Net Worth Ranker
What Is Darcy LaPier’s Net Worth?
Darcy LaPier, an American actress and model, has accumulated a net worth of approximately $1 million. Her financial standing is largely attributed to settlements and assets acquired through multiple high-profile marriages, rather than earnings from her acting or modeling career. LaPier’s career began in 1985, after winning the Miss Hawaiian Tropic contest for the state of Oregon.
Key Marriages and Settlements Contributing to LaPier’s Net Worth
LaPier’s financial history is intertwined with her marriages to prominent figures. Her second marriage to Ron Rice, the President of Hawaiian Tropic, in 1990, provided her with a lavish lifestyle, including a beach house in Malibu with a staff of seven and luxury vehicles. Though this marriage was later annulled, it marked a significant period of financial stability for LaPier.
Her marriage to Jean-Claude Van Damme in 1994 resulted in a reported $10 million divorce settlement, significantly boosting her net worth. The divorce was finalized in 1997, with LaPier citing allegations of drug abuse and physical abuse. In the court documents, she sought $150,000 a month in child support and $300,000 in legal fees. She also alleged that the “Universal Soldier” star had threatened to shoot one of Darcy’s attorneys and grab their son and take him outside of the U.S.
LaPier’s fourth marriage to Mark Hughes, the founder of Herbalife, in 1999, further augmented her financial resources. Following Hughes’ death in May 2000, LaPier reportedly received between $30 million and $40 million worth of real estate and cash from his estate. These settlements and assets have been crucial in shaping Darcy LaPier’s net worth.
Career Ventures and Financial Challenges
LaPier’s acting career includes appearances in films such as “Think Big” (1989), where she played the role of Donna, “Dream Trap” (1990), and “Street Fighter” (1994), where she acted alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. While these roles contributed to her public profile, they did not substantially impact her net worth.
More recently, LaPier ventured into the rodeo circuit, starring in and executive producing the reality show “Rodeo Girls,” which aired on A&E. Although this endeavor offered potential income, it also involved significant expenses related to travel, training, and maintaining horses. According to court documents related to her bankruptcy case, she had spent millions of dollars on travel expenses and purchasing, maintaining, and training horses so that she can compete in rodeos throughout the country from which she has earned only a few thousand dollars.
In 2019, LaPier filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, claiming to be “destitute” and unable to pay her creditors. However, her filing was met with scrutiny, as the trustee overseeing the case alleged that she had received $500,000 worth of assets from her ex-husband, Ron Rice, without properly disclosing the transfers to the court. She also reportedly transferred ownership of her primary home in an apparent attempt to further hide and protect assets while claiming to be broke. It was alleged that millions of dollars worth of assets disappeared. The judge criticized LaPier for flaunting a lavish lifestyle on “Rodeo Girls” while claiming financial hardship.
Early Life and Background
Darcy LaPier was born on July 9, 1965, in Molalla, Oregon. She is reportedly the only child of Native American parents who worked blue-collar jobs. During her youth, she worked at a chicken slaughterhouse. After high school, LaPier attended Portland State University. She also previously studied drama at the University of Oregon and Huntington Film Institute in Florida.
Marriages Detailed
When Darcy was 19 years old, she married Larry Ray Robertson, but the marriage didn’t last long. She entered the Miss Hawaiian Tropic contest for the state of Oregon and left Larry Robertson back in her home wondering what happened to the sweet, young small-town girl he’d married.
Darcy traveled to the Miss Hawaiian Tropic pageant in 1985. While she did not win the ultimate title of Miss Hawaiian Tropic, the aspiring model and actress won something else—the heart of the company’s founder. Ron Rice, nearly twice her age, asked Darcy out on a date. She accepted but failed to tell him she was already married. The couple quickly became inseparable and married in 1990, months after Darcy gave birth to their daughter Sterling. She was living the life she’d sought. She had money, a bit of fame, a beautiful beach house in Malibu with a staff of seven, a nanny with references from Jerry Hall and Margaret Thatcher, luxury cars, jewelry, and a jet-set lifestyle. But that old familiar itch for more returned, and by 1992, Darcy was growing bored.
At a Hollywood event, Mrs. Hawaiian Tropic met the “Muscles from Brussels,” Jean-Claude Van Damme, who was not only at the height of his action movie career but also very married. Darcy set her sights on Van Damme, found out he was filming his latest movie in Hong Kong, and hopped on a plane to track him down. She invited Van Damme to her hotel room, where the two reportedly made love and quickly fell for each other. Within a few days, just like with Ron Rice, the pair were inseparable and wanted out of their respective marriages. When Ron Rice heard about his wife’s affair, he began divorce proceedings, kicking himself for not having a prenup in place and expecting to lose a sizeable chunk of his wealth. However, someone unexpected would come to the Hawaiian Tropic founder’s help: “The National Enquirer” informed Rice that his wife had never divorced husband number 1, Larry Robertson. Rice had the marriage annulled, and LaPier received only child support for her efforts.
In February 1994, Darcy married Jean-Claude Van Damme. She was his fourth wife. They had a volatile marriage marked by accusations, fights, and allegations of abuse. Darcy gave birth to her son Nicolas in 1995. Van Damme wasn’t entirely sure it was his son, which outraged LaPier. Darcy filed for divorce from Jean-Claude three times in three years. Each time, the lovebirds were able to patch it up. But in 1997, she filed, and the divorce stuck. In the court documents, she alleged that Van Damme, then 35 years old, was a cocaine addict who beat her regularly. Van Damme had gone to rehab for substance abuse in 1996. Darcy sought a restraining order against him as well as custody of their then 2-year-old son, plus $150,000 a month in child support and $300,000 in legal fees.
Darcy met Mark Hughes, founder of Herbalife, on a blind date. Hughes had built his company from an operation he ran out of his garage to a then $1.8 billion multi-level-marketing juggernaut in the nutrition arena. On their first date, LaPier and Hughes had sex in his Rolls Royce. They were married on Valentine’s Day 1999, and Darcy LaPier Robertson Rice Van Damme Hughes settled into her new husband’s 32,000-square-foot home in Malibu. Darcy finally had the wealth –via marriage – that she sought.
Hughes bought her a $4 million helicopter to ferry her to their 150-foot yacht. But then it all fell apart. Hughes had taken a prescription pill, Doxepin, to help him sleep. He’d been at a party earlier in the night and had been drinking. Darcy woke up to a dead man next to her in bed the next morning. His autopsy revealed his blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit. When Mark Hughes died, Darcy reportedly received $30-40 million from his estate. They had been married for one year. Darcy had been seeking $64 million. She had also been fighting for $4 million to purchase a house in Portland and $10 million, within 45 days of his death, to purchase an LA home. She’d never have to marry again… but she did. Her “acting” career is negligible—she was in six films, one of them as an extra, between 1989 and 1999. Her roles were small. She played “David’s Neighbor” and “Guile’s Date” in forgettable films from the early 1990s. So after Mark Hughes died, Darcy packed up Sterling and Nicolas and moved home to Oregon, where she bought a ranch and began barrel racing. But love would find Darcy again soon.
In 2002, Darcy became Darcy LaPier Robertson Rice Van Damme Hughes Snodgrass when she married Brian Snodgrass. His family founded and operates the Seven Dees nursery chain. The two had a daughter, Madison. Darcy and Snodgrass divorced in 2013.
