Full House star Jodie Sweetin opens up on her shocking residual cheque

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‘I got a one-cent check,’ says actress who played Stephanie Tanner for all eight seasons on hit ’80s show and later returned for the Netflix revival

Published May 01, 2026 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 2 minute read

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Jodie Sweetin attends Cool Comedy Hot Cuisine Benefitting The Scleroderma Research Foundation at Fairmont Century Plaza on Oct. 29, 2024, in Los Angeles, Calif. The former Full House child star revealed she recently received a residual payment of exactly $0.01 for her work on the beloved 1980s sitcom. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez /Getty ImagesArticle content

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Jodie Sweetin just got a reality check about how much TV fame pays these days.

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Speaking on the McBride Rewind podcast, the former Full House star said she recently received a residual payment of exactly $0.01 for her work on the beloved sitcom.

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Sweetin, now 44, played Stephanie Tanner for all eight seasons from 1987 to 1995, starting when she was just five years old, according to People. She later returned for the Netflix revival Fuller House from 2016 to 2020.

“I got a one-cent check the other day,” she said. “There’s no syndication anymore because it’s all in streaming. Who gets paid for that? Nobody gets paid for that.”

Andrea Barber, left, Jodie Sweetin, and Candace Cameron Bure star in a scene from the Netflix revival Fuller House. Photo by NetflixSweetin says things used to look very different

Back in her 20s, there was still some money coming in from reruns — but it was never steady, per Page Six. Payments depended on how often the show aired, and there was no way to predict it.

“Sure, in my 20s, there would be money, but not reliable,” she said. “You don’t know how much it’s going to be or how often they’re going to run the show.”

Unpredictability has only gotten worse as industry shifted

In the past, actors could count on solid payouts from cable reruns, syndication deals and DVD sales, reports E! News. Now, with shows living mostly on streaming platforms, those residuals have shrunk dramatically.

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Still, Sweetin keeps a sense of humour about it. Sometimes the payments are a nice surprise — and sometimes they barely cover a meal.

“Sometimes you’re like, ‘Oh, cool. That was nice.’ And then sometimes you’re like, ‘All right, well, there’s a nice dinner out.’”

‘I will never say never to anything’

Despite the dwindling paychecks, she hasn’t ruled out revisiting the role that made her famous. While some actors try to distance themselves from their breakout characters, Sweetin says she’d happily return — even if it’s decades down the line.

“I will never say never to anything,” she said, according to People.

She joked that a future reboot might feature an aging cast needing care from the next generation, adding she’d still be on board if it meant working with her longtime co-stars again.

“I mean, we always joke that it’ll be, you know, Fuller Fullest House and we’ll just be ancient and the kids will be wiping our asses,” Sweetin said with a laugh.

Contrast with another sitcom is striking

The cast of Friends, meanwhile, continues to earn massive residuals more than 20 years after the show ended. As previously reported in the Toronto Sun, the core cast still pulls in about $20 million annually.

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Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe Buffay from 1994 to 2004, reflected on that success in a recent interview with the Times of London, as cited by Page Six. After the 2023 death of co-star Matthew Perry at age 54, she rewatched the show and saw it in a new light.

“After Matthew died, I watched the show again,” she said. “Before, I only saw what I did wrong or could have done better. But, for the first time, I truly appreciated just how great it was.”

She praised her castmates — calling Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox “amazing,” applauding David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc’s comedic timing, and saying Perry “was just beyond (them) all.”

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