10 Actors Who Were Paid Shockingly Little For Famous Roles

3. Oprah Winfrey - The Color Purple - $35,000

Oprah makes so much money every year, that it was once said that she earned $1 million dollars a day. Even now, she earns close to that amount with a reported $285 million a year salary, which is truly insane when you think about it for longer than, oh, a second. Still, even Oprah had humble showbiz beginnings - she was paid a mere $35,000 dollars for her Academy Award-nominated performance as Sofia in Steven Spielberg's drama The Color Purple. Oprah puts in a wonderful, deeply affecting performance in the movie, starring alongside the likes of Danny Glover and Whoopi Goldberg. Given the fact that this was a Steven Spielberg picture, however - with a budget of $15 million dollars, no less - it seems strange that Oprah was offered so little for her work here. Sure, she was later gifted with an Academy Award nomination, which many will probably say was reward enough... but tell that to Oprah's accountant!