Actress on $15k an episode goes viral after revealing her true earnings

Theo Burman
actress on tiktok reveals earnings

An actress went viral on TikTok after she revealed the full breakdown of her income and expenses despite being paid $15k per episode for almost 80 episodes.

Actress Adelaide Kane, known for her role in Reign, went viral after she responded to a comment on her TikTok account asking her how her finances in the acting world worked out.

Her response revealed some serious expenditure on different parts of the acting world that she described as vital to her job.

Actress goes viral after revealing true earnings on TikTok

In her TikTok video, Kane said: “Say I did 78 episodes. That pairs out to $1.56 million for four years of work, so assuming I’ve made $5 million in my entire career since I started working at 16, here’s how that breaks down.

“10% goes to my agent, 10% goes to my manager, 5% goes to my lawyer, 5% goes to my business manager, and then I get taxed a further 30% because I’m a foreign national working in the US.

“So I lose 60% right off the bat, which leaves me with about $2.2 million over the last 14 years, which if you average it out comes down to $178,000-ish a year. Which is fine, good wage.

“Except that I have to pay rent in major cities, sometimes in two major cities at once, I have to pay a publicist, which is usally $2-3000 a month, when I’ve had social media teams thats been about $2000 a month. Stylists run anywhere from $1700 to $1500 an outfit, and hair and makeup is about $1000.

The comments were divided; some viewers thought the expenses made sense in the industry, while others thought it was still preferable to other types of work.

One watcher said: “I tell people often that many actors & actresses they think are “rich” are not…this is great…and it doesn’t even get into other expenses.”

Another countered: “You’re complaining to an app full of people who work at Burger King for $20k a year, I don’t think they’re hearing you.”

For more updates and news on TikTok, check out the recent arrest of Jackson Mahomes.

About The Author

Theo is one of Dexerto's Senior Writers, covering trending news and digital culture. He's an expert in social media trends, the rise of AI, and the influencer entertainment scene. He can be contacted at theo.burman@dexerto.com.