Jessie Cave, the actress best known for playing Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter films, has revealed that her earnings from OnlyFans in a single year have surpassed what she made during her entire acting career. The 39-year-old mother of four turned to the subscription platform in March 2025 after her acting work dried up, describing the move as a 'point of complete desperation' in an interview with The Times.
A Career Shift Born of Necessity
Cave, who also appeared in Call the Midwife and on the West End, explained that last year work began to slow down significantly. She told The Times that she couldn't afford to pursue a new degree and was unable to take a supermarket job due to childcare costs and the fear of customers 'shouting Harry Potter spells' at her. She described having a 'breakdown' before joining OnlyFans, where she posts fully clothed 'hair content' – videos of herself brushing her waist-length hair while dressed as characters, including Lavender Brown.
Her first viral post attracted 3,500 subscribers, far exceeding her initial expectations. '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,' she said. 'But it's now been over a year and a half and it's genuinely saved our lives.'
The Niche Appeal of Hair Content
Cave's content focuses on her hair, which falls to her pelvis. 'My rule is the hair is the main character. That's how I justify it. It's literally about hair: the texture of hair. The fetish. It's very, very niche,' she explained. Subscribers pay $6 a month, with additional revenue from paid messages. Cave noted that on one day alone she earned £15,000, and over the year her total earnings exceeded her lifetime acting income.
Despite the financial success, Cave acknowledged that she is often asked to do 'gross stuff' on the platform, which she finds difficult. She does not produce explicit content and suspects her time on OnlyFans may be limited because she refuses to cross that line. Earlier this year, she underwent breast enlargement surgery, which she said her subscribers funded, partly because her hair 'can only do so much'.
A Career Spanning Film, TV, and Stage
Before landing the Harry Potter role, Cave acted in the CBBC drama Summerhill in 2008. She won the part of Lavender Brown through an open casting call, beating 7,000 other girls for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Her subsequent credits include Industry, Am I Being Unreasonable?, and Black Mirror. She also had long-running roles in the ITV sitcom Buffering and the Sky sitcom Trollied.
Cave's experience is part of a broader trend, with other artists like Kate Nash and Lily Allen also turning to OnlyFans to supplement their music careers. Cave anticipates that more artists will join the platform in the future, as traditional creative industries continue to offer uncertain income.
