While some CW fans think Legacies and The Originals are overrated, the truth is that they have a pretty dedicated fanbase. Not only that but the vampire shows have also launched the careers of a number of notable talents. Perhaps the shows' biggest success story is Danielle Rose Russell. After all, her Instagram following is growing by the day and it appears as though she has a bright future ahead of her in the film and television industry.
Of course, it's clear why Danielle Rose Russell is the breakout star from the franchise as it was her character from The Originals who became the focus of her very own spin-off. And, at this point, Legacies appears to be a show with some legs. While it may not be the best CW show of the past 25 years, it certainly has a future and is keeping an audience. Thanks to this, the New Jersey-born actor has made quite a bit of cash. Here's who much she's made, how she made it, and what exactly is going on in her life now that she's a star...
Danielle Rose Russell's Net Worth Is Somewhere Between $1 Million and $1.6 Million
While there are somewhat conflicting reports about just how much the Legacies star is truly worth, there seems to be some consensus that she's worth over a million dollars. According to MD Daily Record, Danielle has a net worth of $1 million while Fame Ranker claims that she is worth closer to $1.6 million due to a CW salary of about $572,000 per year. That's before taxes, of course. But she's only 22... so that's pretty impressive.
Given that Danielle Rose Russell has played Hope Mikaelson on 54 episodes of CW's Legacies and, previous to that, 13 episodes of The Originals, it makes sense that she's worth around this amount. While The CW doesn't tend to pay the type of money that bigger networks such as ABC or NBC plays its stars, it's certainly possible that she makes $572,000 per year. While she's not as big of a star some of the other actors on The CW, she does have earning potential as the lead of her own show.
According to The Whisp, Stephen Amell was making $125,000 per episode of Arrow at the height of its success. While this number may be on the high end, especially since Betty Cooper's Lili Reinhart makes $40,000 per episode of Riverdale. Realistically, Danielle earns a similar figure. But perhaps it's slightly lower given how successful Riverdale has become.
How Danielle Rose Russell Was Able To Earn A Role In The Originals And Legacies
Danielle earned her first part in Liam Neeson's Walk Among The Tombstones in 2014 and then appeared in the absolutely loathed Aloha in 2015 where she played Bradley Cooper's daughter. Although her roles in both films were small, the fact that she was included in such notable films really pushed her career in the right direction. This was a big accomplishment given that she didn't do much acting when she was a kid. Instead, Danielle did what many young starlets do and pursued a career in modeling. But unlike many, Danielle was actually able to book work and was featured in a number of print ads.
After Walk Among The Tombstones, Aloha, and the film Pandemic, Daniell Rose Russell did six episodes on Kelsey Grammer's short-lived Amazon series, The Last Tycoon. There's no doubt that her role on the show opened up the door for her to join another series... After all, less than a year later, Danielle was cast as Hope Mikaelson on The Vampire Diaries spin-off, The Originals. Then, miraculously, within just a year, she had her own show in Legacies. That's literally four years of going from a nobody to one of the biggest CW stars.
While Danielle claims she was a little nervous going into a show where she was the main focus and doing much of the heavy lifting, she is grateful for it. She also said, in an interview with the BUILD Series, that she is lucky to be part of a show that's an ensemble cast and therefore some pressure has been taken off of her. But Danielle is still the focus on Legacies, the break-out star, and easily the most famous. This means she has had to deal with all the negative aspects of fame. In her case, extensive body shaming.
Because of all of the online hate that Danielle has received, her mental and physical health has suffered and she has had to remove herself from much of her online life. This includes not following anyone on Instagram and keeping her posts to a minimum.
Still, Danielle seems focused on advancing her career, continuing on as Hope Mikaelson, and bringing in all that money.