Actresses Who Demand Crazy Things In Their Contracts

In Hollywood, top actresses have a lot of influence when making deals for movies and TV shows. While they often negotiate for higher pay and prominent screen credit, some stars also request very specific and surprising things in their contracts. These requests can cover everything from the appearance of the set to how their character’s story ends, and even who gets to keep the designer clothes they wear. These unusual contract details reveal a lot about the power these actresses have within the entertainment industry.

Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah has a unique rule in all her contracts: her characters never die on screen. She started this early in her career to keep the possibility open for revisiting those roles in future movies or TV shows. This helps her maintain control over her characters and ensures she has opportunities to continue working within successful franchises. It’s been a consistent part of her contract negotiations for decades.

Julianna Margulies

Julianna Margulies, while starring in ‘The Good Wife’, always wore a wig for each episode. She made this a condition of her contract to avoid the lengthy daily hair styling her character needed. This protected her own hair from heat and chemicals commonly used during TV production. The production team fully covered the cost of the expensive, high-quality wigs, which amounted to thousands of dollars per wig.

Sharon Stone

While filming ‘Basic Instinct 2’, Sharon Stone negotiated a deal allowing her to keep all of her character’s clothing. This included high-end designer outfits and custom pieces made just for her role as Catherine Tramell. The total value of the wardrobe she kept was estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, effectively turning the film’s fashion into a personal collection.

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez is known for having very specific requests when she’s working. She usually asks for her dressing rooms and trailers to be decorated entirely in white – including the furniture, candles, flowers, and curtains. She also likes to keep the temperature precisely how she prefers. These detailed requirements help her create a calm and consistent workspace, no matter where she is filming.

Lea Michele

Like many well-known actors, Lea Michele had a clause in her contract for ‘Scream Queens’ that protected her character, Hester Ulrich, from being killed off. This meant her character was guaranteed to survive, no matter what happened in the show’s scary plot. This ensured she’d remain a cast member for the entire series. Actors often include these kinds of agreements to protect their jobs, especially when working in shows with large casts where characters are regularly eliminated.

Jennifer Aniston

During the filming of ‘Wanderlust’, Jennifer Aniston apparently requested a special trailer just for her hair and makeup artists, on top of her regular trailer. This gave her beauty team a private space to work without distractions from the busy set. This request shows how much importance is placed on her appearance and the effort that goes into maintaining her image during filming.

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand is famous for having detailed requests in her performance contracts, especially when it comes to her bathrooms. She often asks for peach-colored towels and even rose petals in the toilet – she believes peach is the most flattering color for her skin. These demands also apply to her dressing rooms, where she requires specific carpets and lighting. Essentially, her contracts guarantee she’ll have a comfortable and visually appealing environment wherever she performs.

Kim Basinger

Kim Basinger was well-known for a unique demand she made during her acting career: she insisted her hair only be washed with Evian bottled water. She did this to avoid the minerals and chemicals often found in regular tap water on movie sets. The film studios paid for the cost of supplying all this imported water, and it became a famous example of the unusual requests—often called ‘riders’—that celebrities sometimes make.

Cameron Diaz

Okay, so I’ve heard some interesting things about Cameron Diaz’s contract riders, and it all boils down to hygiene. Apparently, she insists on touchless faucets and fixtures in her trailers – everything from the sink to the toilet should be motion-activated. It’s not about being a diva, though; she’s genuinely concerned about germs and keeping things sanitary, especially when she’s working on location and using temporary facilities. She basically writes this requirement right into her contracts to ensure her personal space is always clean and germ-free. It’s a pretty smart move, honestly, considering how much time actors spend on set!

Angelina Jolie

As a movie buff, I always find it fascinating to hear about the behind-the-scenes stuff, and Angelina Jolie’s contract for ‘Salt’ was pretty incredible. Basically, she negotiated for her whole family to travel with her – and I mean really travel! The studio had to provide a private jet for her kids and staff, plus top-of-the-line housing wherever they went. It was all to make sure being a mom didn’t become impossible while filming this huge action movie overseas. Honestly, it sounds like this kind of all-out support is just something she expects when she signs on for a long, international shoot, and I can’t say I blame her!

Jennifer Lawrence

During the filming of the thriller ‘mother!’, Jennifer Lawrence asked for a special space to help her relax due to the movie’s heavy and disturbing content. This ‘Kardashian tent’ was filled with pictures of the Kardashian family and continuously played episodes of ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’. The filmmakers provided it so she could unwind between intense scenes, and it proved to be a crucial way for her to stay balanced during the challenging shoot.

Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts arranged for her contract for ‘Eat Pray Love’ to include travel and lodging for her family. The movie production covered the costs of flying her children and their nanny to filming locations around the world, allowing her to keep her family together during the international shoot. This is typical for Roberts, who makes it a priority to balance her family life with her successful acting career.

Faye Dunaway

Faye Dunaway famously insisted on a specific lighting setup – often called “glamour lighting” – on every movie set. She wanted to always look her best on camera, no matter the scene. Known for carefully controlling her image, she’d even halt filming if the lighting wasn’t to her liking. This demand was a firm condition in her contracts during her most successful years as a film star.

Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon negotiated a unique deal for her work in ‘Legally Blonde 2’: she was allowed to keep all of her character Elle Woods’ clothes. This included a remarkable collection of 77 pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes and numerous custom-made designer outfits. Witherspoon later revealed she put the entire wardrobe into storage, wanting to preserve the memorable style of the character. This meant the significant investment in the film’s fashion ended up belonging to her after production finished.

Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore famously requests a clause in her contracts that prevents any digital editing of her appearance in ads and promotional images. She wants to appear natural, freckles and all, and refuses to have airbrushing or computer enhancements used to alter her look. This shows her dedication to being genuine and presenting a realistic image to the public, and she uses the contract clause to ensure control over how she’s represented in advertising for her films.

Tell us which of these celebrity contract demands surprised you the most in the comments.

2026-02-13 09:45