When Rue McClanahan was first trying to break onto our television screens, there weren't many agents who wanted to represent her. "They said I wasn't photogenic, and that I would never work on television," she later admitted in 1987 while accepting her Emmy — and she was nominated for four of them while starring on "The Golden Girls." Yet, that wasn't the only part of her success story. Over the course of her acting career, McClanahan, who died in 2010, built herself up to be around $5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Before she ever became Blanche, the actor started her career on Broadway. Her first recurring role on television didn't come until a show called "Maude" with Bea Arthur — who, crazy enough, later became her co-star once again on "The Golden Girls."

When McClanahan was cast as Blanche, she finally found financial security in her acting career, according to Publisher's Weekly. When the series wrapped up in 1992, "'The Golden Girls' was already in syndication, which is where the producers make the megabucks," the actor explained in her autobiography, "My First Five Husbands ... And the Ones Who Got Away." And we assume the actors saw some of that money too. Still, there was more money to be made. It was then that the spin-off "The Golden Palace" was born. "The new show only had to last three seasons to go into syndication. More megabucks," McClanahan wrote, noting that she hadn't originally wanted to do the show as it was designed. Unfortunately for everyone's wallet, the series only lasted a single season.