Long before she became one of Indian cinema’s most celebrated and highest-paid actresses, Samantha Ruth Prabhu was just a hardworking schoolgirl taking up part-time work to support herself.ETimes takes a delightful throwback to an AMA session on Instagram where Samantha had revealed that her very first salary was Rs 500 for an eight-hour job as a hostess at a hotel conference when she was in class 10 or 11.She shared with her fans, “My first income was 500 rupees for an eight-hour day as a hostess in a hotel for a conference… I was in 10th standard or 11th standard.” Despite the modest pay, she had said back then that the job gave her deep happiness because it represented her first taste of financial independence.

From Rs 500 to Rs 10 crore

Fast forward to today, Samantha stands as one of the top-compensated actresses in the country. For her role in the Hindi web series ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny’ opposite Varun Dhawan, the actress reportedly charged Rs 10 crore, reflecting her star power and popularity across industries.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Raj Nidimoru love games

On December 1 this year, Samantha entered a new phase of life as she married filmmaker Raj Nidimoru in an intimate and deeply spiritual ceremony in Coimbatore, surrounded only by close family and friends. The couple performed rituals at the Linga Bhairavi abode in what was described as a serene, soul-centered wedding.