Michaela Coel has reportedly raked in £3million since starring in the critically-acclaimed drama I May Destroy You in 2020.
The actress, 34, turned down a £750,000 offer from Netflix for the show because it meant giving up the copyright, according to The Mirror, but the decision has paid off in the long run.
I May Destroy You followed Michaela as the main character Arabella who tries to piece together a night out where she was sexually assaulted.
According to the publication, Michaela’s first accounts for her company Falkna Ltd show she paid £766,593 to creditors last year.
But that left her with net assets of over £2.6million, according to records filed last week at Companies House seen by the newspaper.
A representative for Michaela has been contacted by MailOnline for a comment.
Michaela began pitching the show in 2017 and Netflix offered £750,000 for full rights but Michaela refused, wanting copyright over her ideas.
She said afterwards of the streaming giant’s reaction: ‘There was just silence on the phone.
‘It’s not how we do things here. Nobody does that, it’s not a big deal’. I said, ‘If it’s not a big deal, then I’d really like to have 5% of my rights’.’
Michaela rose to stardom after growing up on a council estate in London with her sister and mother.
The star won the award for Outstanding Writing for I May Destroy You at the Emmys last September.
Michaela, who both created the series and plays the lead character Arabella, delivered a poignant acceptance speech on stage, while dedicating the award to sexual assault survivors.
She is a sexual assault survivor herself, with her experiences serving as the basis of her show I May Destroy You.
‘Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that isn’t comfortable. I dare you,’ she began.
‘In a world that entices us to browse through the lives of others to help us better determine how we feel about ourselves, and to in turn feel the need to be constantly visible, for visibility these days seems to somehow equate to success — do not be afraid to disappear from it, from us for a while, and see what comes to you in the silence,’ she added.
She concluded her speech by stating, ‘I dedicate this to every single survivor of sexual assault.’
Coel was also nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, Outstanding Lead Actress for Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
I May Destroy You was one of last summer’s most critically-acclaimed shows around the world when it aired on BBC One and HBO.
Michaela took home BAFTA gongs for Leading Actress and Mini-series for the series at the ceremony at the Television Centre in June.
There she called for intimacy coordinators on film and TV sets to stop actors being ‘exploited’.
Taking to the stage to accept her award, Michaela dedicated her win to intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien and thanked her for ‘making the space safe… so we can make work about exploitation, loss of respect, abuse of power, without being exploited or abused in the process.’
Michaela was snubbed for her work in the critically acclaimed series at the Golden Globes this year.
She has previously won two BAFTAS in 2016 for her hit E4 comedy Chewing Gum in the Breakthrough Talent and Best Female Comedy performance categories.
Source: Daily Mail
