Drea de Matteo has claimed that she earned enough money to pay off her mortgage debt in "five minutes" after joining OnlyFans.
The 52-year-old Emmy-winning actress - best known for starring as Adriana La Cerva on the HBO drama The Sopranos - opened up about launching an account on the subscription page in August 2023.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the mother of two claimed that she only had $10 in her bank account after her refusal to get vaccinated for COVID-19 left her out of work.
Further complicating her financial situation, De Matteo disclosed that she had run out of funds to care for a parent with dementia when she decided to give the subscription-based content creator platform a try.
The Desperate Housewives alum told the publication that the risqué 18+ service "saved" her and her family, adding: "Anybody that wants to condemn me and put me down, go for it. I just hope you never find yourself in the position I was in to take care of two little kids."
"It saved my home of many years that was very important to us. And beyond all that, it has given me enough money to start up and finance ULTRAFREE," she added, referencing her business.
De Matteo had found herself in a difficult situation after taking a forbearance to help with her mortgage repayments. She soon realized that she couldn't afford the staggering sum that she owed collectors.
"They put me into foreclosure and my house had flooded, so I was trying to sell the house quickly," she explained. "I wanted to try and sell it before they took it."
"At the same time, I lost my mom, and my other mom, who has dementia, had run out of money for her caregiver. I didn’t know which way was up," she shared.
Uploading racy photos to OnlyFans was an idea that took the Sons of Anarchy actress some getting used to. But once she took the plunge, it didn't take long for her to see the money come rolling in.
"I kept putting more pictures up. I was like, holy s***t. In five minutes, I was able to pay back Compass Real Estate who kept the sale of my house," she recalled, noting: "I did it, but I didn’t want to do it. I got a lot of heat for doing it and it went f***ing viral and people went nuts."
De Matteo revealed to the outlet that she first thought of starting an account after she and her husband, Michael Devin, toyed around with the idea of creating a controversial podcast.
"I mean, the original premise to open the OnlyFans was Robbie and I were gonna do a podcast on there that was controversial," she explained. "We wanted to put it behind a paywall so to not be destroyed in the media for it."
"That was what it was going to be originally, you know, like with him rubbing my feet because you have to add a little something for OnlyFans in there," she shared.
Now, De Matteo says she's found a new sense of empowerment from the platform, on top of the financial freedom she's received.
"It feels good to see those photos," she gushed. "They might be touched up here and there but the truth is they videotape me going live when we do the photoshoot so fans can see the photo shoot happening in real time."
She has also cracked the code when it comes to looking her best in her content as bulks up by indulging in "spaghetti and pasta and steak," explaining: "You want your boobs to be big and your butt to be big. Otherwise, the photos are a snooze fest."