The Sopranos star Drea de Matteo earned enough on OnlyFans to save her home in five minutes

The Sopranos star Drea de Matteo has said OnlyFans “saved her life” after she found herself with only $10 in the bank.

The actor played Adrianna La Cerva on the hit mafia drama and went on to have roles in Friends, Sons of Anarchy and Desperate Housewives.

Last year, she revealed she had been dropped by her agent for her stance on vaccinations and had been forced to find alternative means of income.

OnlyFans is a content subscription service, which allows users to scubscribe to individual creators. Established in 2016, the platform has become known for creators selling explicit and pornographic videos and images.

De Matteo, who shares risqué content with subscribers on the platform, said she was reluctant to join the subscription service. She was, however, able to save her home from foreclosure within five minutes, according to the Daily Mail, as fans flocked to subscribe for $15 a month. She has since opened streetwear label ULTRAFREE with the proceedings.

“They put me into foreclosure and my house had flooded, so I was trying to sell the house quickly,” she said. “I wanted to try and sell it before they took it.

“At the same time, I lost my mom, and my other mom, who has dementia, had run out of money for her caregiver. I didn’t know which way was up.”

She told the DailyMail.com: “It saved us. OnlyFans saved my life, 100 per cent. I can’t believe I’m saying that, but it really did save us.”

De Matteo shared that the original inspiration had been to do a “controversial” podcast.

“That was what it was going to be originally, you know, like with him [her husband] rubbing my feet because you have to add a little something for OnlyFans in there.”

She revealed the best part of the experience was that she “gets to be heavier”.

De Matteo enjoys spaghetti, pasta and steak as part of her carb-loading pre-photoshoot diet to “bulk up to look better”.

“You want your boobs to be big and your butt to be big. Otherwise, the photos are a snooze fest!” she said.

The actor became emotional as she shared a message for those who want to “condemn” her. “Go for it. I just hope you never find yourself in the position I was in to take care of two little kids,” she said.

“It saved my home of many years that was very important to us. And beyond all that, it has given me enough money to start up and finance ULTRAFREE.”

The brand is inspired by her 12-year-old son Waylon and she says the concept behind the clothing is to “make freedom cool again”.

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