Jennifer Love Hewitt's Net Worth Has Been Building Since the 1980s, Along with Her Career

If you were a young teen or adult in the 1990s and 2000s, you probably immediately recognize the name of Jennifer Love Hewitt. The 45-year-old actor has been in the spotlight ever since the 1980s when she first kicked off her acting career.

Throughout the decades, she has built an impressive net worth that shows the efforts of a long career in Hollywood. The actor has recently clapped back at critics, accusing them of perpetuating the ageism that is rife throughout Hollywood. Here's what we know about her impressive net worth, along with her feelings about what it means to be an aging woman in the world of movie-making.

Jennifer's career first started with Disney in 1989. She played a role in the popular '80s-'90s series Kids Incorporated. And it wasn't long before the Texas native began scoring roles in even bigger shows and movies. In 1995, she had her major breakout role as Sarah Reeves Merrin on Fox's cult classic teen drama, Party of Five.

With so many impressive titles under her belt, Jennifer has amassed an estimated net worth of around $22 million according to Celebrity Net Worth.

In the last three decades, she has starred in a number of major films and television shows that include, but are in no way limited to, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Ghost Whisperer, Criminal Minds, Can't Hardly Wait, and 9-1-1.

Yet for all her successes and her charming good looks, Jennifer has not been immune to what many call the "ageism of Hollywood." There are rumors of an unspoken rule that after a woman turns 40, her prospects in Hollywood drop dramatically.

Not only are women over 40 often cast less in major starring roles, but they're often type-cast as moms of teenagers and grandmothers despite still being of age to be single, independent, and parenting young children.

In an interview with Fox News, Jennifer clapped back at Hollywood's ageism.

She explained that contrary to the way women in their forties are treated, "Age is age. I think women really come into this … acceptance of themselves and comfortability in their forties that is beautiful."

She added, "The times that it's hard for me though … I feel like fans pick … this age that they love that they think represents you, and you're never supposed to grow beyond that." For herself, she feels as though fans expect her to look like she did in her twenties.

Jennifer called it "hurtful" to be rejected for her age. And explained that, although she enjoys her current age, she feels that public reaction has made aging a more difficult process.

Jennifer mused, "It's hard because I think as humans, we want to evolve … we want to have lines on our faces, and you know, our boobs be lower from breastfeeding our children, or you know, our butt's bigger."

She continued, "Whatever it is, you just want to have the freedom to be whoever you are at that age. And it's hurtful sometimes when people reject you as you are verbally on Instagram or the internet because they're having a hard time adjusting to it."

When asked what she might go back and tell her younger self, Jennifer thoughtfully shared, "I wasted a lot of time worrying. And I think I would just say to her, like, ‘Look, it's going to work out. You're going to start getting old, and they're still going to let you do things … it's OK. You're fine.’"

And despite Hollywood's type-casting women because of their age, $22 million suggests that Jennifer is indeed doing fine.