American Pie star Shannon Elizabeth has revealed she made an astonishing $1million (£740,000) within just nine days of joining OnlyFans.
The actor, 52, became one of the defining sex symbols of the late 90s after playing Czech exchange student Nadia in the raunchy 1999 comedy, and more than 25 years later, fans are clearly still interested.
Elizabeth launched her account on the subscription platform in April and admitted she had no idea quite how lucrative the move would prove.
‘I crossed $1 million in nine days,’ she told Variety.
‘It was really surprising, and I was honored that my fans came out and supported me. I had no idea what to expect, and the response has been really amazing.
‘I’m chatting with people all the time and it’s been a lot of fun.’
The huge payday came at an opportune moment for Elizabeth, who revealed she had largely been living off her savings for the past decade after stepping away from acting and focusing much of her attention on animal activism.
She has also recently filed for divorce from husband Simon Borchert after five years of marriage.
Elizabeth, who now primarily lives in South Africa, said she was discussing how to ‘restart’ her life with her manager and ex-husband Joseph D. Reitman when he suggested OnlyFans.
‘I wasn’t sure and didn’t know much about it, and we looked into it, and I thought, “Yeah, why not?”’ she recalled.
The financial success has now given her the freedom to be more selective about acting opportunities rather than taking jobs simply because she needs the money.
‘For the last ten years I’ve been living off of my savings for the most part because I haven’t been as focused on work,’ she explained.
‘To be able to get myself back to the point where I’m not struggling and am able to choose projects because I like them and not because I need the money — it’s definitely giving me more freedom to do that.’
Despite OnlyFans becoming synonymous with explicit material, Elizabeth’s page currently contains no nudity.
She believes the platform can offer celebrities another way of communicating directly with fans, pointing out that a growing number of established actors and musicians have joined.
‘It doesn’t have to be only for adult entertainment,’ she said. ‘It can be whatever you want it to be.’
She isn’t entirely ruling out pushing things further in future, however, admitting she’s still figuring out exactly where her boundaries lie.
‘I’ve got to be a little bit mysterious,’ she teased.
‘I do all kinds of content, but I don’t even know what my boundaries will be. I’m still exploring it and as I become more comfortable with it, I’m going to push those boundaries.’
Some of the money is also helping fund Elizabeth’s other great passion.
She founded animal rescue organisation Animal Avengers in Los Angeles in 2001 before expanding its focus to wildlife conservation and relocating to South Africa in 2016.
The organisation now supports anti-poaching projects and cares for a blind black rhino named Manute, while Elizabeth hopes eventually to establish a wildlife hospital and rehabilitation centre near Cape Town.
She said a significant portion of her OnlyFans income goes towards covering costs associated with the charity, allowing more of the money donated directly to Animal Avengers to reach animals in the field.
It also represents a rather fitting full-circle moment for a star who was breaking the internet before the phrase really existed.
Following American Pie’s release, Elizabeth launched her own website at a time when celebrity websites were still unusual and recalled people questioning the decision because they were then largely associated with porn stars.
When she subsequently attempted to hold a live chat with fans, so many logged on that the servers crashed.
‘I think I was one of the first actors to have one,’ she recalled.
More than a quarter of a century later, her fans have apparently followed her to the next iteration, and this time, crashing the internet comes with a seven-figure payday.