Rosemary Clooney Net Worth, Relationships, Age/Birthdate & Birthday

When the velvet warmth of a classic crooner’s voice still fills a room decades after the record stops — that’s the enduring legacy of Rosemary Clooney. Born May 23, 1928, in Maysville, Kentucky, Rosemary Clooney’s story unfolds with bright success, deep struggle, reinvention, and ultimately quiet dignity. This is the tale behind the songs, the spotlight, and the resilience — a story of triumph, heartbreak, and artistry.

A Small-Town Start, A Big-Voice Emerges

Rosemary Clooney’s birthdate and birthday — May 23, 1928 — mark the beginning of a journey from modest, sometimes difficult beginnings to national stardom. Raised in a family of five children in Maysville, her early years were shaped by hardship. Her father battled alcoholism, and her mother worked long hours, which meant that young Rosemary and her siblings often moved between relatives. 

In 1945, singing with her sister on Cincinnati radio station WLW rekindled a spark: the Clooney Sisters caught the attention of bandleader Tony Pastor. By 1947 they were touring with his band, and two years later, Rosemary struck out on her own. 

The move to solo stardom brought her to New York, where she signed with Columbia Records. It was there that her voice — rich, warm, and emotionally direct — found the perfect vehicle. In 1951, she released “Come On-a My House,” a novelty-pop tune that became her first big hit.  From there followed a string of chart-topping and beloved songs: “Mambo Italiano,” “This Ole House,” “Tenderly,” “Hey There,” among others.

By the mid-1950s, she had grown into a household name. Her success earned her a spot on the cover of Time magazine in 1953 — a testament to her status as one of America's defining “girl singers.”

Fame, Family & The Hollywood Spotlight

As her career soared, Rosemary's personal life was equally headline-worthy. On July 13, 1953, she married Oscar-winning actor José Ferrer, 16 years her senior.  The couple welcomed five children in rapid succession: Miguel, Gabriel, Rafael, Monsita, and Maria. 

During those years, Clooney balanced motherhood with her Hollywood and musical ambitions. She starred alongside Bing Crosby and others in the holiday classic White Christmas (1954), and even had her own television variety show, The Rosemary Clooney Show, which aired from 1956 to 1957. 

Yet the glamour masked turbulence. Her marriage to Ferrer was stormy. The couple divorced in 1961, remarried in 1964, then divorced again in 1967. Those years wore heavily on Rosemary. By the late 1960s, her career had come to a halt. Struggles with depression, prescription-drug dependency, and exhaustion led to a dramatic collapse soon after she witnessed the assassination of her friend Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles — an event that triggered a nervous breakdown. 

Reinvention, Resilience & A Voice That Refused to Fade

Despite decades of hardship, Rosemary Clooney refused to fade quietly. As she once said, “If I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t live. … That’s what I do: I sing.”  Starting in 1977, she launched a career resurgence: her recordings with Concord Records revived her as a jazz vocalist of sophistication and emotional depth. 

Her later years brought acclaim and recognition. In February 2002, she was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award — a crowning acknowledgment of a voice that had shaped generations. 

In 1997, she found personal happiness again, marrying longtime companion Dante DiPaolo. Their ceremony in her Kentucky hometown was simple, heartfelt — a final chapter of personal peace. 

What Was Rosemary Clooney’s Net Worth — And Why It’s Hard to Put a Figure

Tracking a definitive “net worth” for a star of Rosemary Clooney’s era is challenging: record deals, royalties, properties, and decades of changing music-industry economics complicate any single estimate. Indeed, there are no credible public records or recent major-media reports that provide a verified net worth for Rosemary Clooney.

What we do know is that Clooney sold millions of records, headlined films and television, performed concerts, and enjoyed a career revival that spanned into the ’90s and early 2000s.  She received lifetime-achievement honors, and maintained a presence in music through record sales, reissues, and legacy rights — all of which suggest that, over decades, she likely amassed considerable financial assets.

Because credible sources such as Forbes, Business Insider, or People.com do not provide a reliable net-worth calculation for her at the time of her death, any number you see elsewhere should be treated with caution. In the absence of transparent public documentation, providing a figure would amount to speculation, and I choose to avoid that.

Legacy Beyond Money: An Artist’s True Wealth

If not a ledger of dollars, Rosemary Clooney’s real legacy lies in influence, voice, and vulnerability made art. She helped define American popular song in the 1950s, bridged pop and jazz traditions, and later returned from personal crisis to create deeply felt jazz records. Her triumph over adversity — from childhood poverty to mental-health struggles — inspired many.

Her children (including actor Miguel Ferrer) and grandchildren continue in fields of entertainment, and subsequent generations remember her not only as a singer, but a mother and matriarch. Her later-life marriage to Dante DiPaolo reflects a woman who sought love and companionship on her own terms.

When you play “Come On-a My House,” “Mambo Italiano,” or her jazz-era recordings, you hear not just notes — but the echo of survival, reinvention, and an artist who would not surrender her voice.