Katherine Jenkins Net Worth: Katherine Jenkins OBE is a Welsh mezzo-soprano (vocalist) who has a net worth of $21 million. Katherine Jenkins was born June 29, 1980 in Neath, Wales, U.K. She is a popular classical-crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns. While still in her mid-twenties, Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins emerged as Britain's all-time best-selling classical artist, although critics charged her success as more a result of physical beauty than musical talent. Jenkins fell under the allure of classical music at the tender age of 7, studying piano and singing in her local choir throughout childhood. In 1990, she joined the Royal School of Church Music Cathedral Singers and also sang with the National Youth Choir of Wales. At 17, Jenkins was accepted into London's Royal Academy of Music, tackling a series of operatic roles while studying Italian, German, French and Russian. She continued pursuing opera as a postgraduate while moonlighting as a vocal instructor, but upon winning the Face of Wales modeling contest she instead supplemented her income as a fashion model. In 2003, Universal Classics signed Jenkins to a six-album, seven-figure recording contract, reportedly the largest classical deal in U.K. music industry history. While at work on her debut LP, she performed at Westminster Cathedral in honor of Pope John Paul II and also made her inaugural appearance at the famed Sydney Opera House. Issued in the spring of 2004, Jenkins' debut, Premiere, topped the classical music charts. Her first two albums vaulted Jenkins to a level of commercial success previously unknown in classical music circles. She then recorded a classical rendition of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You for 2005. Serenade topped both the U.K. classical and album charts in 2006. Sacred Arias (2008) represented her last album for Universal before transitioning to Warner Bros for the more contemporary Believe (2009) and Daydream (2011). The following year Jenkins released her first official holiday album, This is Christmas.
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OBE
In 2014 Katherine was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in honor of her services to music and charitable causes. As we detail in the next section, Katherine's OBE appointment upset David Beckham.
David Beckham Email Scandal
In February 2017, a series of email messages sent between David Beckham and his publicist leaked online. In the messages Beckham called the Honours Committee, the body that selects people for OBE, "unappreciative cunts." He also complained about Katherine Jenkins' appointment, saying:
"Katherine Jenkins OBE for what? Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops plus taking coke. Fucking joke."
Responding to the scandal, Jenkins later said:
"It's obviously disappointing. I've never heard anything from them about it. You're just minding your own business and you get caught up in this massive storm. You just think, 'Aw, I wasn't doing anything'. To get caught up in that wasn't pleasant. I don't know why, again, that was aimed at me. I also don't feel the need to defend this, by the way. I know what I've done and when I got the OBE it was given to me for music, and for charity. Priorities are my kids, my family, my singing, my charities and that's just white noise in the background."
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