After receiving financial support from her mother, “Barbie” star Margot Robbie said she used her movie earnings to pay back her mother and pay off her mortgage to express her gratitude.
In a recent “CBS Sunday Morning” interview, Robbie spoke about her new movie and revealed she had always planned to give money to her mother, Sarie Kessler.
Kessler borrowed against her home mortgage to lend Robbie money when she first started her acting career.
“She’d take money out of the house mortgage and lend me money,” Robbie said in the interview. “So I always knew, ‘Oh, I’ve got to pay that back.'”
Robbie shared she kept a record of the money her mother provided her. “I have that piece of paper still,” she said. “I kept it. Everything I owed my mom, I had written down.”
Before her breakthrough role in the 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Robbie wasn’t widely recognized. According to a CNBC report, Robbie has earned $12.5 million for her lead role in the successful “Barbie,” which debuted this weekend.
“And one day, when I made enough money, I just paid that whole mortgage off completely,” Robbie said. “I was like, ‘Mom, don’t worry about that mortgage anymore. It doesn’t exist anymore.'”
Robbie made it into the most prominent blockbuster movies including “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”, “Suicide Squad”, “The Legend Of Tarzan”, “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”, “Amsterdam”, and “Babylon”.
During the interview, she said the decision to take care of her mother was an easy one.
“Honestly, anyone in my position, you’d do that for your mom,” she added. “Of course, you would.”
“Do you remember doing that movie? You loved it so much, and you came home and said: ‘Mum, you’re not going to like this, but I’ve decided I’m going to be an actor,'” said Kessler.
“And Margot, my jaw hit the floor because you were at perfect in school. You come from a family with a medical background and a family with a business background, and you told me you were going to be an actor. I was stunned.”
Kessler recalled how hard it would be to make it in the acting business especially figuring out family budgets when money was tight.
“I was very concerned you were intending to take a pathway that, to me, didn’t have a really extensive future,” Robbie’s mother said. “And now you could say: ‘Mum, you needed more faith in what I can achieve.’ I’m just absolutely so happy for you that you’re in a situation where you love what you do, and you have the independence to do what you do because you guys started up your own company [LuckyChap Entertainment].”
Robbie joins a list of stars who have cared for their parents after achieving fame and success. Australian actor Chris Hemsworth paid his father’s debts using his Hollywood earnings. Michael B. Jordan purchased a mansion to share with his parents, showcasing similar acts of gratitude and support, CNBC reported.
Produced in association with Benzinga
Edited by Alberto Arellano and Joseph Hammond
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