Sofia Vergara Is Forbes’ Highest Paid Female Actor of 2020
“Alms, alms for the poor” is what you might hear when passing a forlorn, hunched over Scarlett Johansson on the street (look closely, she may be disguised as a tree) because since being named last year’s (and the year before) highest-paid female actor by Forbes Magazine, she’s fallen on hard times and did not even crack the top 10 in this year’s rankings. This year, because the coronavirus has forced studios to postpone releasing anything in the theaters, therefore cutting off back end bonuses, the top 10 is filled with TV stars with Modern Family‘s Sofia Vergara securing the #1 slot with a $43 million bag, almost half of what the highest-paid male actor, The Rock, earned. Silly woman, I guess she should have worked a little harder!
According to Forbes, Angelina Jolie is going to have a lot of explaining to do if she tries to cry broke at her ongoing custody trial, and Gal Gadot is going to have to imagine a little harder if she wants to imagine a world with no possessions. They have the #2 (Angie with $35.5M) and #3 (Gal with $31.5M) spots on the list.
Modern Family‘s Sofia Vergara tops our new ranking of the world’s highest paid actresses with $43 million, as the TV star led a surge of small-screen paydays that eclipsed those in the movie business. Hollywood veteran Angelina Jolie ($35 million) and Red Notice star Gal Gadot ($31 million) come in second and third on the list.
Vergara had her biggest TV haul ever from her gig playing Gloria on ABC’s Modern Family, for which she earned $500,000 per episode, and her new job as a TV talent judge on America’s Got Talent, which pays her at least $10 million each season. She padded that income with a series of endorsement and licensing deals.
Forbes went into detail about how traditional TV and streaming services are allowing TV actors like Elisabeth Moss (#9 with $16M) to afford enough Scientology auditing sessions to finally go clear this year! Other TV actors in the top 10 include Ellen Pompeo (#8, $19M) and Viola Davis (#10, $15.5 M) who “makes the list for the first time with star roles in ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder and the upcoming Netflix film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” I guess Viola should have worked a little harder too.
In all, the ten highest-paid actresses earned a combined $254 million in the 12 months leading up to June, down 20% from last year. All but two—Angelina Jolie and Emily Blunt (No. 6; $22.5 million)—made the bulk of their earnings from television and streaming. Those who made most of their money from traditional films earned an aggregate of $58 million this year, down from $136.5 million in 2019.
“A film produced for a global streaming service can and will likely be seen by tens of millions of people,” says Hollywood attorney Tom Ara. “In the world of theatrical releases, that type of success could potentially translate into billions of dollars of revenues garnering the talent large box office bonuses and back-end profits.”
Here’s the full top 10. And yes, of course, the #10 spot on the men’s list (Jackie Chan – $40 million) earned almost as much as Sofia. But only one can boast a lubricative Joe Manganiello endorsement deal.
1. Sofia Vergara 43 million
2. Angelina Jolie $35.5 million
3. Gal Gadot $31.5 million
4. Melissa McCarthy $25 million
5. Meryl Streep $24 million
6. Emily Blunt $22.5 million
7. Nicole Kidman $22 million5.
8. Ellen Pompeo $19 million
9. Elisabeth Moss $16
10. Viola Davis $15.5 million
Pic: Instagram