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Chrissy Metz is an actress known for being a main cast member of the hit NBC show This Is Us. Her role as Kate Pearson has propelled the 38-year-old Florida native to stardom and earned her numerous nominations for her work.

However, long before she landed the breakout role on This Is Us, Metz actually struggled to sustain an acting career in Los Angeles. Let’s take a look at some of the things she did before becoming a television star and what her net worth is like today.

Chrissy Metz starred in minor roles

Chrissy Metz at the Gracie Awards in 2017Chrissy Metz at the Gracie Awards in 2017
Chrissy Metz at the Gracie Awards in 2017. | Charley Gallay/Getty Images

For about ten years, Chrissy Metz built up her resume by playing minor characters in several movies and television series. She started out with small gigs in shows such as Entourage and My Name Is Earl in the mid 2000’s before earning a short recurring role as Ima “Barbara” Wiggles in American Horror Story in 2014.

Her humble lifestyle

Being able to make it in Hollywood requires a certain amount of luck and, unfortunately for Chrissy Metz, she did not have much of that for a very long time. Despite working hard and going to many auditions, she had a difficult time landing those big roles that paid well.

Metz revealed that she struggled financially during the years when she was still a chasing the Hollywood dream. Unlike some of her peers who came from well-off families, Metz came from a poor background and her family did not have much financially. She told Glamour that, growing up, her mother sometimes could not afford to pay the bills or put food on the table.

As such, when Metz was as an aspiring actress in Los Angeles, not only did she have to work odd jobs in order to pay the bills, she shared with theSkimm that in order to make ends meet she was living off of instant noodles, collecting unemployment benefits, and borrowing money from other people. In fact, at the time when she was auditioning for This Is Us, the actress only had 81 cents in her bank account.

This Is Us and after

Metz’s career finally turned around for the better when she was cast as Kate Pearson on the NBC family drama This Is Us in 2016. Since then, she has been a fixture on TV every Tuesday, where fans can watch her character grow through struggles with weight, romance, and family relationships. Her outstanding portrayal of Kate Pearson even got Metz several award nominations.

In 2018, Chrissy Metz also was a part of the Netflix film Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, where she played the role of Veronica’s mother.

Additionally, she released her first memoir, called This Is Me, in the spring of 2018. The book details memories from her childhood to her life today. 

In April 2019, Metz’s first movie as a leading character, Breakthrough, will be released. She plays the role of Joyce, a religious mother whose son fell into a coma.

Chrissy Metz’s net worth

It is reported that Chrissy Metz, along with the other main cast members, makes $250,000 per episode of This Is Us. Her current net worth is estimated at $7 million.

Despite the fact that she is no longer living paycheck to paycheck like before, Metz still tries to maintain a low-key lifestyle. She shares a place with a roommate and does not spend money excessively on unnecessary things. After she learned how to manage her finances, Metz was able to pay back all the debt she owed to credit card companies as well as those who had lent her money when she needed it.

“Now that I’m living more comfortably,” Metz told Glamour, “how do I share with others? That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

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