Lisa Ann Walter Reveals What She Bought with Her Abbott Elementary Pay Raise: ‘I Couldn’t Afford It’ Before (Exclusive)
Addressing the cast’s reported pay bumps ahead of season 4, the actress told PEOPLE, “Yes, we got a little more money”
The actress, 61, told PEOPLE at Warner Bros. Television Group’s Fall TV event with Fenty Beauty in Los Angeles on Thursday, Oct. 10, how she’s been spending some of her Abbott Elementary salary, including buying a house.
“Yes, we got a little more money in there and all the Hot Pockets we could eat,” Walter said jokingly when asked about the significant pay raises that the Abbott Elementary cast reportedly earned ahead of season 4.
“This year, I did something that I had not been able to do in many, many years since the divorce took the last one — and that’s buy myself a house,” she continues. “I couldn’t afford it in Los Angeles, even being a working actress.”
Walter has lived in the house for only one week and has “already had a flood and had to replace the water heater,” she adds.
According to Deadline, the main cast renegotiated their contracts, with some cast members doubling or tripling their previous paychecks.
Walter, Janelle James and Chris Perfetti will now make $200,000 per episode, while Tyler James Williams and Sheryl Lee Ralph will earn $250,000, the site reported. Show creator Quinta Brunson’s acting salary reportedly rose to somewhere between $350,000 and $400,000 per episode, Deadline shared.
Walter plays second-grade teacher Melissa Schemmenti on the popular ABC sitcom. Between filming seasons, Walter spends time with her family.
“Last year, I did something for my family that I had not been able to do in, say, 15 years, and that was take them on a vacation,” the Parent Trap star explains. “It was a really nice vacation [in Europe].”
“I went to Sicily with my sister [Laura], and we saw the birthplace of my ancestors,” says Walter, who is of Sicilian and Alsatian descent.
