On Dec. 30, 2015, Lainey Wilson was a struggling Nashville songwriter with no major label deal and no hits. That night she posted a joke to her X (then Twitter) account: she hated when she gained ten pounds for a role and then realized she wasn’t even an actor.
Less than seven years later, Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan wrote a part specifically for her. Ten years later, she was on a Hollywood red carpet for her first feature film. The tweet is still up, and we couldn’t find anyone who has written about it.
From “Not Even an Actor” to Two Screen Roles: The Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Dec. 30, 2015 | Wilson jokes that she gained ten pounds for a role, then realized she isn’t even an actor |
| 2018 | She signs a publishing deal with Sony/ATV and a record deal with BBR Music Group |
| September 2021 | “Things a Man Oughta Know” becomes her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, while she is still broke |
| February 2022 | Taylor Sheridan calls to tell her he is creating a Yellowstone character just for her |
| Nov. 13, 2022 | She makes her acting debut as Abby in the Yellowstone season 5 premiere |
| March 13, 2026 | Her feature film debut, Universal’s Reminders of Him, opens in theaters, with Wilson as Amy |
Wilson has said Sheridan phoned her in February 2022 and told her he was creating a character specifically for her. Her reaction, by her own account, was to thank God and Taylor Sheridan. Abby, a musician who wears bell bottoms and sings Wilson’s own songs, went on to appear in five episodes of the show’s final season. It was the first acting job she ever had.
Then came the movies. In Reminders of Him, the Colleen Hoover adaptation that opened on March 13, 2026, she plays Amy, who hires the main character, Kenna, and becomes her friend. Her first line in the trailer is “What’s your trauma?” Not bad for someone who, a decade earlier, was making jokes about not being an actor.
It Wasn’t a One-Off: Her 2015 Feed Was a Dad Joke Factory
Scroll back through Wilson’s account and the “actor” tweet fits right in. In the last few months of 2015 she was posting the kind of corny one-liners you’d expect from a favorite uncle, not a future CMA Entertainer of the Year.
In October 2015, she gave an old joke a fresh airing:
In November, during deer season, she announced from her stand that a mosquito was about to get shot, tagging it #aintscared and #getoutmystand. Later that day she followed up: her belly wouldn’t stop growling that morning, so a “skeeter” was all she saw.
In December, she wrote her own tongue twister and gave herself credit for it with #justmadethisup and #yourwelcome:
And just before Christmas, she posted a heartfelt tribute to every item of clothing she’d left behind at other people’s houses:
That humor never left. Years later, when a clip of her performing in bell bottoms went viral and the internet would not stop talking about her backside, she answered by posting an edited photo of herself driving a dump truck. The jokes got bigger audiences, but they are the same jokes.
The Wholesome Part: Answering Fans One by One
By late 2018 Wilson had a record deal but was still years from her first No. 1. Her replies from that stretch show an artist treating every fan like the only one. When a fan reached out in November 2018, she thanked them, asked where they were based, and said she might play a show near them soon so she could perform the song live for them and their friends.
The same weeks are full of replies like “thank you from the bottom of my heart” and calling a fan’s message “one of the biggest compliments I’ve ever had.” In December 2018 she posted a simple line, “Being busy is a good thing,” and on Dec. 18 she thanked CMT with the hashtag #CMTListenUp and a prediction: 2019 was going to be “one helluva ride.” She was right about that one too.
From Broke Jokester to an Estimated $18 Million
The funniest part of the 2015 tweets is how little money was behind them. Wilson moved to Nashville in 2011 and released two albums on small labels in 2014 and 2016 before anything took off. She has said she was so broke in 2021, even with a song on the radio, that her sister had to send her a couple hundred dollars on Venmo.
Five years on, the picture is very different. We estimate Lainey Wilson’s net worth at $18 million, built almost entirely since 2022.
| Then (2015) | Now (2026) |
|---|---|
| No major label deal | Signed to BBR Music Group since 2018, with five Country Airplay No. 1s |
| Joking that she isn’t an actor | Yellowstone’s Abby and Amy in Reminders of Him |
| No hits on the radio | $62.3 million in reported tour grosses from October 2024 to March 2026 (Billboard Boxscore) |
| Tweeting dad jokes before anyone knew her name | Two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year and a Grammy winner |
| Broke enough to need help from her sister as late as 2021 | An estimated $18 million net worth (likely range $12.5 million to $26.5 million) |
Most of that came from touring, with record and songwriting royalties, brand deals with names like Coors Light and Wrangler, her Nashville venue Bell Bottoms Up, and her screen work on top. Our full Lainey Wilson net worth breakdown shows every income lane we counted and the sources behind each one.
How We Found These Posts
Every post quoted here comes from Wilson’s own verified account, @laineywilson, which she joined in May 2011, and each one was still public when we checked in October 2026. We quote her words exactly and embed the original posts so you can see them for yourself. Her account shows no posts between early 2016 and late 2017.
Watch out for copycats: X is full of accounts posing as country stars, some of them carrying blue checks. If you see a Lainey Wilson screenshot that isn’t linked to @laineywilson, treat it with caution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Lainey Wilson tweet that she wasn’t an actor?
Yes. On Dec. 30, 2015, she posted a joke about gaining ten pounds for a role and then realizing she wasn’t even an actor. She made her acting debut on Yellowstone almost seven years later, in November 2022.
Who does Lainey Wilson play on Yellowstone?
She plays Abby, a touring country musician who starts a romance with ranch hand Ryan. Taylor Sheridan created the role for her, and Abby appears in five episodes of season 5, starting with the premiere.
What movie is Lainey Wilson in?
Her feature film debut is Reminders of Him, Universal’s adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel, released on March 13, 2026. She plays Amy, who hires the main character, Kenna, and becomes her friend.
How much is Lainey Wilson worth?
We estimate her net worth at $18 million as of October 2026, with a likely range of $12.5 million to $26.5 million. It is a model built from her reported tour grosses, record certifications and brand deals rather than a figure she has confirmed.
Sources
- Lainey Wilson’s posts on X, @laineywilson (linked individually above)
- Country Now, Lainey Wilson Lands Co-Starring Role On Season Five Of Yellowstone
- NBC Insider, Who Does Lainey Wilson Play in Yellowstone?
- TV Insider, Lainey Wilson Teases Acting Debut in Season 5
- Holler, Lainey Wilson Discusses Her Role in Reminders of Him
- ABC News Radio, Your First Look at Lainey Wilson in Reminders of Him
- McClatchy via Mahoning Matters, Lainey Wilson’s dump truck response
