How 11 celebrities spent their first big paychecks — their purchases include an ice cream truck, a washing machine, and a $200 fish

• Matt Damon told the Hollywood Reporter that he paid for his mother's Ph.D. with his first big paycheck.

• Some unusual first purchases include a bowling party and a TV for somebody else's grandma.

• The most modest purchases were a fish and a whole lot of candy.

Matt Damon paid for his mother's Ph.D., while his "Oppenheimer" co-star Cillian Murphy bought a record player

Matt Damon received his first big paycheck for the 1990 made-for-TV movie "Rising Son," receiving $25,000 for the role.

"I bought my brother a car, and I put my mom through her Ph.D. program. And that was a really cool feeling," he told The Hollywood Reporter in a July interview.

Damon's net worth is estimated to be around $170 million in 2023, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Variety reported that he earned $4 million for his role in "Oppenheimer."

"Oppenheimer" leading man Cillian Murphy told the Hollywood Reporter during the same interview that he bought a record player or a sound system with his first big paycheck.

"Because record players weren't as cool as they are now, were they?" he said.

Cillian Murphy's net worth is estimated to be $20 million by Celebrity Net Worth.

Brad Pitt used his to pay for some stylish furniture

"When I received my first paycheck from my now-known day job, I spent it on a period Craftsman chair and a Frank Lloyd Wright–wannabe lamp," Brad Pitt told Architecture Daily in 2012. He added that his second paycheck paid for a stereo.

Today, lamps sold by the Frank Lloyd Wright store range from $240 to $2,750, while Craftsman chairs are listed for anywhere between $1,450 to $1,695 on Crafters and Weavers.

Pitt is estimated to have a net worth of $400 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. For his starring role in the 2022 action film Bullet Train, Variety reported that Pitt earned $20 million.

Lil Nas X took his entire family out for some old-fashioned fun

Rapper and singer Lil Nas X told Insider in 2020 that he took his entire family bowling with the money from his first paycheck.

"I think I took my family bowling. Like, everybody. It was a lot of us, not just my immediate family," he said.

His hot song, "Old Town Road," earned him an estimated $14 million pretax at the height of its popularity in 2020, according to Forbes. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Nas has an estimated net worth of $9 million.

Nicole Kidman bought a new home appliance

"I bought my mum and dad a washing machine. Later on, I bought some boots for myself that were like the coolest boots I'd ever seen in my life," Nicole Kidman told Time Magazine in 2018.

Forbes listed Kidman as the seventh highest-paid actress in 2020, behind top earners Sofia Vergara and Angelina Jolie, earning $22 million that year alone.

Rupert Grint bought an ice cream truck

"My first ambition was to become an ice-cream man, which is why I bought the Bedford van," "Harry Potter" star Rupert Grint told the Daily Mail in 2014. 

"Not long after I first got it, I pulled into a pub to do a U-turn, and there were eight kids with their pocket money out, hoping to buy a 99 or whatever. But I had nothing to give them. I've learnt my lesson since then," he said.

He added that the van proved useful as he drove it to the set on the last day of filming on Harry Potter. "The cast and crew were having a barbecue, and I supplied the lollies and ice creams." 

Grint landed his first film role with "Harry Potter" at the age of eleven, and has said that his experience acting in the franchise was "suffocating."

Celebrity Net Worth estimates Grint's net worth to be $50 million.

Issa Rae and LaKeith Stanfield both bought a Tesla

"The Photograph" co-stars Issa Rae and LaKeith Stanfield found out in a 2020 interview with Buzzfeed that they made the same purchase with their first big paychecks.

Stanfield told Buzzfeed, "I bought a Tesla."

Rae said, "Same. What? Tesla twins! Are you lying? I've never seen you drive it."

Stanfield said, "It's in the shop!"

Issa Rae — known for starring in the HBO comedy-drama "Insecure" and more recently as President Barbie in "Barbie" — signed a $40 million five-year deal with HBO in 2021, according to Variety.

LaKeith Stanfield, who received an Academy Award nomination for the best supporting actor for his role in "Judas and the Black Messiah," is estimated to have a net worth of $2 million by Celebrity Net Worth.

Olivia Holt bought a fish

"When I was 8 or 9, I did a commercial or something, and my parents gave me $200 from it, and I took that $200 to Petco, and I bought a Betta fish," singer and former child actress Olivia Holt told People magazine in 2020.

From 2011 to 2014, Holt starred in the Disney comedy series "Kickin' It."

Tiffany Haddish bought a lot of candy

"I bought a big box of Snickers and lollipops. Jolly Rancher sticks and blow pops. And did I say Snickers? And corn nuts," comedian and "Girls Trip," star Tiffany Haddish told Time Magazine in 2018.

"I'm surprised I don't have diabetes right now because I love Snickers," she said, adding that one of her goals was to get a job at a Snickers factory so she could figure out their recipe and make that for herself.

Haddish told HuffPost in 2020 that she made $80,000 for her breakthrough role in "Girls Trip."

Today, she is estimated to have a net worth of $6 million, per Celebrity Net Worth.

Jennifer Lopez upgraded her car

When Jennifer Lopez was a Fly Girl dancer on "In Living Color" in 1991, she drove a Honda hatchback to every audition, she explained during a Hollywood Reporter roundtable in 2016.

"And when I got, I think it was a regular series, I bought a car — a Mercedes," she said, "and it was a huge deal, though I was signing the lease to the car and breaking up with my boyfriend the same week. We were in the dealership, and I was crying."

Jennifer Lopez's net worth is estimated at around $400 million by Celebrity Net Worth.

Kirsten Dunst put her money in her college fund and bought a house

"I started acting so young, all my money just went into a college fund. And then I probably bought my mom a house," Kirsten Dunst said during a Hollywood Reporter roundtable back in 2016.

Dunst began as a child actress, scoring her first big break at 12, starring opposite Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in "Interview with the Vampire" in 1994.

However, Dunst never attended college, finishing her studies at Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles in 2000.

George Clooney bought his friend's grandmother a TV with a remote

George Clooney lived in a buddy's apartment with his friend's grandmother when he first began acting.

"I bought her a TV with a remote because she would always have to get up and go and change the channel. So with my first check, I bought her a TV," he told POPSUGAR in 2022 when asked what he did with his first paycheck.

Clooney is estimated to have a net worth of $500 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

The South China Morning Post reported that the actor earned $40 million from his ad appearances with Nespresso.

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