PROFILE DETAILS
NAME: Marina Abramović
REAL NAME: Marina Abramović
AGE: 79 years old
Gender: Female
weight: Information not publicly available
Height: 5′ 9″ (175 cm)
Birthdate: November 30, 1946
Birth Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Belgrade, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia
NET WORTH: $15 Million (Estimated 2026)
Salary: $500,000 – $1,000,000 (Annualized exhibition and lecture fees)
MAIN INCOME SOURCE: Fine Art Sales, Performance Art, Lectures, and the Marina Abramović Institute (MAI)
Profession: Performance Artist, Author, Filmmaker
RELIGION: Spiritual (Raised in a secular household with Serbian Orthodox roots)
FAMILY: Velimir Abramović (Brother)
PARENTS: Vojin Abramović (Father), Danica Abramović (Mother)
SPOUSE: Neša Paripović (m. 1971–1976), Paolo Canevari (m. 2006–2009)
CHILDREN: None
CAREER: 1970–Present
Nationality: Serbian (Naturalized American)
SOCIAL PROFILES: Instagram (@abramovicinstitute)
What is Marina Abramović Net Worth and salary?
As of early 2026, Marina Abramović’s net worth is estimated at $15 million. Her wealth is derived from a multi-decade career at the pinnacle of the contemporary art world. Unlike traditional painters, her income stems from high-value sales of photographic documentation and video relics of her performances, as well as editions of her “Transitory Objects.”
In recent years (2024–2025), her foray into digital and mixed-reality art, such as “The Life,” has opened new revenue streams through high-tech installations and limited-edition digital captures. She commands significant fees for keynote lectures and international retrospectives. Her salary is not fixed but fluctuates based on museum commissions and private sales through galleries like Sean Kelly (New York) and Lisson Gallery (London).
Early Life
Marina Abramović was born in Belgrade shortly after World War II. Her parents were Yugoslav Partisans during the war and held high-ranking positions in the Tito government. Her childhood was defined by a strict, almost military-style discipline enforced by her mother, Danica, who was the director of the Museum of Art and Revolution. This environment of control and physical endurance deeply influenced her later artistic explorations of the body’s limits.
Before fame
Before becoming a global icon, Abramović studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade (1965–1970) and completed post-graduate studies in Zagreb. Her early work focused on sound installations and “process” art. In the early 1970s, she began her “Rhythm” series, which pushed her body to the brink of exhaustion and danger, most notably in Rhythm 0 (1974), where she invited the public to use 72 objects on her body, including a loaded gun.
Awards
- Golden Lion for Best Artist: Venice Biennale (1997)
- Niedersächsischer Kunstpreis: (2003)
- Austrian Decoration for Science and Art: (2008)
- Princess of Asturias Award: (2021)
- Sonning Prize: (2023)
- Royal Academy of Arts: Elected as an Honorary Academician.
Personal Life and Relationships
Abramović’s personal life has often been inseparable from her art. Her most famous relationship was with the German artist Ulay (Frank Uwe Laysiepen). From 1976 to 1988, they lived and worked together as a “collective being,” traveling in a van across Europe. Their relationship ended with a symbolic walk from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China, meeting in the middle to say goodbye. She was later married to Italian artist Paolo Canevari, but the marriage ended in 2009. In recent years, she has been linked to producer Todd Eckert.
Family life
Abramović has no children, a choice she has spoken about openly, stating that children would have hindered her artistic energy. Her relationship with her parents was fraught with tension; her father left the family in 1964, and her mother maintained a strict curfew for Marina until she was 29 years old—even after she had begun performing internationally. Her brother, Velimir, is a philosopher and researcher.
Associated with
- Ulay: Her long-term collaborator and former partner.
- Lady Gaga: Who famously practiced the “Abramović Method” to quit smoking and prepare for performances.
- Jay-Z: Who collaborated with her for his “Picasso Baby” music video.
- Riccardo Tisci: Former Givenchy director and close friend.
Real Estate
Abramović owns a distinctive star-shaped house in Hudson Valley, New York, often referred to as the “Star House,” which serves as a retreat and a space for the Abramović Method. She also maintains a significant residential and studio presence in New York City, where she has lived since the early 2000s.
Net Worth History
- 2010: $3 Million (Post-MoMA retrospective “The Artist is Present”)
- 2015: $7 Million (Expansion of MAI and global touring)
- 2020: $10 Million (Publication of memoir Walk Through Walls)
- 2026: $15 Million (Digital art sales and major 2024-2025 European retrospectives)
Trivia
- She sat for 736 hours and 30 minutes during her 2010 MoMA performance, looking into the eyes of 1,545 strangers.
- She survived a life-threatening pulmonary embolism in 2023, which she documented as part of her ongoing exploration of mortality.
- She is a practitioner of the “Abramović Method,” a series of exercises designed to increase awareness of the physical and mental self.
BIOGRAPHY
Executive Summary
Marina Abramović, often referred to as the “Grandmother of Performance Art,” remains one of the most influential and polarizing figures in contemporary art as of 2026. Born in 1946 in Belgrade, her career has spanned over five decades, during which she has redefined the relationship between performer and audience. Her work is characterized by physical pain, endurance, and the exploration of the limits of the mind.
Abramović rose to international prominence in the 1970s with her “Rhythm” series, but it was her twelve-year collaboration with Ulay that cemented her status in the avant-garde. Together, they explored “Relation Works,” testing the boundaries of trust and physical stamina. Following their dramatic split on the Great Wall of China in 1988, Abramović returned to solo work, winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1997 for Balkan Baroque, a visceral response to the Yugoslav Wars.
The 21st century saw Abramović transition from a cult figure to a mainstream cultural icon. Her 2010 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), The Artist is Present, became a viral sensation, drawing over half a million visitors. In the years leading up to 2026, she has focused on the Marina Abramović Institute (MAI), a platform for immaterial and long-durational art, and has embraced cutting-edge technology. Her 2024-2025 exhibitions in London and Paris showcased her resilience following a major health crisis in 2023, proving that her body remains her primary medium. Today, she continues to teach her “Method” to new generations, ensuring that her legacy of presence and mindfulness persists in an increasingly digital world. Her influence extends beyond the gallery, impacting fashion, music, and pop culture, making her a singular force in the history of art.