Highlights

• Fans disliked Jan Levinson, but the role made Melora Hardin famous.
• Melora Hardin's net worth increased through her role as Jan on The Office.
• Despite Jan's flaws, Melora Hardin appreciates the character.

If one thing is inevitable in life, it's that fans are going to dislike some characters on popular TV shows. While these characters are meant to be relatable and universally beloved, it would be impossible for everyone to love them. For example, fans had mixed feelings about Negan on The Walking Dead, and Heidi Swedberg changed her life after playing George's absolutely loathed fiance Susan on Seinfeld.

Since The Office was so beloved and aired for nine seasons, it's no wonder that fans have lots of opinions about the employees of Dunder Mifflin. While The Office is still one of the most comforting sitcoms to rewatch, fans don't love Jan Levinson, the VP of Northeast Sales. But despite how people feel about Jan, there's no denying two facts: actress Melora Hardin did a great job... and likely got rich as a result. In this article, we'll take a look at how playing Jan on The Office affected Melora Hardin's net worth, along with what she thought about portraying this character.

How Much Money Did Melora Hardin Make Playing Hated Character Jan On The Office?

While Melora Hardin's The Office Salary is unknown, she has a $4 million net worth, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Considering how well-paid the other actors were, it's safe to say that she earned much of her net worth playing Jan Levinson on the sitcom... even though not every fan thought Jan was a great addition to the TV series.

Hardin increased her net worth by appearing on The Office in two ways: by playing a fairly regular character and by becoming well-known enough to star in other TV series. This is proof that even if fans don't love a certain sitcom character, an actress can still do very well in her career after.

As is often the case on a long-running TV show, The Office cast got pay increases as time went on. According to The Richest, when comparing the salaries of the cast members, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and Rainn Wilson were paid $20,000 for every episode in seasons 1, 2, and 3. They then made $100,000 for every episode. While that is a far cry from the $1 million salary that many TV actors make now, as reported by Variety, it still added up to a nice payday.

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Who Is Jan Levinson In The Office?

• dates Michael Scott season 2-season 4
• Vice President of Northeast Sales of Dunder Mifflin
• appears in seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7
• comes back for season 9 episode 15 "Couples Discount"

Melora Hardin didn't appear in every episode of The Office or every season, and she wasn't a series regular like the others. She was likely not earning $100,000 for every episode. However, she played Jan in six seasons and appeared in 42 episodes. She must have earned a good amount appearing in a sitcom regularly.

Most of all, though, the actress increased her net worth by playing Jan on The Office because people now knew who she was. She was then able to get cast in many other TV series, which allowed her to make even more money. For example, people loved watching Hardin portray another type of manager: a smart magazine editor as part of The Bold Type cast. In an interview with Goldderby.com, Hardin talked about playing Jaqueline and said she isn't a "backstabbing" manager.

What TV Roles Did Melora Hardin Play After The Office?

• Trudy Monk, Cameron in Monk (2004-2009)
• Roxie Rutherford in Wedding Band (2012-2013)
• Tammy Cashman in Transparent (2014-2019)
• Jacqueline Carlyle in The Bold Type (2017-2021)
• Patricia Bloom in A Million Little Things (2019-2022)

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The main reason why fans hate Jan on The Office? Her personality and her unhealthy relationship with Michael. Redditor @Sufficient_Focus shared:

"Jan was always good as a boss, just later on she became narcissistic as a person."

But even though many people don't like Jan's personality, The Office viewers can't help but praise Hardin. Redditor @Soggy_Pud wrote:

"Jan is a terrible person. The actress who plays Jan is hilarious. I love her antics, especially at the baby shower or the dinner party or Money. You can kind of see what Michael sees in her in very small moments like the end of Money, or The Deposition."

What Did Melora Hardin Say About Playing Jan On The Office?

Even though fans don't love Jan on The Office, Melora Hardin enjoyed portraying Jan in The Office. In a 2023 interview with Tell Tale TV, she said she was "lucky" to appear on such a popular sitcom.

She said:

“It’s amazing to be a part of a show that’s sort of become an iconic American comedy. And because of streaming, it’s just had this incredible life that is extraordinary. I mean, I don’t know how that happened. It was just a lucky situation."

The actress continued, "Because when I did that, I was a guest star on the pilot, a possible recurring character that became a series regular in Season 2. That was just a wonderful, lucky, luck of the draw kind of thing.”

Even though some fans didn't respond positively to Jan, Melora Hardin still praised her in many interviews. In 2008, she told TV Guide that she didn't understand why fans said Jan was a bad person.

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She said:

"I think audiences get her. Sometimes people say they think she's 'evil.' I don't get that at all. I think she's flawed and I think she's lost and I think she's searching and really doing the best that she can. And she struggles and falls and trips and sometimes splats on the pavement, but I don't think she's full of malice."

She continued, "I think she's really doing the best that she can. And I think she does love Michael, and is very confused about all of that."

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