Mel B first rose to fame as one-fifth of the popular 1990s girl group, The Spice Girls.
With their infectious dance sound and message of “Girl Power,” Scary Spice — as Melanie Janine Brown was then known — was part of a new wave of feminism that paired femininity with strength. And the messaging paid off: the Spice Girls became a part of the list of best-selling girl groups of all time, according to reports.
Unfortunately, Mel B didn’t always invest her money wisely. Between her lavish lifestyle, bad business investments, and more, the singer and songwriter eventually found herself nearly destitute and struggling to survive.
But, as the old saying goes, tough times don’t last forever — tough people do.
Let’s take a look at how Mel B nearly lost it all — then bounced back better than ever.
Editorial note: The net worth listed in this piece is a speculative estimate drawn from a variety of online sources.
Mel B: Her Net Worth At The Height Of Her Spice Girls Fame
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Mel B had a $30 million net worth at the height of her career. Today, she has a $6 million net worth.
How She Lost It All
Even though Mel B was a millionaire many times over, divorce and bad business investments left her with just about $1,000 in her bank account at one point.
In 2017, People reported that the former “Scary Spice” had been ordered to pay more than $40,000 a month in child support to her ex-husband, Stephen Belafonte.
What’s more, AfroTech previously reported that Mel B was also facing IRS trouble to the tune of $2.5 million.
“Fortunately, though, News24 reported that she was back on her feet after the Spice Girls reunion tour, which gave her the ability to catch up on all her bills — including the tax bill,” we also reported.
The Bounceback
Mel B’s success story is proof that it’s not how hard you fall, but how hard you get back up.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the singer was banking $240,000 per episode of “America’s Got Talent,” so she certainly made her money back there.
As previously mentioned, she also went on a reunion tour with The Spice Girls, putting more than $1 million back in her pocket.
With her very public desire to get paid in Bitcoin showing promise, too, Mel B is well on her way to redemption.
“The former Spice Girl made history when, according to Coindesk, she became the first British artist in history to get paid in Bitcoin. She partnered with the now-defunct Cloud Hashing to accept the then-revolutionary cryptocurrency for her new single,” AfroTech previously reported.
“I love how new technology makes our lives easier, and to me that’s exciting. Bitcoin unites my fans around the world using one currency. They can just pay using bitcoins!” she said in a statement at the time.
