‘Barbie’ star Margot Robbie used her earnings to pay off her mom’s house: ‘Don’t even worry about that mortgage’

When Margot Robbie first started earning money as an actress, her first order of business was to pay back the person who had helped her achieve her dreams.

During Robbie’s early career, her mother helped keep her afloat by borrowing against her home, the actress revealed in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. “She’d take money out of the house mortgage and lend me money,” she said. “So I always knew, ‘Oh, I’ve gotta pay that back.'” 

Robbie said that she kept careful track of every dollar that her mother gave her, writing it all down. “I have that piece of paper still,” she said. “I kept it. Everything I owed my mom, I had written down.” 

Though she reportedly earned $12.5 million for her lead role in this weekend’s smash hit film “Barbie,” Robbie wasn’t a household name until she appeared in 2013’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.” 

As she kept working, steadily building up her earnings, Robbie stayed focused on her goal.

“And one day, when I made enough money, I just paid that whole mortgage off completely,” she said. “I was like, ‘Mom, don’t even worry about that mortgage anymore. It doesn’t exist anymore.'” 

The 33-year-old actor, who has received two Academy Award nominations and has appeared in dozens of films, said in the interview that the decision to take care of her mother was an easy one.

“Honestly, anyone in my position, you’d do that for your mom,” she said. “Of course you would.”

Robbie is far from the first star who took care of their parents once they made it big. Fellow Aussie Chris Hemsworth paid off his father’s debts with his Hollywood earnings, while Michael B. Jordan bought a mansion to share with his parents.

“It’s every kid’s dream, to buy their mom and dad a house,” he said in a 2018 interview. “It was a bucket-list thing for me.” 

DON’T MISS: Want to be smarter and more successful with your money, work & life? Sign up for our new newsletter!

Take your business to the next level: Register for CNBC’s free Small Business Playbook virtual event on August 2 at 1 p.m. ET to learn from premier experts and entrepreneurs how you can beat inflation, hire top talent and get access to capital.