 |
 Jaime Lyn Bauer Playmate soap star signed Halter Top $34.95 Time Remaining: 24d 4h 45m Buy It Now for only: $34.95 |
 ACTOR JOSEPH MASCOLO AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1982 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $19.99 Time Remaining: 17d 4h 12m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 JERRY VER DORN Soap Opera Star Guiding Light Autograph Signed Photo $9.95 Time Remaining: 18d 7h 56m Buy It Now for only: $9.95 |
 ACTRESS JENNY SULLIVAN AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1980 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $19.99 Time Remaining: 17d 1h 11m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 Man from UNCLE Soap star Pat Crowley signed 1950s Photo Generations Port Charles $10.99 Time Remaining: 11d 15h 40m Buy It Now for only: $10.99 |
 ACTOR DAVID ALLEN BROOKS AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1973 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $12.99 Time Remaining: 21d 5h 48m Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
 ACTOR PHILIP BROWN AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1980 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $12.99 Time Remaining: 17d 1h 33m Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
 ACTOR EDDIE ZAMMIT AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1980 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $12.99 Time Remaining: 17d 2h 16m Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
 ACTOR LOU RICHARDS AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1982 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $12.99 Time Remaining: 17d 2h 54m Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
 ACTRESS PHOEBE DORIN AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1971 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $12.99 Time Remaining: 17d 1h 28m Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
 ACTRESS DEBORAH MAY AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1980 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $12.99 Time Remaining: 17d 2h 22m Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
 ACTOR JOHN La GIOIA AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1974 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $12.99 Time Remaining: 17d 2h 36m Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
 ACTOR ROBERT SKIP BURTON AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1973 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $19.99 Time Remaining: 21d 5h 49m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 ACTOR JOHN RENSENHOUSE SOAP OPERA STAR TV MOVIE STAR AUTOGRAPHED PICTURE $12.99 Time Remaining: 10d 2h 35m Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
 ACTRESS JOSEPHINE NICHOLS AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1980 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $19.99 Time Remaining: 17d 1h 7m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 ACTOR STEPHEN SCHNETZER AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1980 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $19.99 Time Remaining: 17d 1h 50m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 ACTOR WAYNE MASSEY AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1980 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $19.99 Time Remaining: 17d 2h 28m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 ROSEMARY PRINZ As the World Turns Soap Star Penny Autograph Picture $9.95 Time Remaining: 21d 6h 33m Buy It Now for only: $9.95 |
 ACTRESS MARGUERITE RAY AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1980 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $19.99 Time Remaining: 13d 4h 51m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 ACTOR VANCE JEFFERIS AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO 1980 SOAP OPERA TV STAR $19.99 Time Remaining: 13d 5h 7m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 ACTOR DAVID WINN SOAP OPERA STAR AUTOGRAPHED PICTURE $19.99 Time Remaining: 4d 23h 26m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 ACTRESS MARTHA LAMBERT TV SOAP OPERA STAR AUTOGRAPHED PICTURE $19.99 Time Remaining: 5d 33m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 ACTRESS MARY LINDA RAPELYE TV SOAP OPERA STAR AUTOGRAPHED PICTURE $19.99 Time Remaining: 5d 42m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 RICHARD STEINMETZ Actor 1980s Soap Opera Star Loving Autograph Picture $7.95 Time Remaining: 25d 7h 11m Buy It Now for only: $7.95 |
 ROBIN MATTSON Soap Opera Star General Hospital Autograph $9.95 Time Remaining: 4h 46m Buy It Now for only: $9.95 |
 AMC Soap Star Cameron Mathison signed 8x10 JSA Matted $50.00 Time Remaining: 29d 20h 16m Buy It Now for only: $50.00 |
 JAMES PRITCHETT d2011 Soap Star The Doctors Autograph Signed Photo $9.95 Time Remaining: 25d 6h 52m Buy It Now for only: $9.95 |
 EDDIE EARL HATCH Actor 1970s Warriors Soap Opera Star Autograph $9.95 Time Remaining: 23d 5h 22m Buy It Now for only: $9.95 |
 GH Soap Star Jacklyn Zeman signed color 8x10 JSA Proof $35.00 Time Remaining: 19d 18h 20m Buy It Now for only: $35.00 |
 JAIME LYN BAUER TV Soap Star Lip Prints Autographed $30.00 Time Remaining: 18d 8h 33m Buy It Now for only: $30.00 |
 AMC Soap Star Cameron Mathison signed 8x10 JSA Matted $50.00 Time Remaining: 21d 18h 20m Buy It Now for only: $50.00 |
How much do you think a soap opera star makes a year?
So for starters, let's look at the minimum a soap star can expect to make on daytime television. For someone new to the business and what you could call an "unknown," the minimum would be around $700/per episode or even much less, depending on many different factors. This might initially sound like fairly good day’s pay; however, a newcomer on soaps will be lucky if they work one or two days a week. Typically, all soap stars are only guaranteed 1-3 days of work per week, even for some of the veterans on the show. So although some weeks may be good, others may not. Of course, the longer they are on the show, the more money the actors may make per episode, and the more likely they will be guaranteed more days of steady work. So once a newcomer has been on a show for awhile, they can generally expect to make anywhere from $700 to $1500 per episode.
For soap stars who have been around the block a little longer, typically 5-10 years, their salaries can now be upwards of $1500 to $3000 per episode, which again may only be anywhere from 1-3 days per week of actual work guaranteed. Again, there are a lot of other factors involved here, including how popular they are with the fans, what major storylines they may be involved with, and if they are doing any other promotional work for the studio.
Lastly, for the soap star veterans, those who have been in the business for more than 10 years, the range of salaries can now be found around $2000 to $5000+ per episode. Only a small percentage of soap stars are actually in the $5000 or more range, but it's not unheard of for some of daytime's most popular actors or actresses. Plus, with the growing salaries of many primetime actors, there is no doubt that some daytime soap stars are most likely offered substantial incentives to stay put in daytime. There are also a few exceptions in daytime with those who have been with a show for many years, including daytime actor, Tony Geary (Luke, GH) and actresses Erika Slezak (Viki, OLTL) and Susan Lucci (Erika Kane, AMC) whom are probably more in the range of 7-10 million or more per year, which also includes special privileges including limited work hours and extended vacations.
Here's a run-down of a typical annual salary for year one, five, and 10 or more years:
1st Year Mark - $72,800 - $156,000/per year
5 Year Mark - $156,000 - $312,000/per year
10 Year Mark - $208,000 - $520,000/per year
These numbers are based on a typical work week of two days per week, times 52 weeks per year, which does not account for holidays, vacations, etc. These numbers are also just estimates, and may or may not be typical of the actual earnings. Also, as mention above there are many other factors which can influence the actor's salary as well, including how much they pay their agent, their current contract status, bonuses, length of contract, and which network they work for. Many soap stars also take time off in the slow months to do movies, commercials or other television projects which certainly adds to their annual take-home pay.
Pooja Gaur, soap star joins the judges panel - Boogie Woogie - Kids Championship - Episode 21