Eight shows a week, but I got paid a Wicked wage for it!
Kerry Ellis’s best year financially was starring in a West End hit...
ACTRESS and singer Kerry Ellis will never forget the day she mistakenly transferred £12,000 to her builder. The award-winning musical theatre star had intended to transfer just £1,200 – and realised her error seconds too late. It was, she says, one of the financially scariest moments of her life.
Kerry, 43, has trod the boards of many famous West End shows, playing Elphaba in Wicked; Nancy in Oliver!; and Grizabella in Cats. She tells DONNA FERGUSON that she can receive several thousand pounds for singing a couple of songs lasting 15 minutes.
Her best financial decision was to get on the property ladder in London at age 19. Now, she lives in a four-bedroom converted barn in Hertfordshire with husband James Townsend and children, Alfie, nine, and seven-year-old Freddie. She has been touring with Queen Machine (queenmachine.dk), a Scandinavian Queen tribute band – and will bring out a new album next year. Her book, Bumpkin To Broadway, which she wrote while struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic, is out now.
Q What did your parents teach you about money?
A TO be independent and self-sufficient. I vividly remember my father telling me that if I wanted something, I should buy it myself. That has stayed with me.
I come from a proper workingclass family. My dad was a policeman while my mum worked in social services. I didn’t want for anything growing up. I was lucky. We went on holiday once a year and my parents always made sure I had what I needed.
If they ever felt stressed about money, they hid it from me – as I do with my own kids. I think that’s your job as a parent – to support your family and make life as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
Have you ever struggled Q to make ends meet?
A YES. The pandemic was the scariest of times. I had two years’ worth of shows and concerts lined up when lockdown started – and they were then postponed or cancelled. I had a mortgage to pay and two children to look after.
To earn some money, I started teaching online – acting, singing and musical theatre. It was something I’d not had time to do before and I really enjoyed it. I also created my own podcast and wrote a memoir, Bumpkin To Broadway, which kept my mind busy. I didn’t make as much money as I usually do, but earned enough to pay the bills.
Q Have you ever been paid silly money?
A YES. The lump sum I got for my first album deal with Decca Records was overwhelming. I don’t want to say exactly how much it was for, but it was a big figure. I have also been paid funny money to do corporate gigs – a few thousand pounds for doing a couple of songs lasting ten to 15 minutes.
Q What was the best year of your financial life?
A IT WAS 2014 when I went back to play the lead role Elphaba in musical Wicked – I’d played the green-skinned witch five years previously. If I revealed how much they paid me, I’d get throttled. What I can say, though, is that performing in a musical is a big sacrifice. I was doing eight shows a week, working every day except Sunday. It was like running a daily marathon.
Q The most expensive thing you bought for fun?
A MY wedding dress for £1,500. It wasn’t a designer dress, it was from my local bridal shop in Hertfordshire. But it was beautiful, made of lace with a long fishtail. I bought it in 2011 and still have it boxed up. I dare not get it out and put it on for fear I won’t be able to get into it.
Q What is your biggest money mistake?
A IT was accidentally transferring £12,000 to a builder when I meant to pay him £1,200. I was getting some work done on our house six years ago, converting the garage into a room. I made the final payment in a rush. Just as it went through, I realised what I had done. It was a scary moment.
I called the builder and explained that I was so sorry, but I had given him £10,800 extra by mistake. Luckily, he transferred it back to me. It took 24 hours to arrive, but it all came back. He could have said: ‘Thanks for the tip, I’m going on holiday.’ But he didn’t.
Q The best money decision you have made?
A GETTING on the property ladder in 2000 when I was 19. I bought a two-up, two-down flat in an ex-council block in Brockley, South East London, with a 95 per mortgage. It cost £92,000.
I was already working full-time and had saved up the deposit while working on a cruise ship. My dad told me: ‘If you want something, go and get it’ – and I took his advice. That decision has enabled me to move up the property ladder and buy the home I have now.
Q Do you save into a pension or invest in the stock market?
A IF I go into a musical, I will save into a pension because the show will also contribute on my behalf.
But other than that I don’t because I’m self-employed and I don’t have much faith in pensions. I also don’t know enough about the stock market. I prefer to invest in property.
I sold my first flat in Brockley five years after I’d bought it for around £150,000. I bought another flat in the same area which I still own as a buy-to-let investment. I see that property as my pension – or a nest egg for my two children.
Q Do you own any other property?
A YES. Just over 18 months ago, my husband and I bought a four-bedroom converted barn with a garden that backs on to fields in Hertfordshire.
It’s a 40-minute commute into London. We bought it during the stamp duty holiday in the pandemic so we could save money on the purchase. It was stressful, but we managed it.
Q What is the one luxury you treat yourself to?
A I LIKE a night away in a hotel with my husband. We both work and we’re busy, so it doesn’t happen often – maybe once every three months or so.
Q If you were Chancellor what would you do?
A I WOULD love to see more creativity in schools, so I would increase funding for musical theatre, drama and sport.
Kids today are always looking at their phones and have lost their interpersonal skills. I think that doing more sport and theatre in school would teach them how to communicate again.
Q Do you donate to charity?
A YES, I support wildlife charity, the Born Free Foundation.
Q What is your number one financial priority?
A TO cover my bills and make sure I can support my family. Always, family comes first.