In papers that Game Of Thrones star Lena Headey filed in court in her ongoing divorce, the actress, who is raising a two year old son says she has less than $5 in her bank account and is living on credit until she receives her 2011 tax refund and awaits payment for acting services.
TMZ got the papers and in them Headey says she needed an advance of $5000 from a 2011 tax refund that she and her soon to be ex are arguing about. A judge denied her request even after she stated that she is barely scarping by and living off credit and help from others. Just goes to show you that you can be on a crazy hit show and still have nothing or almost nothing.
This smells fishy, or at least like creative bookkeeping.
ReplyDeleteIve always liked Lena Headey. Just sad really. Famous or not, you have to understand how to manage your finances.
ReplyDeleteStars! They're just like us!
ReplyDeleteDivorce is ugly.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Charlie Sheen can help her out with that.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Liddy. This reeks of trying to stiff the ex-husband.
ReplyDeleteWhatever. The article says their REFUND will be 46k. Cry me a river, a lot of people reading this won't make that this year, much less get that back as a refund.
ReplyDeleteCount me in on the 'it reeks'.
ReplyDeleteshe needs a better agent and/or a better fiscal aid
ReplyDeleteGet it together Cersai! I dont understsnd how one ends up that broke, when they are paid pretty well. She has been around for awhile. Did anyone watch the Sarah Connor Chronicles? I'm still pissed that got cancelled.
ReplyDelete@PuggleWug said "I dont understsnd how one ends up that broke, when they are paid pretty well."
DeleteJust using this as a good quote to answer a lot of your questions...
Getting paid in the Entertainment Industry is not like getting paid at a regular job. It all depends on the studio, distributors, producers, etc.
Sometimes you can get paid every 13 weeks - but that doesn't even start immediately until after something airs sometimes.
Other times, you might have to wait 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months to get paid - depending on how the financing is set up.
I'm still waiting on a check I'm owed from 2010 from an Independent film production. They had to wait for the money to go through distributors, then 12 months to calculate how many times it aired and sold on DVD. Then it has to wrestle from the distributors to the producers, then from the producers split to every one else. This is not uncommon.
So, it is very easy to be working, and on/in a hit - and still have a long lag time before actually getting any cash flow.
Just explaining the possibility out there, as this is something that doesn't work the same in other types of jobs.
Hope that adds light on any of these possible situations, or I've added something to the conversation. ;-)
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ReplyDeleteI would think that an appearance at a couple of conventions would be able to net some black. Sad to hear about this, but proof that even famous people gotta know some home accountin'.
ReplyDeleteI can see how that could happen. It sounds like all their assets are frozen.
ReplyDeleteDepending on how she is getting paid she could be cutting it close.
I get paid monthly. As in once a month. Luckily we are very fortunate in that we have savings and an emergency fund.
But if I was suddenly getting a divorce and if all of our joint assets were frozen I bet by the end of the month I would be SOL.
Are their joint funds in trust until the divorce is settled? It mentions that she was asking for an advance, so where would they advance it from?
ReplyDeleteI thought this was Lindsay when I first glanced at it.
ReplyDeleteAnd the fact that they are getting that much back she needs to adjust her holdings. So she has more money now and not wait for a refund.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely divorce financial shenanigans. Boo hoo. She's got a nice pot of gold coming in.
ReplyDeleteServes that lying, scheming Queen right! Ha! Cersai, that's what you get when you mess with Tyrion.
ReplyDelete(In all seriousness, I hope this gets worked out for her soon. Whether she was bad with her finances or not, that is not a fun position to be in, especially with the kind of overhead she probably faces.)
What, she doesn't get a paycheck?
ReplyDeleteNo sympathy here. Living beyond ones means is too common a problem. Time to take a real look at expenses and start cutting back-that's what normal people do.
ReplyDeleteI tried to find info on what the cast of GoT makes but there is zilch out there. Divorces do suck, especially when there is a kid involved.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like her assets are frozen more than an actual spending problem. If she only had joint bank accounts with her husband, then I could see this happening to her. I would have suggested opening a separate account, as I imagine it was clear the marriage was on the rocks. This sounds more like a case of not planning ahead in relation to her marriage, not that she's blowing her money. That's what I'll say until shown otherwise.
ReplyDeleteLittlefinger took it. Can't trust masters of the coin!
ReplyDelete@PuggleWug-YES! Sarah Connor Chronicles fan here! :)
ReplyDeleteHope things work out for her, I love her portrayal of Cersei.
I hope she gets this straightened out. I agree with Layna on this one.
ReplyDeleteI too think this has got to be a case of "Poor me Wah!" syndrome that people do in court. If the judge had found that she really was that destitute don't you think he'd give a woman with a baby more than five dollars to live on? Come on. And a 46 k refund? What did she do with her money? I call bs!
ReplyDeleteYeah, her funds must be frozen until all is settled. Hope it gets sorted out soon.
ReplyDeleteThis sucks....
ReplyDeleteThis is one Lannister who won't be paying her debts!
ReplyDeleteDuring my divorce - not over yet - I had a similar issue. All assets were immediately frozen by my attorney to prevent him from moving money around. Unfortunately that left me with the paycheck I had coming to live on. Then spousal temporary support was figured out.
ReplyDeleteIt’s clear that their assets are frozen, so she had to go to court to get an advance. If she was hiding money the other side would state as much.
ReplyDeleteSarah Connor fan here, too.
ReplyDeletePerhaps she could save some money if she laid off the Botox. She is so lovely, I cannot understand why she does it.
I hope it gets worked out fast. Must be nice to have such a huge tax refund but even that is bizarre - a good accountant wouldn't let them withhold so much and would instead invest the money.
Those who said the accounts are frozen in this divorce are correct, Huffington Post is reporting that in their story.
ReplyDeleteI hope they can get things settled, for their own financial security and for the sake of their son. It sounds like this divorce is a nasty one.
Does anyone have any idea what she is paid on Game of Thrones?
ReplyDeleteSounds like something really personal and embarrassing, which is why trashy TMZ is reporting on it. And idiots here are making rude comments about it.
ReplyDeleteThere may be assets but I doubt there is any cash. If there was cash they would be applying to receive a temporary living allowance, until the divorce is settled, from that frozen money. Instead they are fighting to get an advance on a tax refund to be received.
ReplyDeleteI believe he is a no-name musician, therefore he probably doesn't have any real income and is fighting this divorce hard because it is probably his only chance for a real payday in this lfetime.
They were underwater on real estate. They bought a house in Hollywood for $1.8MM in 2008 and sold for $1.3MM in November 2012. However, at a 2,500 square foot three bedroom, I'm not sure that high spending is really an issue.
Contracts signed before separation are community property. So, even if there is no cash now, future income from GOT etc, may be sequestered (net of taxes, agents' fees etc.). That is probably what they are fighting over.
That show's "crazy success" is relative. It's a big fish in a small pond and she probably makes peanuts compared to big 3 network actors.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe she should save some money instead of wasting it on ink. I saw a photoshoot of her, she's turning into Kat Von D. Horrible.
What??? I'm so confused. How is this possible. She's on a HUGE hit TV show with a huge hit main character. She was also in 300 and other hit movies. How does she only have $5 in the bank. Did she give all her money to someone else to put in their account, so she wouldn't have to give any of it to her husband.
ReplyDeleteYeah...something here just doesn't sound right.
If I had to take a guess, Peter Dinklage and Charles Dance are the only two that had the cache to demand big bucks from the beginning. Sean Bean likely got paid well for his one season. Everyone else is probably still on a smaller pay scale, though they can renegotiate based on GoT's success.
ReplyDeleteJaysus, Sarah @6:41, resentful, sanctimonious, and envious is no way to go through life. It will eat you up inside if it hasn't already. This woman earned enough to be getting $46k back. "Good for her," say. She earned it.
ReplyDeleteSorry about her kid, but this just smacks of dissembling, or perhaps just gross mismanagement of money.
ReplyDeleteDon't like Headey as an actress so I'm not sure about this, but hasn't she had a fairly steady career? I know film and TV actors don't make as much money in the UK as they do here, but shouldn't she have had something to show for it?
At any rate, tough to feel sorry for her.
And...bwah, @Redd!
ReplyDeleteAnother Sarah Connor Chronicles fan here.
ReplyDeleteThis situation could happen to anyone. Maybe she was blindsided & didn't know the marriage was breaking down. Hope it is resolved soon. Also, she didn't really spend a lot on a house. Here in Australia housing prices are astronomical. One bedroom units go for $250,000.00, homes that need renovation start at over $300,000.00. A decent family home, you are looking at $500,000.00. And that is just in my home town, Sydney is exponentially worse.
Feraltart I have the opposite reaction to Sydney house prices. I love the fact my house is worth nearly three times what I paid for it
DeleteMy eyes are still googling over what she's getting back from the IRS! Geez. We are not getting a refund this year and we make peanuts. It's crazy.
ReplyDeleteYOU'RE A WANKER NUMBER NIIIINE!!
ReplyDeleteI hate scarping. Should be outlawed.
ReplyDeleteLena was so creepy in Dredd. That was a baad movie. And not Showgirls bad.
I really am disappointed by the judgment, scorn, and hate directed at Lena. Wow.
ReplyDeleteFeraltart, i was reading your prices and thinking how cheap! Here in Sydney proper I would be thrilled to find something habitable for $500,000. I looked at a brand new 93 sq meter (about a 1,000 sq ft) 2 br for $715,000. Ouch.
The reporting on this story is total eye-rolling bullshit. The tax refund they're arguing about (because it went to a joint account that now is frozen) is for $46,000. That's not how much this couple paid in taxes in 2011. It's how much they OVERPAID in taxes in 2011, making it impossible to guesstimate how much income they actually made in 2011.
ReplyDelete(That is, they made a shitload of money in tax year 2011.)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like legal games for the divorce. Lena is one of those rare actresses that has worked pretty consistently for the last decade. Maybe not on mega hits that bring big residuals but enough stuff that with proper spending habits she probably could easily retire to a middle class lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI am guessing in this case the issue is she is a rising Hollywood star, her husband is a essentially a nobody and so she is making sure she doesn't have to essentially hand over half her paychecks to her husband in alimony.
Can't say I blame her. Never a fan of the alimony concept. I could see a little "get on your feet" money for a short fixed, cannot be extended, period of time but not the free money for life that alimony payments tend to become.
Okay, let me explain -
ReplyDeleteActors and actresses get paid based on their ability to make money.
Lena Headey - Supporting role in 300, no impact on sales. Sarah Connor Chronicles - Ratings tanked, show cancelled. Game of Thrones - Supporting role in an ensemble cast where she's consistently outshone by everyone.
Therefore Lena Headey doesn't actually draw money. Which means Lena Headey doesn't get paid money.
Kristen Stewart - Billion dollar franchise of which she is the lead star with the greatest screen time. Massive media presence. Snow White and the Huntsman, block buster smash making $200 million dollars.
Therefore, Kristen Stewart DOES make money. Which is why she's the highest paid actress in Hollywood.
It doesn't matter how good you are or how good your show is. All that matters is Are you making money or are you losing money? Lena doesn't add one ticket sale or one extra viewer to anything, so she gets paid appropriately.
Sounds like she made bad choices.
ReplyDelete