August 26, 2025
Natasha Rothwell remembers writing herself a check as a way to manifest paying off her student loans.
Natasha Rothwell was confident she would one day pay off her student loans, and to manifest that belief, the then-aspiring Hollywood star wrote herself a $40,000 check.
The Emmy-nominated White Lotus star spoke with CNN on August 19 about how she spent her first big paycheck as an actress and screenwriter. Paying off her student loans was her top priority, a goal she had manifested years earlier.
“I wrote a check to myself for like $40,000, because that would pay off my student loans, or a portion of it, and I just carried it around with me in my wallet while I was broke, picking up Metrocards in New York, and hoping one of them could get me home,” Rothwell shared.
“And it was just, I was like, ‘One day, I am gonna be able to cash this check and pay off (my loans),” she continued. “And I just remember, when I was on the phone with Sallie Mae and closing out my account, and I had that check in my hand.”
The Insecure star remembers how emotional the moment was, “because money is emotional,” she added.
“I think especially if you’ve been preoccupied with how you’re going to get it and how you’re going to live, and I had graduated with a theater degree during a recession, so it was scary times, and it just took a lot of faith to make sure that that could happen,” Rothwell explained.
While some might think it might be “pretty delulu to write a check like that to yourself and put it in your wallet,” Rothwell said, the Wonka star admitted to being a firm believer in the law of attraction.
“I think it… it helps a little bit. A little delulu never hurt nobody,” she said.
Rothwell is seeing her dedication to her craft pay off as she received her first Emmy nomination for her role as Belinda in The White Lotus. She is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, one of 23 nominations the hit HBO Max show received.
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