Shannon Elizabeth joins OnlyFans: Why the actress said she joined
Shannon Elizabeth, known for her roles in American Pie and Scary Movies, has launched an OnlyFans account saying Hollywood is “controlling” her career.
More than 10 years ago, she appeared in the movie “Harry Potter”. Currently, she is on OnlyFans.
Jessie Cave, the British actress who played Gryffindor student Lavender Brown in three of the eight Harry Potter movies, has been making headlines over the past year for her unconventional OnlyFans presence. In March 2025, the 39-year-old announced that she had joined the website, which is primarily known for sexually explicit content, but clarified that she would not post any pornography. According to the Observer, which interviewed Cave for an article in April, she has never posed nude on OnlyFans, and her videos on the site primarily consist of her combing back and showing off her long hair.
“It wasn’t until I started that I realized it was an official fetish, something called ‘trichophilia,’ being excited about hair,” Cave told the Observer. “Essentially, it’s about feeling like you’re talking to someone and feeling a little bit more connected.”
Cave also opened up about what brought her to OnlyFans in the first place. She says it was never about sexual liberation or women’s empowerment. It was inevitable. Cave, a mother of four, said OnlyFans has been her financial lifeline, making more money than she did in her nearly 20-year acting career.
“At the end of the day, it’s just a job,” Cave told the Observer.
For some, Cave’s journey says a lot about the financial pressures people face, especially parents. It also talks about society’s polarized views on sexuality. Although Cave has been open about the shame and stigma she faced for joining OnlyFans, many people still take notice of her content.
“Women in general, and mothers in particular, are under intense scrutiny for how they make a living and support their families,” said Jennifer Reich, a sociology professor at the University of Colorado Denver. “The sentence she faced is a stark reminder that women generally face far greater scrutiny than men, and their actions are often interpreted within a social context that shapes what kinds of work are acceptable.”
Jesse Cave and the stigma (and appeal) of OnlyFans
Cave told the Observer that he considers what he does on OnlyFans to be more or less another form of acting. But for her it was much more profitable than movies and television. According to Us Weekly, she wrote on Substack last year that she felt a “sense of shame” in joining OnlyFans because “I’ve been working in the art industry for 18 years and I’ve got nothing to show for it.”
For Cave, the cost of OnlyFans wasn’t just embarrassing, it was also financial. In September, Cave revealed on Substack that he was banned from a recent Harry Potter fan convention because he was on OnlyFans. She told the Observer that she used to rely on these fan events for a steady income.
“They explained that it’s because it’s a ‘family show and OnlyFans is affiliated with porn,'” she wrote on Substack, according to Collider and The Hollywood Reporter. “This perplexed me, because some of the actors at the convention (in fact, most actors) have appeared in TV or movies that include sex scenes or nudity. I’m just playing with my hair!”
Trauma and relationship therapist Jordan Pickell said it’s not uncommon for parents to take on gig jobs to pay the bills, and most people support it. But when these gig jobs venture into highly polarizing areas, such as sexuality, people are less likely to support them.
“Parents are doing gig work, and it’s perceived as hustle and resilience, but anything that resembles sex work is moralized,” Pickel says.
What Jessie Cave’s OnlyFans Says About Society
Cave got the idea for OnlyFans from a friend after hitting a wall financially. Now, she’s juggling OnlyFans with raising a family and filming content whenever she has time.
“I basically sneak out whenever I can, or when they’re at school, and do as much content as I can in 22 minutes,” she told the Observer.
Chris Belcher, an associate professor in the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Southern California, said Cave’s OnlyFans journey raises more questions about society than about her or any particular individual.
“I think it’s clear that we live in a society that devalues care,” Belcher said. “We may be asking more important questions about why it is difficult for a mother of four to afford to support her family than whether it is wrong for her to comb her hair for a man who enjoys looking at it on the internet.”
