Emmy-winning actor Drea de Matteo has opened up further about the reasons behind her move into OnlyFans, explaining how financial pressure pushed her into a very different line of work in her early 50s.
De Matteo is best known for playing Adriana La Cerva in The Sopranos — the devoted, long-suffering girlfriend of Christopher Moltisanti, who dreams of making it as both a mobster and a writer.
Her profile from the series led to more high-level TV work, including a starring role on Friends spinoff Joey, plus appearances on Sons of Anarchy and Desperate Housewives. But despite earning an Emmy for her work on The Sopranos, she has said opportunities became less consistent in recent years.
In a recent interview, the 54-year-old described how the Covid pandemic and the SAG-AFTRA strikes affected the industry and contributed to a slowdown in jobs. With mounting pressure at home — including a lien on her house and limited income — she told People she made the decision to try adult modeling as a way to keep her household afloat and support her children.
She admitted the choice initially felt overwhelming and risky, especially when thinking about the potential knock-on effects for her family.
“At first I was petrified.
“I was like, holy s***. I just black listed myself. But all I really cared about was the implications it might pose on the kids.”
According to de Matteo, her children supported the move more than she expected, despite her being 51 at the time. She suggested they took a practical view: if public-facing photos and glamour shoots are already common in entertainment, doing similar content through a paid platform could actually provide real financial stability.
She also said her initial plan was to keep the content relatively tame — and that her kids were the ones encouraging her to start with simpler posts.
“The kids were the ones who were like, ‘Do this. Show your feet. Do selfies! J. Lo and the Kardashians are always in their bikinis online, why not you?’”
De Matteo said the financial impact was immediate. She explained that she was able to clear the lien on her home within a remarkably short period, and suggested many subscribers were longtime fans from her Sopranos days.
“I made $75k in 75 minutes and was able to pay off the lien on my house,” Matteo shared, admitting that she believed a large amount of this cash came from ‘Sopranos fans’.
She also spoke about the surprise of getting that level of attention at this stage in her life, noting that she didn’t expect the response she received.
“But I was 50 at that time. Now I’m 54. It’s like Granny Sports Illustrated!” Adding: “But it keeps me in shape. It turns out I like prancing around in panties and high heels! It’s hard, but it’s fun.”
More recently, she said she decided to take things further on the platform by shooting her first fully nude images. Even so, she framed it as a personal leap rather than something that came naturally to her as an actor.
“I’d never even taken my clothes off for television, but I actually went for it, and it was fine,