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Updated: May 25, 2023

Comment How To Make Money Online

She’d Earned $5 Million By Age 30 (But…)

Adelaide Kane
  • $5 million gross earnings by age 30

Ever heard of Adelaide Kane?

She’s an 🇦🇺 Australian actress probably best known for playing Mary, Queen of Scots in a show called Reign.

Here she is in a 1-minute video revealing how much she has earned and spent over the years.

Apparently she got paid about $20,000 an episode for Reign. Having starred in 78 episodes, that works out to…

$1.56 million for four years of work… assuming that I’ve made $5 million in my entire career since I started working at 16, here is how that breaks down…

  • 10% goes to her agent
  • 10% goes to her manager
  • 5% goes to her lawyer
  • 5% goes to her business manager
  • 30% goes to taxes

That leaves her 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 would be fine, a good wage. Except I have to pay rent in major cities, sometimes two cities at once.

I have to pay a publicist, which is usually $2000 to $3000 a month. When I’ve had social media teams that’s been around $2000 a month. Stylists run anywhere from $700 to $1500 an outfit, and hair and makeup is about $1000 [a month].

Even with all those expenses she’s still earning a good living, but nowhere near as good as “$20,000 an episode” would lead you to believe.

This is also common with VC startups: some get acquired for $100’s of millions and it’s easy to assume that the founders end up super rich. But often they only own a small percentage of the company by the time it sells 😕

Back to Adelaide Kane, and apparently she had a follow-up video where she said…

Every actor I know saves as much as humanly possible, because most of us go for months or sometimes years at a time between jobs.

And we do get residuals, but… So, I’m fine, but my savings won’t last forever, do you know what I mean?

Adelaide has built up her own media empire online over the years…

Pretty smart way to mitigate the ups and downs of an acting career. 

With that kind of following she could earn a good living from ads and sponsorships if needed 😎

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About The Author
Niall Doherty – Founder and Lead Editor of eBiz Facts Born and raised in Ireland, Niall has been making a living from his laptop since quitting his office job in 2010. He's fond of basketball, once spent 44 months traveling around the world without flying, and has been featured in such publications as The Irish Times and Huffington Post. Read more...

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