Laura Prepon Made A Fortune Per Episode Towards The End Of That ’70s Show

Laura Prepon has been a household name ever since she first appeared in That 70s Show back in the late 90s. Since then, this talented actress has appeared in almost 30 movies and TV shows, according to IMDb.

Her most recent projects include appearing in over 80 episodes of Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black and, most recently, it was announced that Prepon would be reprising the role of Donna in Netflix’s That 70s Show sequel series, That 90s Show.

Playing Donna Pinciotti in this popular sitcom not only helped kickstart Prepon’s career but also helped her build a considerable net worth. Although she didn’t have much professional experience before joining the cast of That 70s Show, by the time the series came to an end, Prepon was making a small fortune per episode.

Laura Prepon Was Cast As Donna In That 70s Show Just Because Of These Two Words

That 70s Show launched many young stars into international stardom, including Laura Prepon. Before appearing on the show, Prepon had only had a couple of small professional acting gigs, appearing in plays like A Woman of Property and Ascension Day and starring in the Levi Strauss-developed soap opera, They Go On. In addition to this, Prepon also had experience working as a model.

If you ask die-hard fans, they’ll tell you that Prepon was born to play Donna Pinciotti. As it turns out, the creators of the show knew this immediately after her first audition. In a 2020 interview for Entertainment Weekly, Prepon revealed the two words she said in her audition that landed her this iconic role.

“One of the things that’s really funny is later after I got on the show, I had said to our creators, Bonnie and Terri Turner, ‘What was the thing that made you know that I was Donna?'” she revealed.

“They said, ‘First of all, when you came in, you just were Donna. You were Donna Pinciotti; you were perfect for her.’ And at the end of the audition, I looked at them and I said, ‘We good?’ And I put my hands on the table and I pushed off like a total tomboy. It was just how I got up from my table. They said that sealed the deal.”

During a 2020 interview with CBS News, Prepon revealed that she felt like she didn’t have enough experience when she originally landed the role of Donna on this popular sitcom.

“I had no idea what I was doing when I booked That 70s Show,” she admitted, noting that her acting ability was incredibly limited at the time. However, the similarities between herself and her character greatly helped, “It was a glove that I could slide right into, and it fit perfectly. That was really great for [my] first role.”

Laura Prepon Made Between $250,000 To $350,000 Towards The End Of That 70s Show

Starring on That 70s Show not only had a significant impact on Laura Prepon’s career but also on her wealth. By playing Donna Pinciotti on the show’s eight seasons, Prepon amassed the majority of her $12 million net worth. In fact, by the time the show came to an end, Prepon was one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.

According to Glamour Path, Laura earned between $250,000 to $350,000 per episode while filming the last seasons of That 70s Show which was huge for such a young actress. With her amazing income, Prepon was able to buy a big luxury mansion in Los Angeles.

As it turns out, Prepon was not the only member of the That 70s Show cast that was earning a considerable income on the show. Although Topher Grace’s salary fluctuated over the course of the show, he was reportedly making approximately $300,000 per episode in the later seasons of this sitcom.

Laura Prepon Is Still Making a Lot of Money by Reprising Her Role In That 90s Show

Playing Donna Pinciotti on That 70s Show has probably been the highest-paying gig in Laura Prepon’s career. Despite this, the actress still maintains a multi-million dollar net worth. The actress has an estimated annual income of $2.2 million.

This probably comes from her acting ventures, which included reprising the role of Donna for Netflix’s sequel series, That 90s Show. Although she only had a couple of small appearances on the show, it would seem that Prepon and Topher Grace received a higher payout than the youngest and newest That 90s Show cast members.

In addition to acting, Prepon has ventured into other fields. She now manages a very popular cooking social media account and also wrote a book about her experience as a mother of two. Turns out that her social media venture also contributes significantly to Prepon’s wealth.

According to Fansided, Prepon makes up to $33,516 per sponsored Instagram post. And with a whopping following of 10.1 million, she’s the most influential That 70s Show cast member on social media.