Raven-Symoné’s Wife Miranda Maday Comments Saying She’s “Richer”

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Oh, snap! Miranda Pearman-Maday is clearing up some misconceptions.

Four months after Raven-Symoné’s wife mentioned she was financially better off, Miranda spoke about her family’s money situation.

During a recent appearance on We Playin’ Spades with Nick Cannon and Courtney Bee, she shared that her family actually invented mudflaps for trucks. She mentioned that you can still occasionally see them, referred to as ‘Maday flaps,’ particularly on the East Coast.

She shared that the founders of a hugely successful company were two of her distant relatives. However, they hadn’t included all family members in the profits, specifically her father’s side. As a result, her grandfather decided to start his own competing business.

Miranda spoke about her father’s success in the entertainment world. However, she also acknowledged her own fortunate upbringing. ‘I grew up with financial security and have always had everything I needed, which is a privilege,’ she explained.

The 38-year-old, who married Raven in 2020 after dating for five years, also shared that she has a trust fund established in her name.

Miranda explained that she talked about her finances on their podcast, Tea Time with Miranda and Raven, because of rumors suggesting she had married Raven, 40, for his money.

I just wanted to explain why meeting Raven wasn’t connected to the money in the bank,” she said to Nick and Courtney. “Raven is much wealthier than I am – she’s been a millionaire for a long time and has worked for forty years, so naturally, there’s a significant difference between our financial situations.”

For Miranda, the online chatter about their relationship was difficult to take.

She explained to TopMob News in September that she’d simply reached her limit. She said the day she recorded the podcast happened to be a low point for her, and she felt compelled to clarify that she’s honest and definitely not someone who pursues relationships for financial gain. She emphasized she has many qualities, but being a ‘gold digger’ isn’t one of them.

For more celebs who’ve shared a glimpse into their wallets, keep reading.

According to Joe Giudice, he and his ex-wife, Teresa Giudice, didn’t make much money during the first season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. He revealed on his daughter Gia Giudice’s Casual Chaos podcast in August 2025 that they earned around $25,000, which he considered a very small amount, but they accepted it.

Creating the first season of the show wasn’t inexpensive. The father of four remembered, “I believe hosting that large party in my living room cost me around $150,000 in the first year.”

Although the winner of Dancing With the Stars doesn’t receive a cash prize, everyone who reaches the finale gets paid, according to season 33 winner Jenna Johnson. She also mentioned that finalists receive a bonus on top of their regular pay. She won the season with her partner, Joey Graziadei.

Johnson explained that winning doesn’t come with a huge financial reward; it’s more about the experience and a trophy. She also noted dancers are guaranteed a certain number of weeks on the show, regardless of how they perform. While ABC hasn’t confirmed the exact figures, reports suggest professional dancers start earning around $1,200 to $1,600 per episode, potentially reaching $100,000 for the entire season. Celebrities, on the other hand, begin with a $125,000 salary, and those who make it to the semifinals and finals can earn up to an additional $50,000 in bonuses.

Jennifer Lawrence, who has won an Oscar, earned $25 million for her role in Adam McKay’s comedy Don’t Look Up. Her co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio, also an Oscar winner, received $30 million for the same film.

Jennifer Lawrence acknowledged that Leonardo DiCaprio earns more at the box office than she does. While she’s happy with her own earnings, she explained to Vanity Fair in December 2020/January 2021 that it’s often awkward for women to ask for equal pay. She’s observed, and believes many other women have too, that when pay discrepancies are questioned, explanations are vague and often avoid addressing gender as a factor.

Jennifer Lawrence’s positive outlook on the issue came after a difficult battle. In 2014, a leak of Sony emails revealed she was paid less than her male co-stars in the 2013 film American Hustle, sparking a widespread discussion about unequal pay for women in Hollywood.

In a 2017 interview with Channel 4 News, Lawrence explained she wasn’t worried about her earnings. ‘I’m lucky to have the job I do,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t about the amount of money—millions is still a lot!—but about the broader issues of unfairness and inequality.’

Compared to Leonardo DiCaprio’s earnings, Jonah Hill made a much smaller $60,000 for his work in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street – before taxes and commissions. The lead actor, however, earned $10 million.

Hill said they offered him very little money during a 2014 appearance on The Howard Stern Show. However, he was eager to accept because it was an opportunity to be in a film directed by Martin Scorsese, and he wanted to finalize the agreement quickly, before anyone reconsidered.

According to actor Jonah Hill, he’d be willing to sacrifice everything to work with director Martin Scorsese. He explained that while films like 22 Jump Street help pay the bills, he’d do anything – even give up his house and savings – for a chance to collaborate with someone he truly admires. For Hill, pursuing passion projects is more important than financial gain, and he’d repeat the experience without hesitation. He believes you should prioritize work that genuinely matters to you.

Oprah Winfrey happily accepted only a little bit of green to star in 1985’s The Color Purple.

In a 2023 interview with Essence, the media billionaire said that while they were only paid $35,000 for the film, it was the most valuable $35,000 they ever made. They explained that the experience was transformative and a great learning opportunity.

Jennifer Lopez made history when she played the late Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla in the 1997 movie Selena. She was the first Latina actress to be paid $1 million for a film role.

Looking back at my first big movie, I realize I was just a kid and totally clueless about everything happening around me! Honestly, it was amazing they offered me a million dollars – it felt like everyone involved was trying to prove something, you know?

This success allowed her to earn hundreds of millions of dollars, and often she doesn’t even have to invest any of her own money to do so.

Jennifer Lopez told GQ in 2019 that she follows her passions. She didn’t make a lot of money on the film Hustlers—she even produced it for free—but she believes in investing in herself. Just like her song ‘Jenny From the Block,’ she does what she loves.

Adrien Brody wasn’t motivated by money when he accepted the role in The Brutalist. He chose to play a Hungarian architect struggling with his craft in post-World War II America, a performance that earned him his second Academy Award for Best Actor, despite receiving a salary of only $250,000.

Brody told Variety he’s ready for a big studio film, explaining he’s invested everything he has into renovating a unique property – a barn he describes as castle-like – in upstate New York.

When asked about his early spending habits after joining Saturday Night Live in 2014 at age 20, Pete Davidson joked to New York magazine, “Do you know how much we make?” He explained that he earned around $3,000 per episode, adding, “So I probably just bought dinner.”

It’s notable that pay for new cast members on Saturday Night Live has stayed consistent over the years. In 1975, the original season one stars – John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, and Chevy Chase – were reportedly paid $750 per episode. Adjusting for inflation, that’s about $3,300 in 2014, or $4,428 in 2025.

Kenan Thompson earns significantly more than $3,000 per episode of SNL these days, especially since he’s been on the show for a remarkable 22 seasons. However, like everyone, he had to begin his career somewhere, starting with his early work on Nickelodeon.

In Demi Lovato’s 2024 documentary, Child Star, a former cast member of All That shared that their first paycheck was $800. They added, “I was 12, so it felt like a million dollars!”

It turns out Gilmore Girls’ status as a beloved rewatchable classic is literally priceless.

Lauren Graham, best known for playing Lorelai Gilmore for seven seasons and then returning for the 2016 revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, recently shared that she doesn’t receive any ongoing payments (residuals) from Netflix. She told Jimmy Kimmel in March 2025 that she’s been ‘paid in love and appreciation’ instead.

During the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, actress Tommy Dorfman revealed how little she was paid for her work on 13 Reasons Why. The strike, like the Writers Guild of America strike happening at the same time, was partly caused by streaming services such as Netflix not sharing extra profits with actors and crew even when shows became very popular.

Dorfman revealed on Threads on July 24th that she earned $29,953.24 for the first season of 13 Reasons Why before her agency, manager (combined 20

Dorfman also noted that the show’s first season reached 476 million viewing hours within its first 28 days, which is the reason for the strike.

Dax Shepard recently shared with Lauren Graham on his podcast that he was one of the lowest-paid actors on their NBC show, Parenthood, which aired for six seasons. He didn’t mention specific salaries or co-stars.

But, the Armchair Expert host stressed that he did not mind.

Before becoming a parent, I always made it a priority to find out how much my colleagues were earning. I’d either ask them directly or discreetly check through my agent to get the information.

He deliberately avoided finding out details about his family history at work, and that allowed him to enjoy the experience, even when he started to realize how low he was on the company’s pay scale.

In 2005, George Clooney told the Los Angeles Times that he only made a dollar from writing the script for his film, Good Night, and Good Luck. He explained that he had to cash his check for directing and give up his salary as an actor. Clooney and Grant Heslov, who also acted as a writer and coproducer, each earned just one dollar for the project.

George Clooney’s passion project, a play about CBS News journalist Edward R. Murrow and his courageous reporting in the 1950s, proved to be a success. Clooney made his Broadway debut playing Murrow, concluding his run in June 2025. The play earned a remarkable $3.3 million during previews – a Broadway record for a non-musical – even before its official opening on April 3rd, proving it was a much bigger hit than just a personal endeavor.

Christian Bale revealed in a 2022 interview with GQ that he was paid very little for his role as Patrick Bateman in the 2000 film American Psycho. He explained that the production didn’t initially want him, and it was only due to director Mary Harron that he was cast, resulting in him being paid the lowest possible wage allowed by law.

Bale recalled earning so little that he once overheard the makeup artists joking he was paid less than they were, even while he was sitting in the makeup trailer.

Although his uncle was Rico, Jon Heder revealed in 2010 that he originally earned just $1,000 for his role in Napoleon Dynamite.

You know, it’s always amazing when something unexpected really takes off! This happened with one of my clients – his comedy project became a huge success, totally out of the blue. Because of that, he was in a fantastic position to ask for a share of the profits. He actually told the New Zealand Herald that the studio was pretty generous when they finally came to an agreement – he simply said they ‘went a little bit higher’! It just goes to show, sometimes taking a risk really pays off.

Despite a successful career with acclaimed films like Amistad and Blood Diamond, Djimon Hounsou believes he doesn’t earn enough as an actor in Hollywood.

The Beninese actor shared with CNN’s Larry Madowo in January 2025 that despite working in film for over twenty years, and having received two Oscar nominations and starred in many successful blockbusters, he continues to struggle financially to support himself.

Oh my gosh, you will NOT believe what I just read in Rebel Wilson’s memoir, Rebel Rising! She said when she did Bridesmaids, she only made $3,500! And get this – she had to pay the entire amount to the Screen Actors Guild just to join the union! So basically, she worked on Bridesmaids and didn’t actually make any money. Can you even imagine?! It’s just… heartbreaking, honestly. She’s such a queen and to think she started out like that… I’m obsessed with this story!

Still, she wrote, the experience was “everything!”

I’ve been following Rebel Wilson’s career for years, and it’s been amazing to watch her success! It’s incredible how much her salary grew – she started with around $65,000 for the first Pitch Perfect movie, but by Pitch Perfect 3, she was earning $10 million! She recently shared that she made a total of $20 million from Pitch Perfect 3, Isn’t It Romantic, and The Hustle. Of course, a lot of that went to taxes – almost half, actually! Plus, she had to pay her agents, lawyer, publicist, business manager, and assistant. But even after all those expenses, she said she still ended up with a huge amount of money – a real fortune, in her words, and honestly, good for her!

In late 2017, Ellen Pompeo successfully negotiated a new contract for her role on Grey’s Anatomy. The deal paid her $575,000 per episode, included a substantial signing bonus, and gave her a share of the show’s profits, estimated to be worth between $6 and $7 million.

In a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, 48-year-old Pompeo explained that she’s reached a point in her career where she confidently asks for what she’s worth, something she feels comes with experience. She acknowledged that the industry doesn’t always see her as ‘relevant’ after playing the same character for 14 years. However, she argued that while many actors can perform well during a show’s first couple of seasons, maintaining that quality after 14 years demonstrates real talent.

Ellen Pompeo recently shared that she didn’t resent her “Grey’s Anatomy” costar, Patrick Dempsey, despite consistently earning less than him, even though her character was the show’s namesake.

Honestly, hearing Alex talk about it on Call Her Daddy back in March 2025 just broke my heart. It wasn’t about the money he made, she clarified – it was about respect. She felt like, as the person the whole show was named after, she deserved the same consideration, and it was so frustrating that she had to fight for it. She even said they’d never value her as much as him, and it just… it really got to me. It’s not about being ‘salty’ over his success, it’s about her feeling undervalued, and that’s just awful.

Jamie Lee Curtis remembers earning $2,000 per week, totaling $8,000, for her first movie, the 1978 film Halloween. As she explained to Rotten Tomatoes in 2018, practically no one involved in the film received significant pay.

Although the actress playing Laurie Strode made a good amount of money—around four figures—director John Carpenter’s friend, Nick Castle, felt like he was living large earning $25 a day to share the role of Michael Myers. (Actually, it’s Anthony Moran whose face you briefly see when the killer’s mask comes off, and editor Tommy Lee Wallace also appeared on screen as Michael.)

Looking back, it was quite an experience!” Castle, a USC film school classmate of Carpenter’s, told Vanity Fair in 2018. “I was mainly interested in getting on set to see how movies were made and to understand the directing process. I figured I’d be there for free, but I ended up making $25 a day just for wearing a rubber mask!”

Taraji P. Henson was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in the 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. However, she was still frustrated years later that she only received $150,000 for the movie, despite initially requesting $500,000.

In a 2021 interview on the Ladies First With Laura Brown podcast, producer Scott Henson explained that Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett each earned around $20 million for the film, which was a significant amount at the time. Henson added that he believed they were fairly compensated for their work.

She explained that she was also bringing value to the project and believed her salary request was reasonable, considering how much the film was expected to earn. She wouldn’t have accepted less. Taraji P. Henson said she was very disappointed when they initially offered her only $100,000. Ultimately, she negotiated a salary of $150,000, but admitted it was difficult to accept less than she felt she deserved.

Henson understands some people might think $150,000 is a lot of money, but she wants to be clear she’s not ungrateful. However, after taxes and paying her team, the actual amount she’s left with is significantly less. She estimates that after the government takes 50

Cate Blanchett has earned a substantial income throughout her career, but her role as the elf Galadriel in the highly successful The Lord of the Rings films – which made $2.9 billion worldwide – wasn’t her sole source of income.

I was absolutely floored when Andy Cohen guessed on Watch What Happens Live last August that Lord of the Rings was my biggest payday! It’s just not true. Honestly, we didn’t make any real money on that film. I’m not kidding – I basically worked for free sandwiches and got to keep my elf ears as payment! It was a labor of love, truly.

Orlando Bloom, known for his role as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, revealed in a 2023 interview on The Howard Stern Show that he only earned $175,000 for all three films.

Hopefully he also got to keep his ears.

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2026-01-06 20:49