‘She sells incredibly well’: Margot Robbie’s huge Hollywood appeal
With Oscar nominations and a role with Chanel, Margot Robbie is seriously hot property. And here’s why she is commanding an eye-watering salary.
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She’s gone from Neighbours actor to one of the most in-demand stars in Hollywood, with Oscar nominations, her own production company, and a role as the face of Chanel.
Margot Robbie has built an estimated $US12 million ($A17.8 million) empire by being “down-to-earth”, “smart” and “sincere” … and it is paying off for her.
Australian-born Robbie’s star continues to rise in Hollywood with her second Oscar nomination – this time, for Best Supporting Actress, playing an ambitious TV reporter in Bombshell alongside Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron (the Academy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on February 10).
But it’s not just on the silver screen where Robbie, 29, is making her mark. She is hot property on screen and off it.
A US-based talent manager revealed that Robbie could command at least a $US1 million dollar for commercial endorsements – and that would be the starting price for someone of her celebrity profile.
“Everyone wants to work with her,” he told News Corp Australia, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
“She is fits within their primary target market of mid 20s to early 40s.
“She’s Australian and successful in the US, so she speaks to both markets, and is at the stage where she is considered a Hollywood A-lister.”
She was ranked No. 8 on Forbes’ list of the highest paid acctresses on 2019, with estimated earnings of $US23.5 million in the 12 months to July last year.
Her influence extends to fashion, where she has an ongoing ambassador role with Chanel, is the face of the French luxury brand’s Gabrielle Essence fragrance, and often sits front row at Chanel’s runway shows in Paris.
At the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards, Robbie wore Chanel on the red carpet: a sleek white skirt and sequined strapless top, then a tiered, ruffled check gown, as dressed by Hollywood’s most powerful stylist, Kate Young.
Robbie posed in a feathered black Dries Van Noten gown – teamed with hot pink opera gloves – at the London premiere of Birds of Prey this week, and supports Australian labels including Zimmermann and Realisation in her day-to-day outfit choices.
Vogue Australia editor Edwina McCann, who has worked with Robbie on multiple cover shoots, described her appeal as “truly authentic” and “real”.
“She has kept all the same friends, her flatmates from London, there's a lot of sincerity to what she does. None of it is a put-on with her,” Ms McCann told News Corp.
“She’s got that really down to earth attitude that people love about Australians, she’s got a great sense of humour, and an extraordinarily beautiful smile.
“And at the same time, she’s clearly a talented artist. She’s an incredible actor and a great producer as well.
“She has this girl next-door way about her that is disarmingly charming in Hollywood.”
Robbie most recently appeared on Vogue Australia’s coveted September issue last year, styled by Christine Centenera and photographed by Mario Sorrenti.
“It was a huge sell for us, she sells incredibly well,” Ms McCann said, of the cover’s impact with readers.
“She’s one of those gifts who only comes along once or twice in a generation. She’s Australian, she clearly appeals to a very broad audience,” she added, likening her to Kidman and Cate Blanchett.
“Margot has that A-list wattage star power about her that people just love.”
Hollywood director Cathy Yan described Robbie as “total positivity” after working with her on Birds of Prey: The Emancipation of Harley Quinn.
Robbie is also an executive producer on the soon-to-be-released superhero movie via her production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, which she co-founded in 2014 with her now-husband, Tom Ackerley.
“Margot’s really smart, really wonderful, extremely committed,” Ms Yan said.
Wearing smeared mascara and a maniacal smile, Birds of Prey stars Robbie as the Joker’s unhinged girlfriend Harley Quinn – a role she originally played in Suicide Squad.
“She took the character and just ran with it so well that she is, I think, in many people’s minds, Harley,” Ms Yan added.
“Harley is Margot. It was so interesting to see her further develop the character and to work with her on that.
“As a producer, she really believed in me and was a strong proponent of my work.
“I think that we have similar taste in many ways.
“She’s such a hard worker, a thoughtful person and very fair, and just lovely.
“It all starts from the top down, and how accessible and lovely and relatable and nice she is really allowed for the whole shoot to feel that way, too.”
The fashion impact of Robbie’s role in Birds of Prey is also likely to be felt beyond the cinema.
“Her look has entered the cultural conversation in a way that is really fascinating,” Ms Yan said.
“It was really lovely working with Margot … to create a look for her that pays homage to everything we’ve seen her in before, but is also a unique version of Harley that felt right for this movie.
“There’s so much recognisable iconography in her (Harley Quinn’s) look: the pigtails, the tattoos and the colour of her hair with the colour of her makeup.
“So we had fun with it and took it to a fresh place that you’ve never seen before.
“Her look was also motivated by what she would want to wear today and being really inspired by what we were seeing on the street.”
Sure, pigtails and tattoos are not Chanel. But Margot Robbie can pull anything off.
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is out on February 6.
The Oscars are announced on February 10 (February 9 in the US).
Originally published as ‘She sells incredibly well’: Margot Robbie’s huge Hollywood appeal