning her first poem when she was just seven years old. She attended Saint Francis Xavier Grammar School before earning a scholarship to study at Villa Maria Academy, where her teachers encouraged her writing aspirations.

In her teenage years, the family began to experience financial difficulties due to the Great Depression. Despite this, Mary took a job as a switchboard operator at the Shelton Hotel to help her family pay the bills. After Joseph’s death, the Navy guaranteed Nora a life pension, and Mary no longer had to help her mother with finances.

Mary Higgins Clark’s Writing Career

Mary Higgins Clark began her writing career with short stories and catalog copy for Remington Rand. She later worked as a flight attendant for Pan American Airlines before studying writing at New York University. Her first novel, “Aspire to the Heavens,” was published in 1968, but it was not successful. Higgins Clark switched to writing suspense novels with “Where are the Children?” in 1975, which became a bestseller. She went on to publish numerous novels throughout the ’80s and ’90s, including “A Cry in the Night,” “You Belong to Me,” and “We’ll Meet Again.” In 2010, her crime novels were adapted into TV movies and an anthology series based on her novels was announced in 2019. Higgins Clark also co-wrote the “Under Suspicion” series with Alafair Burke and wrote the “Alvirah and Willy” series.

Mary Higgins Clark’s Personal Life

Mary Higgins Clark married her neighbor, Warren Clark, in 1949, and they had five children together: Marilyn, Warren Jr., David, Carol, and Patty. After Warren’s death in 1964, Mary married Raymond Ploetz in 1978, but the marriage was annulled in 1986. She then married John J. Conheeney in 1996, and they remained together until his death in 2018.

Mary’s daughter Carol followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a mystery writer, and they co-wrote several novels together. Mary’s son David was previously married to author Mary Jane Clark and has a developmental disability called Fragile X Syndrome.

Mary Higgins Clark passes away at 92

Bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark passed away on January 31, 2020, in Naples, Florida. She was 92 years old. Simon & Schuster confirmed her passing, stating that she was surrounded by family and friends at the time of her death. According to findagrave.com, Higgins Clark was laid to rest at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

Awards and Honors

Mary Higgins Clark received numerous awards and honors throughout her career. In 1980, she was awarded France’s Grand Prix de Littérature Policière. She also won the Deauville Film Festival Literary Award in 1999. In 1994, she received the Spirit of Achievement Award from Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine, as well as a Gold Medal in Education from the National Arts Club. Mary won an American Irish Historical Society Gold Medal of Honor in 1993, a Horatio Alger Award in 1997, a Bronx Legend Award in 1999, and an Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2001. She also received 18 honorary doctorates.

Higgins Clark served as the president of the Mystery Writers of America in 1987 and the Chairman of the International Crime Congress in 1988. She was a member of the Mystery Writers of America board of directors for many years. When Mary was inducted as a Grand Master at the 55th Annual Edgar Allan Poe Awards, it was announced that Simon & Schuster had established the Mary Higgins Clark Award to be given to suspense authors by the Mystery Writers of America. Mary was also made a Dame of Malta, a Dame of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, a Dame of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. She received a Graymoor Award from the Franciscan Friars and a Christopher Life Achievement Award. She was a member of the Catholic Communal Fund board and the Hackensack Hospital Board of Governors.