Sofia Vergara topped Forbes illustrious list of the world’s highest paid female actors of 2020. The 48-year-old entertainer, who is the only Latina to make the cut, climbed from her number two spot on last year’s ranking. Sofia, who concluded her long run on ABC’s Modern Family and dove straight into a new high-paying gig on America’s Got Talent, pulled in a whopping $43 million. She smartly rounds out the earnings with various endorsement deals, like her Walmart jeans line. Read on to find out who else made the list and an unfortunate glaring truth.
Angelina Jolie nabbed the number two spot with a $35.5 million income from films like Marvel’s The Eternals. A close third is Gal Gadot , who received $31.5 million for the year, mostly from her role in Red Notice which supplied a $20 million paycheck. Melissa McCarthy ranks number four, putting $25 million in the bank thanks to her film work and hosting NBC’s Little Big Shots.
It’s no surprise to see Meryl Streep on this list again. At number five, the legend earned $24 million for gracing projects like HBO Max’s Let Them All Talk. Meryl’s The Devil Wears Prada co-star Emily Blunt isn’t too far behind at number six with $22.5 million. Another one of Streep’s screen buddies follows at number seven: Nicole Kidman , who negotiated an eight-figure salary for Netflix’s The Prom, which Meryl also stars in.
Grey’s Anatomy fixture Ellen Pompeo pulled in $19 million, putting her at number eight. She reportedly receives $550,000 per episode of the long-running ABC series, and about $6 million a year from syndication. Say hi to Elisabeth Moss at number nine with a $16 million salary. Hulu is said to have paid her $1 million per episode for leading The Handmaid’s Tale.
It’s about time we see the ever-talented Viola Davis make this list. Thanks to hefty checks from How to Get Away with Murder and Netflix’s film adaption of the August Wilson play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the Oscar-winner raked in $15.5 million and rounds out the record at number ten.
Ready for the bad news? Even Sofia, who won the number one spot with $43 million only earned less than half of the highest paid actor in 2020 ( The Rock at $87.5 million). In fact, she barely made more than the lowest earning on the male list as number ten, Jackie Chan, pulled in $40 million. This stark number contrast adds up to a sad sum: the world still has a major gender parity issue. And it’s been running amuck for far too long.