Euphoria Star Sydney Sweeney Gets Candid About HBO Salary, Says She Has to Take Other Gigs to Make Ends Meet
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The breakout star of HBO’s Euphoria, Sydney Sweeney, says that despite being part of one of the most talked about television shows, she barely makes ends meet.
The actress spoke with The Hollywood Reporter for a feature article released Wednesday, and discussed her rise to fame and overcoming financial hardships.
Sweeney recalled growing up in a small family that struggled with money. When her family moved out to LA to help her pursue her dream of acting, her parents’ relationship began to fall apart. The actress tried to take any gig available as a teen to help pay the bills.
“I thought that if I made enough money, I’d be able to buy my parents’ house back and that I’d be able to put my parents back together. But when I turned 18, I only had $800 to my name. My parents weren’t back together and there was nothing I could do to help,” Sweeney told the magazine.
But even after landing the role of Cassie Howard in the HBO hit Euphoria, the money struggles have never fully disappeared. Even after packing her schedules with new movie and tv roles, Sweeney’s salary goes right back to her team, paying for her manager and publicist.
“If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don’t have income to cover that,” she told Hollywood Reporter. “I don’t have someone supporting me, I don’t have anyone I can turn to, to pay my bills or call for help.”
She continued, “The established stars still get paid, but I have to give 5 percent to my lawyer, 10 percent to my agents, 3 percent or something like that to my business manager. I have to pay my publicist every month, and that’s more than my mortgage.”
While Sweeney expressed her gratitude for being apart of such big projects, she has taken to accepting more brand deals than ever before. She says this was a choice out of necessity, “If I just acted, I wouldn’t be able to afford my life in L.A. I take deals because I have to.”
The actress has signed ambassador contracts with coveted luxury brands like Miu Miu and Tory Burch.
