Robbie was born on July 2, 1990, in Dalby, Queensland, and grew up on a farm in rural Australia. Her parents divorced when she was young, and money was tight growing up — she worked a string of jobs as a teenager, including a stint at a Subway sandwich shop and cleaning houses, to help support herself. At 17, she left home for Melbourne to pursue acting seriously, a decision that set her on the path to a career her rural upbringing gave little hint of.

Robbie’s first major break came on Australian television, where she was cast as Donna Freedman on the long-running soap opera Neighbours, a role she played from 2008 to 2011 and which gave her years of steady on-camera experience. Around 2011 she moved to Los Angeles to chase bigger opportunities, working without a guaranteed path to success in the notoriously difficult US market. Her breakthrough came in 2013, when she was cast opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, a high-profile role that put her on the map in Hollywood almost overnight.

Photo: P. Lovell via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Following The Wolf of Wall Street, Robbie built a fast-moving filmography that included About Time (2013), Focus (2015), and her first turn as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (2016), a role that made her a global household name. In 2017, she starred in and produced I, Tonya through her own company, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and establishing herself as a serious producing talent as well as a leading actress. She went on to appear in Mary Queen of Scots (2018) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), reprised Harley Quinn as a producer and star of Birds of Prey (2020), and in 2023 starred in and produced Barbie, which grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide and became one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Alongside her acting career, she co-founded the production company LuckyChap Entertainment in 2014 with her now-husband Tom Ackerley and creative partners, a venture that has since produced acclaimed films including Promising Young Woman and Saltburn.

Photo: Toglenn via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Robbie’s annual earnings have varied significantly by year depending on her release slate, since her income comes from a mix of upfront acting salaries, producing fees through LuckyChap, and, in the case of Barbie, a share of the film’s box-office success. In years anchored by a major release like Barbie, entertainment-industry estimates have placed her earnings well into eight figures, making her one of the highest-paid actresses working today. Because she draws income both as a performer and as a producer, her earnings profile looks different from actresses who rely on salary alone.

Robbie’s upfront salary for Barbie was widely reported at around $12.5 million, a strong quote for a lead actress, but it was far from the full picture of what the film earned her. As a producer with profit participation in the movie’s box-office performance, various entertainment-industry reports estimated her total Barbie-related earnings at well above $50 million once bonuses and backend points from the film’s massive global success were factored in. That structure — acting fee plus producer’s backend — has become central to how Robbie’s biggest paydays are built, rather than relying on a single upfront number.

Robbie has been a global brand ambassador for Chanel since 2016, appearing in major fragrance and fashion campaigns for the French luxury house, one of the longest-running and most prestigious endorsement relationships of her career. She has also partnered with brands including Nintendo and a number of other beauty and fashion labels over the years, capitalizing on her status as one of the most recognizable faces in entertainment.

Robbie’s most significant business interest is LuckyChap Entertainment, the production company she co-founded in 2014 with Tom Ackerley and creative partners. Beyond giving her creative control over projects like I, Tonya, Birds of Prey, and Barbie, LuckyChap gives her an ongoing producer’s stake and revenue stream from a growing slate of successful films, extending her earning power well beyond acting fees alone. The company has become one of Hollywood’s more consistently acclaimed production outfits, with credits including Promising Young Woman and Saltburn adding to its track record.

Robbie owns a home in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, an established and relatively low-key enclave favored by entertainment-industry figures who prefer privacy over ostentation. She has also been reported to hold property interests in the UK and in her native Australia, reflecting the transatlantic life she and her husband have built between Hollywood and home.