Sofia Vergara tops list of highest-paid actresses

LOS ANGELES: ‘Modern Family’ star Sofia Vergara has topped the Forbes list of highest-paid actresses in the world.

Vergara – who is also now a judge on ‘America’s Got Talent’ – earned a whopping $43 million in the past 12 months in salary and endorsements. She moved up from second place last year.

The 48-year-old Colombia-born actress earned $500,000 an episode for the final season of Emmy-winning ‘Modern Family’ which concluded earlier this year.

Forbes estimated she would earn at least $10 million each season for America’s Got Talent, one of the most popular reality competition shows in the United States.

The coronavirus pandemic has stop production in Hollywood, shuttered movie theares and delayed many big-budget films. Many film stars also make money by earning a share of the profits which means that their income plummets if movies are not released in cinemas.

Actresses who make most of their money from television or streaming services made up the bulk of the list. Nevertheless, Oscar winner Angelina Jolie was in second place on the Forbes list at $35 million.

‘Wonder Woman’ star Gal Gadot came in third at $31 million, but she made a chunk of her money from the Netflix film ‘Red Notice.’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ lead Ellen Pompeo was eighth at $19 million, and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ star Elisabeth Moss came in ninth at $16 million.

Viola Davis made her first appearance on the top 10 list. The ‘How To Get Away with Murder’ star – who will soon star in Netflix’s adaptation of the August Wilson play ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ – came in 10th at $15.5 million.

Even Meryl Streep placed fifth made most of her income in the past year from either films for streaming services or television roles. In total, the top 10 paid actresses in the world in 2020 earned $254 million in the twelve months leading up to June. This was down 20 percent from last year, said Forbes.

The top 10 highest paid actors made nearly double as much – almost $550 million – in the same period. Last month’s list for the men was topped by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson at $87.5 million.