Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Struggling Actress Working Three Jobs To Make Ends Meet Discovers Voice-Over Work—And Earns Over $360k For It

Struggling Actress Working Three Jobs To Make Ends Meet Discovers Voice-Over Work—And Earns Over $360k For It
Kate has made over $360k from her voice-over work (PA Real Life/Collect)

A classically-trained actress told how she boosted her income tenfold – earning $360,000 in just three years – when she swapped delivering Shakespearean speeches for simple one-liners like “buckle up safely."


Kate Quinn, 30, found her voice by chance after moving to New York City, hoping to make her name on the Broadway stage – only to end up working two shifts a day as a nanny to survive, while she attended endless auditions.

But Kate, originally from Dallas, Texas, got her lucky break when she bought an actor friend dinner in exchange for him giving her pointers on finding voice-over work.

Kate in character for a performance (PA Real Life/Collect)

She said: “The next day I'd set up my very own freelance account online and the cash started flowing in.

“I've never looked back and even hear my voice unexpectedly when I'm out and about.

“My girlfriends called up for a spa treatment one day and it was my voice that was greeting them on the booking service – which raised a few laughs."

Kate snuggling a pooch (PA Real Life/Collect)

She continued: “But my most surreal experience was probably when I jumped into the back of a cab in Florida and my own voice was telling me to 'buckle up safely.'

“I've done so many voice-overs since I started in 2016 that I forget who I've given my voice to, but there's always a thrill when I come across it unexpectedly."

Buoyed by two years of non-stop work, Kate, whose boyfriend, Bryson Baumgartel, 27, is a musician and audio engineer, moved to New York in 2013, expecting to fulfill her acting dreams.

Instead, the roles dried up and she ended up nannying to make ends meet, while auditioning for everything she could.

Then, after speaking to a voice-over actor for a project she was working on, the more she discovered about the career prospects it offered, the more she thought she should be doing it herself.

“My skills were much more suited to something like voice-over work," she confessed. “I had done specialized voice training and had years of experience in the performing world."

Kate now divides her time between performing and voice-over work (Corinne Louise Photography/PA Real Life)

So, after being given a crash course on the dos and don'ts of voiceover performance over dinner, in February 2016 Kate set up an online profile on Fiverr, an online digital marketplace that allows businesses and digital freelancers to connect across the globe.

“It took about five minutes and within 24 hours I was already receiving requests," she said.

Initially working for fledgling podcasts and doing corporate voicemails, Kate's new business venture earned her $900 in her first month.

Kate used to work three jobs a day to pursue her acting dream (Corinne Louise Photography/PA Real Life)

“It was very much a part-time job for those first few months, as I was still going to auditions and working as a nanny," she said.

“Some days I would sandwich an audition between two nanny shifts, then get home at 2am and do some last minute voice-over work.

“My housemates at the time thought I was crazy, but I knew from the start if I wanted this to work, I had to build up a good business and that meant replying to every single request and turning it around as quickly as possible."

 

Charging $15 and upwards for a professional voicemail and $35 and upwards for voice-over work, by 2017, after landing some high profile customers, Kate was making over $4,800 a month – enabling her to ditch her nanny jobs for good.

“Out of nowhere there was a real spike in the amount of jobs coming through Fiverr, and I realized that this was something I could really make a living from, while still pursuing traditional acting roles," she added.

Outfitting her spare room with the required equipment to make her work full-time, Kate spent roughly $2,400 on sound-proofing and top-of-the-line recording equipment.

Kate and Bryson (PA Real Life/Collect)

“It was a lot of money to spend, but I definitely looked at it as an investment," she continued.

“Luckily, Bryson, who I met through friends in 2015, was fully behind me. He could see what a difference it was making doing work that I actually enjoyed.

“In fact, I'm holding out for him to lend me his voice so we can become a powerhouse couple in the voiceover industry!"

Kate and Bryson (PA Real Life/Collect)

She laughed: “Sadly, though, he doesn't seem too captivated by the idea right now."

Now, boasting a portfolio including customers like Disney, Kodak, and Samsung, she is earning around $120,000 a year from voice-overs, meaning she has enough money to take theatre work that she loves without worrying about what it pays.

Most recently, she has choreographed a production of Legally Blonde: The Musical in Vermont and is currently working on a regional production of Hercules.

 

“I feel incredibly blessed to be in the position I'm in right now," she said.

“I've struck a great balance between my work in musical theatre and my work doing voice-overs.

“To anyone who thinks they can't do what they love and earn a decent salary, my advice would be not to let other people's failures put you off aiming for your dream."

Kate spent over $2,400 kitting out her spare room as a recording studio (PA Real Life/Collect)

She concluded: “I've gone from working three jobs a day and struggling to make ends meet, to doing what I love and earning a pretty penny for it too."

“Sure, it's hard work, but the payoff has been completely worth it."

To find out more about Kate's work visit www.fiverr.com/genke712

More from Trending

Sarah Jessica Parker
Marc Piasecki/WireImage

Sarah Jessica Parker Claps Back At Conservative Critics Who Want Her To 'Shut Up' About Politics And 'Act'

Nothing seems to get conservatives' goats quite like celebrities having political opinions—well, liberal and leftist celebrities, anyway.

They seem to love it when weird right-wing celebs like Kevin Sorbo get on the internet and say bizarre, usually counterfactual nonsense, or when JK Rowling does her darnedest to make her legacy not about Harry Potter but about her weird obsession with trans people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ann Coulter
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Ann Coulter Faces Fierce Backlash After Saying 'We Didn't Kill Enough Indians' In Deleted Post

Far-right provocateur Ann Coulter is facing fierce criticism after she made a genocidal remark in a now-deleted post on X in response to University of Minnesota professor and Navajo Nation member Melanie Yazzie's speech about colonization.

Yazzie, in a speech at last year's annual Socialism Conference, said "decolonization is the only thing that is going to save us as a species" during a panel hosted by Red Nation, a Native American nonprofit that advocates for Palestinian and Native American rights. She also said that the United States is the "greatest predator empire that has ever existed" and said it should be dismantled.

Keep ReadingShow less
James Gunn
Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage

James Gunn Bluntly Fires Back At 'Jerks' Who Criticize Superman's Pro-Immigrant Themes

Superman director James Gunn issued a response to the "jerks" who criticize the political themes inherent to the superhero's story, expressing his hope that seeing the movie will "make people a little nicer."

Speaking with The Times of London, Gunn stressed that the story of Superman is more relevant than ever considering the ongoing political turmoil in the United States largely centered around the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Keep ReadingShow less

Things People Do In Relationships That Seem Sweet But Are Actually Toxic

Content Warning: Controlling and Toxic Relationship Behaviors

We've all either been involved in or witnessed a relationship where we saw something that we thought was cute or sweet at first, but we eventually found the behavior to be troubling or "too much."

Keep ReadingShow less
A piggy bank surrounded by loose change.
coin bank

'Poor Person Habits' People Won't Give Up No Matter How Rich They Get

When money is tight, we look for every possible way to avoid spending it.

As much as we might find ourselves missing out on some of the nicer things life has to offer, we find ourselves contented by the fact that we will always have enough money in our bank accounts to pay our bills on time.

Keep ReadingShow less