Actress Drea de Matteo's Kids Talked Her Into OnlyFans, Now She Can't Stop Making Money

If you’ve ever watched the hit show The Sopranos, chances are the name Drea de Matteo sounds familiar to you. The New York-born actress (who is of Italian heritage) won an Emmy for her portrayal of Adriana La Cerva, the fiery, no-nonsense love interest of Christopher Moltisanti and many fans’ favorite character. She says she was down on her luck in 2023, when her kids pointed her towards a new chapter that would, as she put it, change her life.

When most people think of extraordinary actors, they think of actors that have been recognized for their skills. They may further think that those award-winning actors are set for life when it comes to finances, but de Matteo says this isn’t always true, especially in her case. “People think I’m made of f*cking money,” de Matteo exclaimed with her trademark New York brashness. “Everyone sees me coming, they’re like, “Here comes that rich b*tch from The Sopranos.’ And it’s like, no, I’m not at all. In fact, you know, I live a pretty f*cking normal life.” 

To hear de Matteo tell it, she says Hollywood turned their collective back on her after the COVID pandemic. de Matteo openly refused to receive the vaccine and vehemently opposed any mandates proposed by public health officials. This stance, she says, resulted in her being dropped by her agent and most show offers being rescinded. To add insult to injury, her house flooded and, she says, “We knew that the foreclosure was around the corner.” 

To get away from the impending financial doom, de Matteo took her children on a vacation to Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Upon their return, “The kids were like, ‘Show your feet on OnlyFans,’” de Matteo recalled. 

An hour and fifteen minutes after her first picture - a tasteful bikini pic - de Matteo had made $75,000.

The actress originally intended to use the OnlyFans money to start a podcast. She ended up having enough to start the podcast, pay the lien on her house and fund just about anything for years to come. de Matteo joined OnlyFans despite her disdain for social media, something she’s glad she overcame. “I figured, ‘OK, so everybody’s in their underwear and being sexy on Instagram and I don’t do that, but I can do that and get paid for it’… I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner.” 

Not only did OnlyFans alleviate all of de Matteo’s financial troubles, it allowed her to “get back” at those who refused to hire her after her COVID debacle. “In some ways, the OnlyFans page was almost like a political statement on my part in a way… It was like, ‘F*ck you. I don’t have to work.’”

de Matteo isn’t the only actress to have made a killing on OnlyFans. It was widely reported that Shannon Elizabeth, from American Pie and Scary Movie made $1.2 million in just seven days on the platform. Jessie Cave, an actress known for Harry Potter, eclipsed her entire career’s earnings on OnlyFans, she also got a $20,000 paycheck from her first day.

As of this writing, de Matteo’s OnlyFans page has nearly 205,000 likes on her 773 posts. She charges new subscribers $15 a month, offering subscription bundles of 3 months, 6 months and 12 months, discounted at 15% off, 30% off and 40% off, respectively. 

de Matteo’s children didn’t just provide the impetus for her to join the platform, they’re still helping her out today. She revealed on a recent podcast appearance that her 13 year-old son helps her edit the content that ends up going on her OnlyFans account. 

While de Matteo credits her family for inspiring her to join OnlyFans, the success she’s now enjoying is very much her own.