Jennifer Esposito Reveals She Lost Her Home After Financing Her Film 'Fresh Kills'
- - Jennifer Esposito Reveals She Lost Her Home After Financing Her Film 'Fresh Kills'
Nina DerwinFebruary 3, 2026 at 10:12 PM
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Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Jennifer Esposito has revealed she is being forced to give up her home following a financial setback tied to mortgage issues.
The '90s TV star and leading lady took to Instagram this week to open up about the deeply personal challenge, which she explains is the result of mortgaging her house to finance her 2023 film, Fresh Kills.
"Yeah, I'm looking like a— right now because I've been crying because I'm moving out of my home that I mortgaged to make my film," Esposito, 52, said through tears in a video. The actor turned director wrote, starred in, produced, directed, and ultimately released the film that she'd spent 15 years developing. However, it did not generate enough profits for Esposito to pay back her initial investment and hold onto her house.
Additionally, Esposito voiced frustration that "people who are in the spotlight" didn't bother to say a kind word to help promote the film upon its release.
"And then I said to myself, 'You know what? Nobody owes anybody anything.' And then I thought, 'Do we? Do we as human beings?'" she said.
"Maybe that's why we're in this problem right now where we are. I think actually we do owe each other something. We owe each other decency as human beings. That's what we owe each other," she added.
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Several of Esposito's Hollywood friends and peers rallied around her in the comments.
Will & Grace star Debra Messing wrote, "Jen, I am heartbroken for you. Your film was exquisite and I'm better for seeing it. The fact that you have to leave your home in order to give your Art to the world is maddening. Sending love and strength and appreciation."
"Proud of you 🙌 Brava. I have not seen your film and would love to. I'm so sorry," commented Rosanna Arquette.
"Here for you, kiddo! Ya'll check Jennifer's movie out. She put and puts it all on the line. A real artist in the pursuit of truth!" added Don Cheadle.
In a 2024 interview with KTLA, Esposito shared that she'd mortgaged her home as an act of pure faith in herself and her art. "This town tells you what you can be and what you can't be for so many years. I was just so over that and I thought, 'Why am I asking the world to believe in me, I have to believe in me.' So I'm going to put my money down. At the end of my life, am I going to be so happy that my house was paid off? Or am I going to be so happy that I gave myself the opportunity that I’ve been waiting for for far too long? So I thought I'm going."
Fresh Kills offers a fresh take on the age-old mafia story from a purely female perspective. Esposito is one of the rare few female directors to step into the genre, and the film premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and the Red Sea International Film Festival.
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
