Before Jami Gertz became a familiar face on screens large and small, she was a kid with big ambitions growing up in a working‑class family in Glenview, Illinois - and now she's worth $3 billion.
Her journey began in 1982, when she landed her first role as a child actress on the CBS sitcom Square Pegs.
From there, she became a regular on beloved TV shows like The Facts of Life, Diff’rent Strokes and Family Ties, and appeared in classic films including Sixteen Candles, Endless Love and Crossroads.
The late 1980s were a breakthrough era for Gertz. In 1987, she solidified her place in Hollywood with consecutive starring roles in two major hits: The Lost Boys and Less Than Zero. Her performance in The Lost Boys not only boosted her career — it changed her life.
Life Changing Meeting on the Set of The Lost Boys
While filming The Lost Boys in 1986, Gertz met Tony Ressler, then a banker at Drexel Burnham Lambert, an investment firm that would later collapse. Introduced by her publicist, the pair’s connection wasn’t instant destiny — but it was genuine. Two years later, they tied the knot.
In a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gertz addressed assumptions about her success and marriage: “Everyone thinks I married a rich guy,” she said.
“But I made more money — way more money — than Tony when I met him. I paid for our first house. I paid for our first vacation. I married him because I fell in love with him.”
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After the collapse of Drexel Burnham Lambert in 1990 due to illegal junk bond dealings, Ressler went on to co‑found Apollo Global Management and later launch Ares Management — foundations for the huge fortune he holds today.
Meanwhile, Gertz continued acting in high‑profile TV and film roles, from Ally McBeal, Seinfeld and ER to Renegades, Jersey Girl and This Can’t Be Love.
She gained even wider recognition in 1997 as Dr. Melissa Reeves, fiancée to Bill Paxton’s character in the disaster blockbuster Twister. She also starred on the sitcom Still Standing from 2002 to 2006.
In 2010, she took a bold step behind the camera by launching Lime Orchard Productions: “You reach an age, and you slow down, and the jobs are a little hard to come by,” she told THR. “So I decided to put money into a project of my own.”
Though one of her early films, A Better Life (2011), was a success, Gertz didn’t shy away from admitting the tough side of Hollywood entrepreneurship: “I tried for five years and was not very successful,” Gertz admitted.
Pivot to Sports: Becoming an NBA Team Owner
Then came 2015 — a pivotal turning point. Gertz and Ressler became co‑owners of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. It wasn’t their first foray into sports ownership; they were already minority owners of the MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers, joining a group of investors back in 2005.
Gertz fondly recalled the moment her husband and NBA legend Grant Hill put in their winning bid for the Hawks following a team scandal involving former owner Bruce Levenson: “He has a little tiny desk in there, and he was taking calls in the closet,” Gertz recalled of the day Ressler put in a bid for the team in June 2015.
“I was walking in and out of the closet. And he looked at me, and I looked at him, and he's like, 'Jami, are we going to do this?' I'm like, 'I don't know. I'm so scared.' And he's like, 'It would be so much fun.' And then we were jumping and screaming, 'Oh, my God — we just bought a basketball team!'”
Ressler didn’t hesitate in recognizing his wife’s impact on the franchise. When talking about Gertz’s role with the Hawks, he told THR: “I think it’s fair to say that she makes a better impression on our fan base than any of us in the organization.
"I’m very active on the business and player personnel decision‑making. But Jami steps in when it comes to so many parts of the business that I did not appreciate or have any experience in.”
Gertz’s role became even more visible in 2018 when she made her debut as the team’s ambassador at the NBA Draft Lottery — surprising fans who hadn’t expected an actress to now represent an NBA franchise.
She explained this unusual career trajectory frankly: “I get it. It’s not your everyday Hollywood actress tale.”