Naomi Nelson is an American filmmaker, director, writer, and producer who has worked mainly behind the scenes in film and television. She is known for her work on projects including Carnivàle, Fifth Star, and V/H/S/Halloween. IMDb lists her credits across directing, writing, producing, and additional crew roles.
Nelson became more widely known because of her former marriage to Johnny Knoxville, the actor, comedian, and Jackass star. The couple married on September 24, 2010, and have two children together, Rocko Akira Clapp and Arlo Clapp. Knoxville filed for divorce in June 2022, and their divorce was finalized in 2024.
Bio Table
| Full Name | Naomi Nelson |
|---|---|
| Born | August 20, 1980, in Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Age | 46 (as of 2026) |
| Occupation | Director, producer, writer |
| Notable Credits | Assistant to producers on HBO’s “Carnivàle” (2005 season); co-director of the 2009 “Reel Grrls” documentary compilation; writer, director, and on-screen participant in “Fifth Star” (2010); additional crew credit on “V/H/S/Halloween” (2025) |
| Spouse | Johnny Knoxville (born Philip John Clapp), stunt performer, actor, and “Jackass” co-creator; married September 24, 2010 |
| Stepdaughter | Madison, from Johnny Knoxville’s earlier relationship |
| Children | Son Rocco (born late 2009/early 2010, ahead of the wedding); daughter Arlo Clapp (born October 2011) |
| Separation | September 24, 2021 — their eleventh wedding anniversary |
| Divorce Filed | June 17, 2022, by Johnny Knoxville |
| Divorce Finalized | August 9, 2024 |
| Net Worth | No reliable figure exists; one source claims $2.5–5 million with no supporting basis, while another states plainly that no net worth has been publicly disclosed |
Who Is Naomi Nelson?
Naomi Nelson is an American filmmaker, director, writer, and producer who has primarily worked behind the camera in film and television. She is known for her work on HBO’s Carnivàle, the documentary short Fifth Star (2010), and more recently V/H/S/Halloween (2025). Her professional credits include directing, writing, producing, and production work.
Nelson is also widely recognized because of her former marriage to Johnny Knoxville, the actor, comedian, and Jackass star. The couple married in September 2010 and had two children together, Rocko and Arlo. Their divorce was finalized in August 2024.
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Naomi Nelson’s Background
Very little reliable information is publicly available about Nelson’s early childhood, parents, siblings, and education. Some websites report that she was born on August 20, 1980, but this date is not strongly confirmed by authoritative biographical sources, so it is better treated as an unverified report rather than a definite fact.
Her documented professional background is clearer. Nelson worked as an assistant to producers on Carnivàle in 2005. She later became involved with Reel Grrls, a filmmaking organization, and co-directed documentary shorts in 2009. In 2010, she directed Fifth Star, a documentary about the women’s suffrage movement in Washington State.
Nelson has generally maintained a low public profile and has kept much of her personal life private. Although her marriage to Knoxville brought her considerable public attention, her own career has remained centered on filmmaking and production rather than celebrity appearances. Her IMDb profile also lists a 2025 producer credit for V/H/S/Halloween, showing that her connection to the film industry continued after her divorce.
A Real Filmmaking Career, Built Before the Marriage
Naomi Nelson’s career in entertainment isn’t a footnote to her marriage it predates it by years. According to IMDb and corroborated by Bustle’s reporting, her first industry credit came as a producer’s assistant on the second season of HBO’s “Carnivàle,” a well-regarded fantasy drama set during the Great Depression that ran from 2003 to 2005. She stepped away from screen credits for several years afterward before returning in 2009 to co-direct a compilation of documentary shorts for Reel Grrls, a Seattle-based nonprofit that teaches filmmaking and media literacy skills to teenage girls work that speaks to a genuine interest in mentorship and youth media education, not just industry networking.
Her most substantial personal project came in 2010: “Fifth Star,” a short documentary she wrote, directed, and appeared in, covering how women secured the right to vote in Washington State during the height of the suffrage movement. It’s a specific, historically grounded subject that suggests real creative and research investment rather than a passion project thrown together for a résumé line. More recently, she’s credited with additional crew work on “V/H/S/Halloween” (2025), suggesting she’s remained at least occasionally active in the industry well after her more publicly documented projects from the 2000s and early 2010s.
Born in Knoxville, Married to a Man Named for the Same City
One detail that shows up consistently across sources, and is worth noting simply because it’s a genuinely interesting coincidence rather than invented color: Nelson was born August 20, 1980, in Knoxville, Tennessee the same city that gave Johnny Knoxville (born Philip John Clapp) his stage name, though he actually grew up there while she was simply born there before her family, by most accounts, moved elsewhere. One lower-quality source speculates that the two “likely crossed paths” growing up in the same city, but that framing is explicitly hedged as guesswork even in its own telling, and more careful sources instead describe the two meeting later, around 2007 or 2008, once Knoxville was already well established through “Jackass.” This piece treats the actual meeting timeline as the more reliable account and the “childhood connection” idea as unsupported speculation.
A Blended Family, and a Marriage That Ended Quietly
Nelson and Knoxville married on September 24, 2010. By that point, Nelson was already the mother of a son, Rocco, born roughly nine months before the wedding, with Knoxville as the father. The couple went on to have a daughter, Arlo Clapp, born in October 2011. Nelson also became stepmother to Madison, Knoxville’s daughter from an earlier relationship making theirs a genuinely blended family of five well before their own marriage’s later chapter played out.
That marriage ended without the kind of public drama that often accompanies celebrity divorces. Multiple sources describe the couple as having separated on September 24, 2021 their eleventh wedding anniversary, a detail specific enough and repeated enough to be treated as reliab with Knoxville formally filing for divorce on June 17, 2022. The divorce was finalized August 9, 2024, per IMDb’s records. Throughout that roughly three-year process, no source reviewed for this piece documents any public dispute, contentious filing, or specific stated reason for the split; several explicitly describe it as having stayed private and largely drama-free, which fits the broader pattern of Nelson keeping her life out of the press even during a major personal transition.
A Life That’s Stayed Deliberately Out of View
Since the separation, Nelson’s public profile has remained minimal. She doesn’t appear to have taken on any new high-profile projects, hasn’t given interviews discussing the marriage or divorce, and multiple sources describe her as continuing to focus primarily on raising her children. Claims about her exact current residence vary and aren’t consistently corroborated, and this piece isn’t treating any specific location as confirmed.
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Net Worth
The precise amount of Naomi Nelson’s wealth is not known to the public. Various celebrity-biography websites have published estimates ranging from about $2.5 million to $5 million, but there is not enough reliable financial information to confirm any specific figure.
Her income has been associated with her work as a filmmaker, director, writer, producer, and production professional, including projects such as Carnivàle and Fifth Star. Because Nelson keeps her finances private, it is more accurate to describe her net worth as an unofficial estimate rather than a confirmed amount.
FAQs
Who is Naomi Nelson?
She is a writer, producer, and film director, but her most well-known public persona is as the former spouse of “Jackass” actor Johnny Knoxville, with whom she was wed from 2010 until 2024.
What films has Naomi Nelson worked on?
She worked as a producer’s assistant on HBO’s “Carnivàle,” co-directed a 2009 Reel Grrls documentary compilation, wrote and directed the 2010 short “Fifth Star,” and has an additional crew credit on 2025’s “V/H/S/Halloween.”
When did Naomi Nelson marry Johnny Knoxville?
September 24, 2010.
Does Naomi Nelson have children?
Yes, a son, Rocco, and a daughter, Arlo Clapp, both with Johnny Knoxville. She’s also a stepmother to his daughter Madison from an earlier relationship.
When did Johnny Knoxville and Naomi Nelson get divorced?
Knoxville filed for divorce in June 2022 after they split up in September 2021, and the divorce was finalized in August 2024.
What is Naomi Nelson’s net worth?
No verified figure exists. Sources directly disagree, with one stating no net worth has been publicly disclosed and another citing an unsupported $2.5–5 million estimate.
Final Words
Despite leading a surprisingly secluded existence away from the spotlight, Naomi Nelson has established a career in filmmaking and producing. Her work on projects such as Carnivàle, Fifth Star, and V/H/S/Halloween shows that her professional identity extends beyond her connection to Johnny Knoxville.
Although her marriage to Knoxville brought her greater public attention, Nelson has largely kept her personal life and finances private. There is no trustworthy public estimate for her current net worth, and her divorce was finalized in 2024. Overall, Naomi Nelson remains best known as a filmmaker, producer, and former member of the Jackass star’s family, while much of her life continues to remain outside the public eye.
