Entertainment News3 min(s) read
Harry Potter actress Jessie Cave has opened up about the financial pressures that led her to join OnlyFans, admitting she initially felt “embarrassed” about turning to the platform to support her family.
Cave, best known for playing Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter franchise, revealed that acting work has not always provided the steady income many people might have assumed.
Appearing on UK daytime programme This Morning, the actress said there is a common misconception that actors are automatically wealthy.
“People just assume I’m rich and I have loads of money and no I don’t,” Cave explained.
She admitted that struggling financially had been difficult, particularly while raising four children and dealing with the high cost of childcare.
“So it was embarrassing because on a certain level, I would have really liked to get a job. But you know what it’s like, you have kids. It costs so much for childcare,” she claimed.
Cave acknowledged that turning to OnlyFans might seem like an unconventional career move, describing it as a “weird job”, but explained that she had been working sporadically throughout her career.
“It’s a very small proportion of people who can work regularly and I have done the odd job here and I have managed to keep afloat for 18 years,” she admitted.
She eventually reached a point where she needed another source of income, adding: “And then it just came to a moment a couple of years ago where I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I really don’t know what I would do,’ and this was an option.”
Cave has previously revealed just how lucrative the platform has been for her.
The actress said she earned £15,000 ($20,000) in a single day after joining OnlyFans, while claiming that her total earnings during her time on the platform have surpassed what she made throughout her entire acting career.
She initially expected the account to be a short-term solution.
“I thought I’d make five grand, be on it for a few months and it would buy me time to work out what we’re going to do,” she told The Times.
“But it’s now been over a year and a half and it’s genuinely saved our lives.”
Despite OnlyFans being widely associated with adult content, Cave uses her account to share non-explicit content centred around her exceptionally long hair, including videos of herself brushing and styling it.
She said the experience has also helped her become more comfortable with her appearance.
“It’s definitely made me more confident as a woman,” Cave said.
“I’ve always just been very awkward, very, very weird. And this has kind of made me be like, ‘Oh, I can actually just do a photo of myself and try and look hot. That’s quite nice,’ which I’m in control of.”
Cave has credited Lily Allen and Kate Nash, who have also used OnlyFans to generate additional income, with helping inspire her to create an account.
While she has embraced the financial benefits, Cave stressed that she continues to pursue acting and performing outside of the platform.
“This is how I’m making a living as an artist which... I want to have less shame about it,” she added.
“I want other people who do weird art like me, I want them to know that there is some way of still making [it].”
