Margot Robbie may have landed a $12.5 million payday after starring in box office sensation Barbie, but paying back the person who put her on the path to global stardom was always her priority long before landing the iconic Mattel role.
Robbie, who was raised by her mom in Queensland, Australia, landed a part in the popular Aussie soap Neighbours at the age of 17.
Since then, she has gone on to star in a string of box office hits including The Wolf of Wall Street; I, Tonya; and The Suicide Squad—but despite earning millions from acting in and producing movies, Robbie’s main goal wasn’t to splurge on herself.
While Robbie pursued a career in Hollywood, her mom supported her financially, sometimes taking money out of her mortgage to help her daughter chase her dream.
“One day, when I made enough money, I just paid that whole mortgage off completely,” Robbie revealed in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. “I was like, ‘Mom, don’t even worry about that mortgage anymore. It doesn’t even exist anymore.’”
During her early career, the A-list actress kept a list of every cent her mom had lent her.
“She’d take money out of the house mortgage and lend me money, so I always knew, ‘Oh, I’ve got to pay that back,’” she told CBS. “I have that piece of paper still. I kept it. Everything I owed my mom, I had it written down.”
“Honestly, anyone in my position, you’d do that for your mom,” she added. “Of course you would.”
Robbie is one of many celebrities who have used their financial success to support their parents.
Australian actor Chris Hemsworth—who also appeared on Neighbours before his big break—reportedly paid off all of his parents’ debts after making it in Hollywood.
Meanwhile, Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan bought a house in California for his parents in 2016.
Robbie was paid $12.5 million for playing the titular role in Barbie,according to Variety—giving her the highest salary of any actress in Hollywood last year.
Greta Gerwig’s movie about the iconic Mattel doll smashed a box office record with its $162 million domestic opening, scoring the biggest debut ever at the North American box office for a film directed by a woman.