Jessie Cave has opened up about the embarrassment she felt joining OnlyFans to support her family.
The “Harry Potter” actress, 39, appeared on the British daytime program “This Morning” on Thursday and admitted that turning to the subscription platform for income was a humbling experience after years of public assumptions about her wealth. Cave, who played Lavender Brown in the final three films of the wizarding franchise, explained that post-“Potter” acting work failed to provide financial stability for her household.
“People just assume I’m rich and I have loads of money, but no, I don’t,” Cave said during the interview, noting that smaller roles after the blockbuster series did not generate enough income to sustain her family. The actress shares four children with her partner, comedian Alfie Brown, and the cost of childcare made traditional employment impractical.
“It was embarrassing because, on a certain level, I would have really liked to get a job, but you know what it’s like [when] you have kids … it costs so much for childcare.”
Cave described her OnlyFans career as a “weird job” but emphasized that she “couldn’t really have done anything else” while raising four children. She explained that steady work remains elusive in the acting industry despite nearly two decades of professional experience.
“I have managed to keep afloat for 18 years,” Cave said. “And then, it just came to a moment a couple of years ago where I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I really don’t know what I would do,’ and this was an option.”
In March 2025, Cave announced on Instagram that she was launching a page on the subscription platform dedicated to hair content, which she described as a “fetish.” The announcement came with characteristic self-awareness about the unconventional career pivot.
“It’s niche, even for me,” Cave wrote in the caption. “Join me on this strange new journey.”
The financial results proved dramatic. Cave revealed earlier this month that she made £15,000, just over $20,000, in a single day on the platform. She told the UK Times that the one-day earnings exceeded her annual acting income, and her $6 monthly subscription fee has “genuinely saved [her family’s] lives.”
“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,” Cave told the outlet.
Despite initial hesitation, Cave said she has discovered unexpected value in the platform’s global community. She has found “so much beauty” in what she called the “fascinating world” of OnlyFans, noting the unique connections formed across distances.
“You’re engaging with people that you would never usually speak to all around the world.”
The actress also credited the platform with bolstering her self-image. Cave, who has described herself as “very awkward [and] very weird,” said the experience has helped boost her confidence as a woman.
The income has additionally supported her ongoing creative work. Cave shared on “This Morning” that the OnlyFans revenue helps fund her performances in one-woman shows, allowing her to continue her artistic pursuits while managing family responsibilities.
In the viral moment that preceded her television appearance, Cave’s OnlyFans presence generated significant attention when she revealed on her Substack that she had been barred from a “Harry Potter” fan convention because of her association with the platform. Organizers reportedly told her the event was a “family show and OnlyFans is affiliated with porn.” Cave pushed back on the decision, pointing out the inconsistency of banning her while actors with onscreen sex scenes and nudity regularly appear at such conventions. “I’m just playing with my hair!” She wrote. She added that she was “not upset about the prospect of no more ‘Harry Potter’ conventions” given the upcoming HBO series recasting and her 15 years of convention experience.
Cave’s podcast “Before We Break Up Again” has served as another platform for her to explain her motivations. On it, she framed the OnlyFans experiment as a one-year commitment with concrete goals beyond immediate income.
“One year. I’ll try for one year,” she said on the podcast. “My aim? To get the house safe, cover the arsenic/lead wallpaper, build a new roof, etc. My aim? To get out of debt. My aim? To empower myself? To prove to those in the past who have misjudged me that I’m not so sweet? To put time into something I never invested in before: self-love.”
Cave continues to perform her one-woman shows while managing her OnlyFans page and family life.