Sopranos star opened an OnlyFans when her home was in danger
When work slowed down and her financial situation became complicated, Drea de Matteo found an unexpected source of income to save her home.
Drea de Matteo, who played Adriana in "The Sopranos," says that during the COVID period she faced financial distress, received foreclosure notices on her home, and eventually opened an OnlyFans account.
According to her, the account quickly became a source of income that helped her close a $75,000 lien that remained on the house. She shared this in a conversation with Jamie Kennedy on the podcast "Hate to Break It to Ya."
"People think I'm made of money"
De Matteo, who played Adriana La Cerva in "The Sopranos" and won an Emmy for the role, said that the success of the series did not make her financially secure as people assumed.
"People think I'm made of money," she said, adding that she actually lives a "pretty normal life." According to her, she returned to work mainly when she needed money for the mortgage and expenses.
During the COVID period, the situation became complicated. De Matteo said there were small job offers, some in Canada, but she could not accept them because she was not vaccinated. De Matteo said her agent stopped representing her, explaining to her manager: "She's not going to get vaccinated. There's nothing we can do for her right now."
The house was flooded and the foreclosure progressed
At the same time, de Matteo took a deferment on mortgage payments. According to her, after receiving the first foreclosure notice, she was told by the mortgage company that there was no reason to worry. Then another notice arrived, and she realized the situation was already urgent. At that time, the house was also flooded, making it harder to sell.
De Matteo said that she eventually managed to get out of the foreclosure process, but a $75,000 lien remained on the house. According to her, the OnlyFans account helped her close the remaining lien.
Children suggested feet
The OnlyFans account was not born as a plan to post photos. De Matteo said she wanted to use the platform as a place for a podcast behind a paywall, partly because of her fear of censorship on other platforms.
When she returned with the children from a short trip to Tahoe, they suggested to her: "Just upload pictures of your feet." Eventually, she uploaded a bikini photo. De Matteo herself was not sure during the conversation if the photo also appeared on Instagram or only on OnlyFans. According to her, "I uploaded a photo, and within 75 minutes the lien was paid."
"Almost like a political statement"
De Matteo also described the account as a backlash against the Hollywood system. "In some ways, the OnlyFans page was almost like a political statement on my part," she said. Later, she phrased her mindset much less politely: "Go f*** yourselves. I don't have to work. I don't have to work for your corporation."
According to her, the money from the account allowed her to also fund her podcast and the "Ultra Free" t-shirt venture. De Matteo said that until the time of the interview, she had posed fully nude only once, as part of a protest shoot.
She also treats the account largely as "Adriana's fan page," because a large part of the audience still comes to her through the character.
And Hollywood? She actually wants to return
During the crisis, de Matteo told herself that she had no interest in returning to the Hollywood system. In the conversation with Kennedy, she sounded different. "I just want to go back to acting," she said, describing the longing for the ability to get into character again and engage in "make-believe."
