'Sopranos' star Drea de Matteo reveals why she turned to OnlyFans amid financial struggles

Drea de Matteo says she has earned tens of thousands of dollars per month through OnlyFans

Drea de Matteo has opened up about the financial difficulties that led her to launch an OnlyFans account, revealing that the platform helped her save her home from foreclosure.

The actress, best known for playing Adriana La Cerva on The Sopranos, said she initially created the account in 2023 with a very different purpose. She and her team had planned to use OnlyFans to host a podcast because she was concerned about being censored on other platforms.

However, de Matteo said she was facing serious financial problems at the time, with her home at risk of foreclosure. The situation became more complicated when the property flooded, making it difficult for her to sell it quickly.

"We were going to do the podcast on there and so I set up the page and we were in a really bad spot," de Matteo recalled during an appearance on Jamie Kennedy's Hate to Break It to Ya podcast. She said the family knew foreclosure was approaching.

After her children encouraged her to try posting content on the platform, de Matteo shared a bikini photo. She said the response was almost immediate and that a $75,000 lien on her home was paid within 75 minutes.

Since then, de Matteo says she has earned tens of thousands of dollars per month through OnlyFans. She has used some of the money to fund her podcast as well as her T-shirt company, ULTRAFREE. 

The actress said her decision to join the platform also became a form of independence after she experienced professional setbacks. De Matteo has been outspoken against COVID-19 vaccination mandates and said she was dropped by her agent over her position during the pandemic.

She also pushed back against the perception that her years on The Sopranos left her wealthy. Although she won an Emmy for playing Adriana, de Matteo said she does not live the lavish lifestyle some people assume.

"People think I'm made of f---ing money," she said, explaining that she lives a "pretty f---ing normal life" and needed the OnlyFans income to deal with the lien on her house. 

De Matteo has also embraced the connection between her OnlyFans page and her most famous role. She joked that she considers it "Adriana's fan page", saying that fans continue to have a strong attachment to her Sopranos character.

The actress previously revealed that her children supported her decision to join OnlyFans, with her daughter also helping with the page. De Matteo said her family views the move as a way of refusing to give up when she was facing financial pressure.