Jessie Cave reflects on the 'embarrassment' of struggling for money after Harry Potter role and says she joined OnlyFans because she couldn't afford childcare for her four children

Jessie Cave has said she felt 'embarrassed' to be struggling for money after her role in the Harry Potter films, having recently turned to OnlyFans to help make ends meet.

The actress, 39, had a role in the iconic film franchise, but has recently shared that during a period where she struggled to find work, she began uploading videos to the subscription site.

Despite its reputation for racy content, Jessie began posting non-sexual niche content on the platform focused on her long hair, and she has now amassed 3,500 subscribers, who each pay $6 per month to access her content.

Now, the star has shared that she began posting the videos after struggling to afford childcare for her four children.

Reflecting on her money woes since her Harry Potter role, Jessie said: 'It's really embarrassing, and people don't like talking about money do we.

'I was in Harry Potter, but it was a smallish part and it was 20 years ago, I've done little roles ever since and I've mainly done comedy. 

'People assume I'm rich and have loads of money, but no I don't. It's embarrassing because on a certain level I'd really like to get a job.'

Speaking on Thursday's This Morning, she added: 'It costs so much for childcare. I mean even going to the Edinburgh Festival, I can't even really afford to do the whole run anymore, because I can't afford how much it would cost to take all my kids. And people assume ''oh don't take your kids,'' but I want to take my kids.

'I have felt like I've had to apologise a lot. I think it's a choice to have four kids as well, I've always wanted to make art at the same time, and also I chose to do this weird job.

'I couldn't really have done anything else. I have lasted, I have managed to keep afloat workwise as an actress, it's a very small proportion of people who work regularly. 

'And I have done the odd job here and I have managed to keep afloat for 18 years, and it just came to a moment to a couple of years ago where I was like ''oh yeah, I don't really know what I would do'' and this was an option. I'm now so glad, I'm so glad.'

Discussing her decision to launch her OnlyFans career, Jessie said: 'I don't really post much about my kids, and I ended up realising, I have four kids, that's all I do! 

'I didn't want to post them, so I just started doing funny videos of me brushing my hair and plaiting my hair. And then people liked them, and I thought just ''oh'' and I was really in a quite desperate spot, and at the time Lily Allen has just come on, she'd said she'd used her feet for money, and I thought this sounds great! 

'Kate Nash has funded her tours with doing it, I just thought, I mainly do one woman shows with puppets. Yes, 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 fund, or 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.

'I kind of now think of it, I mean it's not art but it's artful. It's really long my hair so you can do a lot with it. I do all sorts, I kind of think of it like a circus act now.

'I think after my fourth baby, he's now four he's about to start school I have really struggled to find my way as an artist, as I am at home all the time. 

'I have done jobs, I'm mainly a writer and my brain has just changed in the last four years, and I have really struggled to find a way forward financially as an artist, and this was always a way of having a stop gap just while I work out what I'm going to do next, see if I can earn a bit of money on the side to fund my next show or my next tour or whatever I do.

'Now I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, he's about to start school and all four will be at school, I'll have more time, I don't know what I'll do.' 

Jessie shot to fame aged 20 when she beat 7,000 other auditionees to land the role of Ron Weasley's girlfriend Lavender Brown in the film series.

Since then she has performed sold-out theatre shows in London and Edinburgh but has struggled over the past year with dwindling work opportunities – especially jobs that fit around parenting her four children, who she shares with comedian Alfie Brown.

Her first post featuring her waist-length locks went viral and she quickly amassed 3,500 subscribers who pay $6 per month for her content, adding to her cash pot with extra paid for messages. 

Jessie, who is currently performing two shows at Edinburgh Fringe, has said that two decades on from Harry Potter, she has some traumatic memories of the movies which propelled her to fame.

Speaking on the RESET the Pod podcast with Alice Maria, Jessie said a costume designer shamed her during filming after she put on weight.

'The costume designer came up to me, gripped the fat on my hips and said, 'What is this?' She gripped it so hard it left me in pain. I just had to say, 'That's my body,'' said the actress.

Jessie also claims that she was told to 'suck in' immediately before filming a Great Hall scene.

'She whispered in my ear, 'Suck in, suck in.' I immediately started crying. The camera was behind me at first, but when it reached my face, you can see in the film that I've got tears in my eyes.'

After returning for the final film weighing 2st heavier, Jessie says she was 'treated like I was invisible'.

'I'd gone in as the exciting love interest, then came back two stone heavier and felt like a complete nobody. It was 100 per cent because of my weight.'

Jessie said her experiences have made her wary of HBO's Harry Potter reboot TV series with the first episodes premiering at Christmas. 

Mother-of-four Jessie insisted 'I would not wish that on my kids. I wouldn't want them to face that scrutiny. You're signing them up for a job where there can be a lot of cruelty – it hardens you.'