‘Sopranos’ star Drea de Matteo reveals why she joined OnlyFans at age 51
Drea de Matteo decided to join OnlyFans due in part to her refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The 51-year-old “Sopranos” actress shared in a recent interview with Fox Digital that her career took a significant blow after her agent dropped her and she almost lost her house because she chose not to comply with Hollywood’s vaccine mandates. She expressed her surprise at the sudden need for a change of life during a time when she should be relaxing, and how she had to switch careers and figure things out on her own because the industry considered her a “savage” for not following the rules. She expressed her desire to not be at the mercy of mandates or strikes in the future and referred to herself as a “warrior” who will not accept defeat.
De Matteo charges a monthly subscription fee of $15 on OnlyFans. She explained that she decided to join the platform because she noticed that many people on social media, particularly Instagram, were posting sexy content and getting paid for it. She realized that she could do the same and get compensated for it. She expressed her regret for not thinking of this sooner.
Last month, De Matteo announced her creation of an OnlyFans account with a subscription fee of $15 per month. She referred to herself as “THE SOPORNOS ;-)” in the account description. De Matteo gained fame for her role as Adriana La Cerva on “The Sopranos”.
De Matteo also saw OnlyFans as a way to support her children, 15-year-old daughter Alabama Gypsyrose and 12-year-old son Waylon Albert “Blackjack”, whom she shares with her ex Shooter Jennings. She emphasized that her children have always been her top priority and that she is a strong supporter of stay-at-home moms and women who choose to focus on raising their children. She stated that if she had known she could work from her closet her whole life, she would have done so.
Despite facing criticism for sharing bikini photos on the platform, De Matteo brushed it off and referred to herself as a warrior who doesn’t accept defeat. She also co-hosts a podcast and has a collaboration with Nocking Point Wines. She revealed in a previous interview that she never earned a significant amount of money from acting, even though she starred in shows like “Joey” and “Desperate Housewives”. She disclosed that she was only paid $500 per episode for the first season of “The Sopranos”. Although her pay increased after joining the main cast in Season 2, she didn’t make much money from the show overall. De Matteo also mentioned that the cast doesn’t receive residuals from the show, which aired from 1999 to 2007. Despite winning the 2004 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role in “The Sopranos”, she admitted that she didn’t spend enough time on the show to make a substantial amount of money.
Drea de Matteo joined OnlyFans in part because she refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
The “Sopranos” alum, 51, shared in a recent interview with Fox Digital that her career took a serious hit after her agent dropped her and she “almost” lost her house due to her decision to not comply with Hollywood’s vaccine mandates.
“I didn’t know this was going to have to be a change of life, you know, all of a sudden that during a time I’m supposed to be relaxing a little bit, that I would have to switch careers and figure new things out because my own industry thinks I’m, you know, a savage,” she said.
“I guess you could say I was a bad girl because I did not follow the rules a couple of years ago. So, I don’t want to be at the mercy of mandates or strike or anything like that ever again.”
De Matteo, who regularly posts on X (formerly known as Twitter) about her controversial views on vaccines, explained why she ultimately decided to strip down and join the subscription-based platform.
“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,” she shared.
Last month, De Matteo announced that she was creating an OnlyFans account, which charges $15 a month and simply reads, “THE SOPORNOS ;-).”
She also saw the sexy site as a way to provide for her kids, daughter Alabama Gypsyrose, 15, and son Waylon Albert “Blackjack,” 12, whom she shares with ex Shooter Jennings.
“My kids have always been my number one focus,” she shared. “Had I known that I could work out of my closet my whole life, I never would have [believed].
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“I know that might sound crazy and might sound somewhat lazy, but I am a very big supporter of stay-at-home moms and women who really love to raise their children. I balanced it all, and I’ve done it all.”
The “Sons of Anarchy” actress has shrugged off the criticism over her sharing bikini snaps.
“I know some people have said some nasty things about me having joined OnlyFans,” she said. “But, you know, the way we see it in this house is mommy’s a warrior, not accepting defeat.”
De Matteo, who also co-hosts a podcast and has a collaboration with Nocking Point Wines, claimed that she never earned the big bucks from acting despite starring in the “Friends” spinoff “Joey” and “Desperate Housewives.”
In a 2021 interview with TheFantasyTimes, she revealed that she was only paid $500 an episode for the first season of “The Sopranos.” However, after De Matteo joined the main cast in Season 2, she saw a pay increase.
“Then I made a couple of thousand and then probably by the end is when I started making series quotes but that money came and went immediately,” she said, adding the cast doesn’t receive residuals from the show, which ran from 1999 to 2007.
“I didn’t spend enough time on the show to really make money,” she admitted.
In the crime drama television series, the mom of two played Adriana La Cerva — the long-suffering girlfriend opposite Michael Imperioli’s Christopher Moltisanti. De Matteo won the 2004 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her work on the HBO show.
