Spike Lee is, in a word, a legend.
From the moment that “Do The Right Thing” hit the theaters, his incendiary brand of filmmaking presented a raw, unflinching look at Black life in America.
And though many, at the time, weren’t ready to receive his message, Spike Lee (born Shelton Jackson Lee) has proven to be a visionary and a pioneer. And his style of filmmaking has even made him an in-demand professor of the genre. As AfroTech previously reported, he initially taught courses at Harvard before moving on to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (his alma mater, where he ultimately received an MFA), ultimately becoming the school’s artistic director in 2002.
Beyond his role as an Oscar-winning filmmaker and a tenured professor, Spike Lee is also a devoted husband and father. His wife of nearly 30 years — the director, activist, and Movita Organics CEO Tonya Lewis Lee — share two children, who are now “all grown up” and making their own way in the industry.
They are certainly “doin’ the right thing” by their father’s $50 million net worth (per Celebrity Net Worth), and we have a feeling that their parents couldn’t be prouder.
Let’s take a look at what Satchel and Jackson Lee are doing for themselves.
Editorial note: The net worth listed in this piece is a speculative estimate drawn from a variety of online sources.
Satchel Lee
Born in 1994, Satchel Lee — like her father — is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. And, also like her father, Satchel also has some filmmaking chops, as can be seen in her 2015 student film, “Harold And Ruby Take A Trip to Grandma’s” (See if you can spot the references to Spike Lee in the film!).
“Harold And Ruby Take A Trip To Grandma’s” from Satchel Lee on Vimeo.
In addition to having a bit part in her father’s seminal film, “Chi-Raq,” Satchel is making waves in the fashion world with her magazine brand, DRØME.
Billing itself as a “queer fashion” magazine, it has featured the likes of Billie Eilish and Christian Siriano in its pages.
Jackson Lewis Lee
Like his sister, Jackson Lewis Lee is carving a name for himself in the industry.
He made mainstream headlines in 2021 when he and his sister became “Golden Globe Ambassadors” (which, according to VOGUE, is a nice custom in celebrity circles and gives children of celebrities like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Alfre Woodard a chance to get some shine of their own). In fact, Satchel was reportedly the first openly queer Golden Globe ambassador, and Jackson was the Globes’ first Black male ambassador.
Jackson has launched his own creative agency, Indigo212, and has tried his hand at filmmaking himself. In 2020, his short film “THOMPSON FARM” opened the HollyShorts Film Festival.
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