Angela Wesselman Net Worth 2026: The Woman Behind Catfish

No reputable outlet has published an estimate of Angela Wesselman's net worth. The earlier version of this page said she was a professional actress worth $9 million with a $240,000 yearly income and "numerous awards." None of that had a source, and the premise was wrong. Wesselman, credited as Angela Wesselman-Pierce, is not an actor. She is the woman from Ishpeming, Michigan whose invented Facebook personas became the subject of Catfish, a 2010 documentary, and she appears in it as herself.

What is Angela Wesselman's net worth?

There is no published figure, and nothing in reliable reporting suggests she became wealthy from the film. When ABC's 20/20 interviewed her in October 2010, it described her as a housewife at home in Ishpeming, caring for family members, while the film was opening to crowds in New York, ABC News reported. No outlet has reported that she was paid for appearing in the film or that she has earned money from it since.

For scale, Catfish was made for about $30,000 and grossed about $3.5 million at the box office, according to Wikipedia. That money went to the film's producers and distributor, Universal Pictures, not to its subjects.

Angela Wesselman's yearly income

Her income has never been published. The table on the old page ($240,000 a year, $20,000 a month) had no source and has been removed. She has no documented acting career, endorsements or media business.

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How did Angela Wesselman become famous?

Catfish premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2010 and was released in U.S. theaters that September. It was directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, who filmed Ariel's brother, New York photographer Nev Schulman, as he formed an online relationship.

• The start: Nev received a painting of one of his photos, apparently by an eight-year-old girl named Abby in Ishpeming. He was drawn into her family's circle on Facebook, including her mother, Angela, and an older sister named Megan.
• The romance: over roughly eight or nine months, Nev fell for "Megan." He later found that songs she sent him had been copied from YouTube.
• The reveal: when the filmmakers went to Michigan, they found that Angela had painted the pictures and had run the online profiles herself. The Guardian reported that she had invented Megan and around 20 other online "friends," each with a distinct voice. Abby was real but knew nothing of it.

Wesselman told 20/20 that the deception started after she posted her own art online and got harsh comments, while the same work drew praise when presented as a child's. She said she created Megan to give Nev someone his own age to talk to, and admitted the situation grew beyond her control.

Why the film matters

According to Wikipedia, the documentary is credited with coining the term "catfishing" for creating a false online identity. The name comes from a story told in the film by her husband, Vince, about catfish being shipped with cod to keep the cod active. The film led to MTV's long-running series Catfish: The TV Show, hosted by Nev Schulman. When the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax broke in 2013, outlets used the film to explain the idea.

Some critics questioned how much of the film was staged. In a 2010 interview with The Guardian, the filmmakers maintained it was genuine.

Family

Reports on the film name her husband as Vince Pierce and her daughter as Abby. Beyond what she chose to share in the film and the 20/20 interview, her family life is private, and this page does not speculate about it. The earlier text about her parents, early interest in Broadway and a first acting job at 18 had no source and has been removed.

How old is Angela Wesselman?

Her birth date is not public. The Guardian described her as 39 in its 2010 account of the film, which would put her in her mid-50s in 2026. The age of 56 given on the old page was a guess without a source.

How tall is Angela Wesselman?

Her height and weight have never been published by a reliable source. The figures on the old page (5 feet 5 inches, 78 kg) have been removed.

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What is Angela from Catfish doing now?

No reputable outlet has reported on her life in recent years. After the 2010 interviews she stayed out of the media, and later retrospectives by the Telegraph (2018) and others recount the film without any update from her. Claims online about her current job or income are unsourced.

Why there is no reliable figure

Wesselman is a private person who became known through one documentary. She has no public business, salary or assets on record, and no outlet has estimated her wealth, so this page does not give a number.