Harry Potter actor Jessie Cave said creating content for OnlyFans "really has saved me" following an "embarrassing" period struggling for work and money.

The 39-year-old is best known for portraying Lavender Brown in the film series and attracted notice after launching her profile on the platform in March 2025.

Though OnlyFans is mainly associated with adult material, Cave targets a non-sexual audience with her "hair content", and previously disclosed earning more on the service in a single year than throughout her acting career.

Explaining her decision to join the site on ITV’s This Morning, Cave said: "I just started doing funny videos of brushing my hair and plaiting my hair, and then people liked them.

"Then I was in a quite a desperate spot, and I just thought: Well, why don’t I? I mainly do one-woman shows with puppets. Yeah I was in Harry Potter, but I’m a struggling artist basically.

"I took a chance and I thought I’d make a little bit of money to pay back the money I lost during one of the Edinburgh Festivals I’ve done – because it’s extortionate now – and I’ve just kept going."

She noted: "It’s been a fun little hobby on the side, and it’s really opened me up and definitely made me more confident as a woman."

The performer explained the subscription site "really has saved me" after she "struggled to find a way forward financially as an artist".

Addressing the difficulty of managing money despite appearing in the blockbuster series, Cave said: "I was a smallish part, and it was 20 years ago. People just assume I’m rich and I have loads of money – and no, I don’t.

"It was embarrassing because on a certain level I would have really liked to get a job, but you know what it’s like."

The mother-of-four added that securing and funding professional opportunities is difficult because "it costs so much for childcare".

She continued: "I have managed to keep afloat (as an actress) for 18 years, and then it just came to a moment a couple of years ago where I was like, ‘I really don’t know what I would do’. This was an option, and I am now so glad."

Describing her posts as "artful", she added: "It just looks quite interesting – and if people like it, that’s great."

Cave, who continues to stage solo productions, said: "This is how I’m making a living as an artist, which I think I want to have less shame about."

She made her screen debut in CBBC drama Summerhill in 2008, before appearing in Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince the following year.

She subsequently turned her attention to theatre, making her West End debut in 2009, alongside developing a career in comedy.

Several other prominent figures have joined OnlyFans, including rapper Cardi B and American Pie actress Shannon Elizabeth, who recently revealed she made $1 million in nine days on the platform.