When I was 16-years-old, I was gearing up for my first job in catering. My mom had scrapped my allowance and told me that it was now time for me to go out and earn money for myself. Of course, I was devastated. But, PlayStation games needed to be bought and CD's needed to be listened to, so off I went into the big bad world of employment.
Working for a catering company, I spent the majority of my shift standing around smiling with a tray of champagne in my hand. While it may sound easy, it was long hours and pretending that you're constantly happy is no simple task. But, it was a job and I was earning money.
However, while I may have been delighted to be earning minimum wage and thinking that I was rich, it fails in comparison to what some teenagers are earning these days. The cast of Stranger Things are reportedly earning millions of dollars per series and now it's the turn of the girl behind Peppa Pig.
I'm not going to lie, I've never actually watched an episode of Peppa Pig, but I am well aware of what it is. Peppa is a young girl-pig who enjoys hanging out with her teddy bear and jumping in puddles. The five-minute animation has become hugely popular across the world, with it being shown in over 180 territories worldwide and being the most searched for programme on Google in 2015 (take that Game of Thrones!)
The girl behind the voice of Peppa is Harley Bird - a 16-year-old actor who has been voicing Peppa for 10 years. While Harley is undoubtedly on the road to success, she does say that her work-life balance can be hard to maintain.
"School does get in the way a bit," she says. "But we record a lot of the episodes in the summer. We get through them quite quickly and do maybe four a day. I've done 150 episodes now, maybe more."
However, those hours outside of school are well worth the time. If rumours are to be believed, Harley is raking in over $1,000 an hour for voicing Peppa.
A source told the Daily Star about Harley's earnings, with it being alleged that she is now in a position to buy a house.
They said: "Harley is the most successful teenage voiceover artist in Britain right now.
"She is hot property and easily earns £1,000 an hour.
"She’s also difficult to replace as she’s mature enough to be a great actress but still has the distinctive voice families around the world know as Peppa."
Despite her excessive earnings, Harley appears to have remained fairly modest throughout it all. Asked what she requests in her dressing room she says: "I don't have a dressing room. If I did I'd quite like a Pomeranian puppy."
Peppa Pig made £640m last year through global TV and merchandising revenue. While she's banned from talking about her earnings, Harley admits that she spends her money on "Sweets. I love chocolate."
So there you have it - a 16-year-old who voices an animated pig earns more money than we could ever imagine. What a time to be alive.
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