‘Harry Potter’ actress says joining OnlyFans for money was ’embarrassing’ despite massive payday
“Harry Potter” actress Jessie Cave had reservations about joining OnlyFans — but was struggling to make ends meet for her family.
During an appearance on the British daytime TV show “This Morning” on Thursday, Cave — who portrayed Ron Weasley’s first girlfriend, Lavender Brown, in the final three “Harry Potter” films — admitted it was “embarrassing” to open up about her financial struggles after starring in the hit franchise.
“People just assume I’m rich and I have loads of money, but no, I don’t,” the actress said, noting that the smaller roles she took on after “Harry Potter” didn’t bring in enough money to keep her family afloat.
“It was embarrassing because, on a certain level, I would have really liked to get a job, but you know what it’s like [when] you have kids … it costs so much for childcare.”
Cave — who shares four children with her partner, comedian Alfie Brown — described her OnlyFans career as a “weird job” but said she “couldn’t really have done anything else” while raising their family.
She explained that before joining OnlyFans, she took on different jobs to support herself because steady work is uncommon in the acting industry.
“I have managed to keep afloat for 18 years,” Cave, 39, said. “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.”
In March 2025, she announced on Instagram that she was launching a page on the online subscription platform dedicated to hair content, which she described as a “fetish.”
“It’s niche, even for me,” Cave wrote in the caption. “Join me on this strange new journey.”
Cave revealed earlier this month that she made £15,000 (just over $20,000) in one day.
She told the UK Times that the earnings were more than she had made from acting in a year, adding that her $6 monthly subscription fee has “genuinely saved [her family’s] lives.”
“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,” Cave told the outlet.
Although she was initially hesitant to join the platform, Cave said she has since discovered “so much beauty” in the “fascinating world” of OnlyFans.
She added, “You’re engaging with people that you would never usually speak to all around the world.”
The “Black Mirror” actress also said that being on OnlyFans has helped boost her confidence as a woman, noting that she has always been “very awkward [and] very weird.”
Cave also shared on “This Morning” that the income has helped support her work as an artist as she continues performing one-woman shows.
