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Vinnie Jones was a key figure for Wimbledon’s “Crazy Gang” in the late 1980s
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The former Wales captain has featured in a number of movies and television shows
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Estimates value Vinnie Jones net worth figures at around £8 million
Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, on 5th January, 1965, Vincent Peter Jones has enjoyed a rich and varied career that has taken him from building sites all the way to Hollywood.
In between lies 15 years playing at the highest level of football, captaining Wimbledon, Leeds and Sheffield United, before terrorising opposition midfielders for Chelsea.
On leaving school in the mid-Eighties, Jones became a hod carrier, turning out for Wealdstone on a part-time basis, until eventually his physical style of play attracted the Dons, a club that had swiftly risen through the footballing pyramid and become a top-flight side against all expectation.
At Plough Lane he became a key member of the famed ‘Crazy Gang’, a wild collective who kept Wimbledon up among the big boys and defied the football betting by winning a FA Cup in 1988.
That latter success helped solidify Jones’ reputation as a hard man. It made him a household name.
On retiring from the game in 1998 nobody could have possibly predicted what was to come next, an unlikely detour into film.
Jones’ debut performance as ‘Big Chris’ in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was well received and set him on a path to movie stardom where he has often played characters of dubious repute.
The names of some of these characters give the game away. “Bullet Tooth Tony”. “Mad Maynard”. “The Extractor”.
By 2024, Jones boasts a body of work consisting of 87 films, some cameos, several of which have grossed highly at the cinema.
No stranger to controversy as a player, Jones is now a respectable country gent, living on a farm made up of 2000 acres in West Sussex. He is also a very wealthy individual.
How Much Is Vinnie Jones Worth?
It’s pertinent to remember that Jones played the bulk of his football prior to the Premier League and lucrative broadcasting rights bringing ridiculous fortunes into the English game.
Still, with signing on fees, decent wages, and numerous sponsorship deals across his playing career, it’s a given that the combative midfielder was at least a millionaire twice-over before he hung up his boots.
It was through his film-work however where the big bucks was found and Vinnie Jones currently has an estimated net worth exceeding £8m.
Leading roles in Mean Machine and She’s The Man has largely attributed to this while the actor has also appeared in box-office hits, not least Swordfish and Eurotrip.
In 2006, he joined the Marvel fraternity, playing Juggernaut in X-Men: The Last Stand.
Cleverly avoiding typecasting – and at times playing with his tough guy persona – Jones has additionally done voice-over work for Garfield and Madagascar 3, gigs that typically pay extremely well.
Moreover, beyond top-flight football pitches and Tinseltown there is also Vinnie Jones the businessman.
A recent ambitious endeavour saw the creation of a production company named 4G Vision that launched in 2020 with $100m of external backing.
Last year meanwhile Prime Video released ‘Vinnie Jones In the Country’, a series that showed a different side to the celebrity, flat-capped and restoring Land Rovers, even making homemade cordial on his farmstead.
For a similar venture with Amazon, Jeremy Clarkson was paid £2.9m.
Wife
Vinnie met next door neighbour Tanya Terry at just 12 years old but the couple went separate ways for a period of time – with Tanya having a child with her first husband.
However, Vinnie and Tanya tied the knot in 1995 and were happily married for 24 years before Tanya sadly passed away from cancer in July 2019.
Tanya had suffered health complications throughout her life, requiring a heart transplant at 21 years old before bravely beating cervical cancer twice.
Belying his hard man persona, in September 2020, Vinnie Jones spoke movingly about his wife on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, stating that he has no plans to remarry in the future.
Cancer
While Tanya’s cancer tragically spread and took her life, Vinnie is a cancer survivor.
He was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma under his eye in 2013 but his treatment was successful.
Vinnie Jones has done various bits of work and appearances for cancer charities over the years while pledging to give proceeds to charity if he won the Celebrity version of the X Factor in 2019.
On a related matter, he also received widespread praise for teaming up with the British Heart Foundation in 2021, showing the public, via a series of advertisements, how best to perform CPR.
Children
As previously mentioned, Vinnie is a stepfather to Tanya’s daughter from her first marriage while the couple also went on to have a son of their own.
Vinnie’s son is called Aaron and he has served in the Blues and Royals regiment of the British Army and Jones was captured proudly watching his son’s passing out parade back in 2008.
Jones has previously admitted to spoiling his children, compensating for a strict upbringing himself.
Wimbledon
Four seasons spent at Plough Lane can be condensed into a single photograph, one that has become iconic down the decades.
Caught by a fortunate photographer, Jones was snapped grabbing Paul Gascoigne in a highly sensitive area, the image instantly making stars of both of them.
Furthermore, the unusual tactic mirrored Wimbledon’s approach to competitive football, seeking to intimidate the opposition, front up to them, and triumph against the odds by any means necessary.
If you bet on football in the Eighties so often you would come unstuck, under-estimating their ability to thrive as the underdog.
Jones epitomised this ethos, making over 100 appearances for the Dons and leading them to an entirely unexpected FA Cup success in 1988.
Vinnie Jones Movies
Vinnie Jones has matured into a well-respected actor, featuring in some of the greatest football films around. He is impeccable as Coach Dinklage in She’s The Man, for example.
Often playing fearsome and confrontational characters, Jones has capitalised on his tough image as a footballer by taking on similar roles in sports films.
However, Jones is not one-dimensional when it comes to acting. The former Wimbledon star has showcased his acting qualities as a wide range of characters over the years.
Vinnie Jones Singing
Vinnie Jones’ talent has no boundaries. Not only is he a star on the football pitch and on the cinema screen but he has also enjoyed success as a singer.
Wooly Bully was his first hit in 1993 before Jones released the album ‘Respect’ in 2002. It may be hard to imagine but Jones has an excellent signing voice.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*
