Based on Melanie Lynskey’s flawless performance in Yellowjackets alone, I, personally, will not rest until I find out she has at least a couple million lurking in her bank account. And good news: She does! More than a couple. At least according to Celebrity Net Worth, which reports that Melanie Lynskey has a net worth of $5 million.
While Melanie is currently in the pop culture zeitgeist thanks to Yellowjackets and The Last of Us, she’s been acting for years—starting her career alongside Kate Winslet in 1994’s Heavenly Creatures when she was just 16 years old.
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Melanie has actually chatted about her salary for the film, telling Vulture, “We made this little amount of money for the movie—like 20,000 New Zealand dollars. Which was huge! I said, ‘I’m keeping this money forever. This may never happen again.'”
Obviously, it happened again. Melanie’s been acting steadily ever since—with roles in Ever After, Don’t Look Up, Coyote Ugly (aka the best aughts movie of all time), and Sweet Home Alabama. She’s also had starring roles on several TV shows like Two and a Half Men, Togetherness, and Castle Rock.
So How Much Does Melanie Lynskey Make for Yellowjackets?
The bad news: reputable outlets like Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline have yet to report on how much Showtime is forking out for Yellowjackets. The good news: we did some Citizen Detective-style sleuthing.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Melanie’s Yellowjackets costar Christina Ricci makes $125,000 “per episode.” It’s unclear per episode of what, so gonna assume that’s simply her going rate per project. And considering Christina, Melanie, and Juliette Lewis all signed onto Yellowjackets with relatively similar levels of fame, gonna also assume Melanie is making around this amount as well.
Either way, Melanie told Vulture that she’s pulling in a decent paycheck for the first time in her career:
“This is the first time ever in my career I’ve made an okay amount of money. Like in actor terms. People think actors are millionaires, but it’s not the case. But I’ve been comfortable and fine. I put a down payment on a house when I was 27. I had enough money to do that, which was wonderful. I never spent money I didn’t have. I’ve never had fancy cars or other homes. I feel grateful I’ve been able to pay my bills.”
She Was Underpaid for Two and a Half Men
Melanie played fan-favorite Rose in the show and told Vulture that ultimately, she was just happy to make a steady income.
“It was nice to be getting a paycheck,” she said. “It wasn’t huge; it was literally the least they could possibly pay me, according to SAG. I did one season, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is not for me.’ It felt very hard knowing that most of my year was gonna be this.”
Eventually the opportunity came for a raise, but Melanie decided to negotiate an agreement where she had more room to film other projects instead.
“Finally, we came to an agreement where I could come and go. A couple of people were like, ‘You could be a millionaire!’ I get it. We’re going into the third season, and that’s the time you can ask for a raise. But it didn’t matter. Around that time, I did ‘Shattered Glass’…. I loved that movie. I had a tiny part. I was with all these great actors, and I believed in the story. Watching it at the premiere, I thought, ‘This is the only way I want to feel watching something I’m in.’“
FYI, She’s Made a Lot in Real Estate
Like many celebs living in Los Angeles, Melanie has supplemented her earnings with savvy real estate investments. According to Celebrity Net Worth, she dropped $597,500 for a home in Echo Park back in 2004 and then sold it at a pretty big profit in 2017, accepting an offer of $950,000.
On that note, if you need me I’ll be busy looking up houses I can’t afford on Zillow.