Since Big Little Lies, Reese Witherspoon has made bank on her TV shows. Now, with Kerry Washington with her for Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere, we’re sure that this dream team is making the dough they deserve. So what are Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington’s Little Fires Everywhere salaries? Well, let’s just say they’re anything but little.
Little Fires Everywhere, based on the 2017 novel by Celeste Ng, premieres on Hulu as a miniseries on Wednesday, March 18. The book follows two families in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in the 1990s. Witherspoon plays Elena Richardson, a mother of four and a third-generation Shaker Heights resident who writes for the local paper. Washington plays Mia, a single mom and a photographer who’s lived a transient lifestyle for most of her daughter’s childhood.
“The book really does delve into class and sociopolitical differences and cultural differences, so I think adding the level of race to that really enriches the storytelling,” Washington told Variety about how the Little Fires Everywhere miniseries will expand on the book. “We are stepping away from this binary idea we have of race in this country—of black and white—because we’re also dealing with Asian American identity and immigrant identity.”
Now, back to the $$$. Find out how much Witherspoon and Washington make on Little Fires Everywhere ahead.
Reese Witherspoon
Image: Hulu.
Salary: $1.1 million per episode
Net Worth: $240 million
With a show on HBO (Big Little Lies), AppleTV+ (The Morning Show) and now Hulu, Witherspoon’s salary for Little Fires Everywhere was bound to be a lot. Variety reports that the actress makes $1.1 million per episode the star and executive producer on the series, which will amount to $7.7 million for the whole season. The salary falls between Witherspoon’s salaries for Big Little Lies (which was a reported $1 million per episode) and The Morning Show (which was a reported $2 million per episode). “I like to joke in my office that it seems there’s at least one Reese Witherspoon on every service,” one TV exec told Variety. “It seems like they all must have her to launch a show or given themselves credibility, to say they attract A-list talent.”
As for her net worth, Forbes estimated in 2019 that Witherspoon was worth $240 million, which sounds about right given how much she makes from her media company, Hello Sunshine (which produces Big Little Lies, The Morning Show, Little Fires Everywhere and more of her shows.) Witherspoon also has her film money. Legally Blonde alone grossed $141 million worldwide when it premiered in 2001. Witherspoon, who also has an Oscar, also produces podcasts, movies and web series through Hello Sunshine, which she’s reported to earn a cut from.
Kerry Washington
Image: Hulu.
Salary: $1.1 million per episode
Net Worth: $25 million
Like Witherspoon, Washington also makes $1.1 million per episode for her role as a star and executive producer of Little Fires Everywhere, which amounts to $7.7 million for the whole season. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Washington is worth $25 million. For Scandal’s last season in 2017, in which Washington played the lead Olivia Pope, Variety reported that she earned an impressive $250,000 per episode, which would’ve amounted to $4.5 million for the whole season. As for her other paychecks, Washington is a multi-Emmy and Golden Globe nominee. She’s also been the face of Neutrogena.