Jessie Cave has revealed that she earned more money during a single year of posting videos on OnlyFans than she made throughout her entire acting career. The 39-year-old performer, who is widely recognized for her portrayal of Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter franchise, turned to the subscription-based platform last year while navigating financial struggles and rejection within the entertainment industry, she revealed in an interview with The Times.
While OnlyFans is often associated with adult material, it is also a hub for creators who share non-sexual content. Cave made it clear from the beginning that her account would not be “a sexual one” and would instead focus on “sensual” videos of her hair. She spent her time posting videos of herself brushing her long hair, which resonated enough with subscribers to provide a significant financial shift for her family.
Cave, who has four children with her comedian fiance Alfie Brown, reached what she described as “a point of complete desperation” after facing an audition rejection. She noted that she could not simply take a standard retail job because of the costs associated with childcare. She also expressed a desire to avoid the public attention that would come with such a role, stating, “I couldn’t go and, say, work in a supermarket because I can’t afford the childcare, and also I don’t want people shouting Harry Potter spells at me as I work at Tesco.”
The financial pressure was mounting, and Cave felt she had reached a breaking point
“I could retrain but I can’t afford to do a degree. I had a breakdown and I thought, that’s it with acting, I give up. But also we have no money. It was a point of complete desperation.” She initially intended to use the platform for only a few months to earn “five grand” and gain some breathing room to figure out her next steps. Instead, the income she generated has, in her words, “genuinely saved our lives”.
The mechanics of her success are straightforward. Subscribers pay $6 each month for access to her hairbrushing videos, and she generates additional revenue through “paid-for messages”. The results were immediate. Within a single day, she managed to earn back the £15,000 she had spent on accommodation at the Edinburgh Fringe the year prior. Reflecting on her earnings, she confirmed that she has “earned more, easily, than my entire acting career within one year”.
Despite this success, Cave acknowledges the stigma attached to the platform. She admitted that she initially “didn’t really understand the risk of people thinking I’m doing porn”. This stigma has had tangible consequences for her professional life.
Last year, she explained in her Substack that she had been excluded from a fan convention because of her account. “I found out that I didn’t get booked for a Harry Potter convention recently, as I’m now doing OnlyFans,” she wrote.
The organizers cited the family-friendly nature of the event as the reason for her exclusion. She found the logic frustrating, noting, “They explained it was because it’s a ‘family show and OnlyFans is affiliated with porn,’” she added. “This was baffling to me as some actors who do conventions (most actors, actually) have done TV and films in which they’ve done sex scenes and nudity. I’m just playing with my hair!”
Cave is certainly not the only celebrity exploring this path. Other figures in the entertainment industry have used the platform for various projects. In 2024, singer Lily Allen used OnlyFans to share photos of her feet with subscribers, and musician Kate Nash has utilized her account to help fund her live tours.
Published: Aug 12, 2026 07:15 pm