These Are The Top Earning Television Actresses In The World Today

In reflecting on the top-earning television actresses of the past decade, some familiar faces show up year after year. But for every familiar face, there are multiple fresh, new faces that pop up, as women continue to make their mark on the small screen.

The following women are the top earning television actresses of the past decade, beginning with 2020, and going all the way back to 2012 (yikes, it feels like 2012 was just yesterday!). Some of the names you’re about to read will make you wonder whatever happened to these women…

2020 #10. Viola Davis – $15.5 Million

Davis made the list for the first time mainly due to a couple of seven-figure checks. Those paydays were earned from roles on How to Get Away with Murder and Netflix’s adaption of the play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Having won an Academy Award, an Emmy Award (Primetime), and two Tony Awards, Viola Davis has achieved what is commonly referred to as the “Triple Crown of Acting”.

2020 #9. Elisabeth Moss – $16 Million

Hulu paid Moss $1 million for each episode to act in The Handmaid’s Tale. She also gets part of the profits of Invisible Man, a surprise hit that cost only $7 million to make and grossed more than $134 million.

Some of her accolades include two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. Her extensive television work led Vulture to deem her the “Queen of Peak TV.”

2020 #8. Ellen Pompeo – $19 Million

After renegotiating her contract, Pompeo now earns over $500,000 per episode for ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. She also adds around $6 million per year from her share of the syndication profits.

She has made multiple appearances on the Forbes’ year-end lists for earnings. With that said, she is one of the few actresses to make the list each year tracked in this article.

2020 #7. Nicole Kidman – $22 Million

Kidman is set to join Streep in Ryan Murphy’s The Prom on Netflix, which will score her an eight-figure salary like Blunt. She’ll earn around $1 million per episode for her HBO miniseries, The Undoing.

Born in Hawaii, Kidman is known more so for being from Australia. She has received an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.

2020 #6. Emily Blunt – $22.5 Million

The first installment of A Quiet Place made $341 million on only a $17 million budget. Blunt negotiated an eight-figure salary for the sequel, set to be released next year. Her role in Jungle Cruise will get her a large payday, too.

The Brit is married to John Krasinski. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for two British Academy Film Awards.

2020 #5. Meryl Streep – $24 Million

The legendary actress joined director Steven Soderbergh for the comedy Let Them All Talk, which was sold for $33 million to HBO Max. Streep made at least $5 million from that alone. The majority of the rest came from The Prom and Little Women.

Often described as the “best actress of her generation,” Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accents. Her real name is actually Mary Louise Streep.

2020 #4. Melissa McCarthy – $25 Million

McCarthy has the lead role in two streaming films directed by her husband Ben Falcone: one on HBO Max and one on Netflix. She also hosts NBC’s Little Big Shots. In 2021, she’ll act as Ursula in the live-action version of The Little Mermaid.

She has won two Primetime Emmy Awards. Among other accolades, McCarthy has been nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

2020 #3. Gal Gadot – $31.5 Million

With Wonder Woman 1984 on hold due to COVID, Gadot turned to Netflix, where she collected $20 million for her role in Red Notice. It’s a high price to pay, but still only a fraction of the company’s $17 billion content budget.

Outside of acting, Gadot is a producer and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served two years in the Israel Defense Forces as a fitness/combat readiness instructor.

2020 #2. Angelina Jolie – $35.5 Million

One of the few actresses on this long list to make nearly all her money from films, Jolie’s biggest paycheck recently came from her lead role in The Eternals, the Marvel movie with a $200 million budget set to release in early 2021.

Since a lot of movies are being streamed on TV during the pandemic, Jolie finds her way onto the list in an unconventional way. That goes for a lot of the upcoming rich actresses this year.

2020 #1. Sofia Vergara – $43 Million

Vergara ended her run on ABC’s Modern Family and began her tenure as a judge on America’s Got Talent. She adds to the bank account with endorsement and licensing deals, including a line of jeans at Walmart and furniture at Rooms To Go.

Not only does the Colombian-American act, but she also has credits as a television producer, comedian, presenter and model. She has been the highest paid actress in American television for nearly a decade. With the top-earning actresses of 2020 out of the way, let’s now look back at 2018. You’ll notice some familiar names, and start to recognize some patterns here…

2018 #10. Pauley Perrette – $8.5 Million

After 15 years on NCIS, Perrette left the show in May 2018, later implying she departed after workplace assaults. CBS referred to it as a “workplace concern” and stated that they had “worked with her to find a solution.” Even with the departure, her paycheck was still enough to get her a spot on the list.

It was later revealed that Perrette left NCIS due to an on-set dog biting incident, and because she was “terrified” of her former co-star Mark Harmon.

2018 #9. Claire Danes – $9 Million

The Homeland lead took home large sums in 2018 from the Showtime hit. The drama is now eight seasons in thanks in part to Danes’ role as CIA officer Carrie Mathison.

She is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2012, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world and she was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015.

2018 #8. Kerry Washington – $11 Million

Washington gained a lot of public recognition for starring as crisis management expert Olivia Pope in the ABC series Scandal. She supplements her income by endorsing products for companies like Neutrogena and Movado.

She has been married to former NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha since 2013. They have two kids together: Isabelle Amarachi and Caleb Kelechi.

2018 #7. Melissa Rauch – $12 million

Another The Big Bang Theory cast member joined the 2018 rankings for the first time. Rauch’s role as Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz won her many fans and lots of money.

She was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2013. Rauch has bounced around between TV and movies since the series ended.

2018 #6. Mayim Bialik – $12 Million

With a PhD in neuroscience, Dr. Bialik joined The Big Bang Theory back in 2010. Bialik and her co-star Melissa Rauch, who is next on the list, earned an estimated $500,000 per episode in 2018.

As mentioned earlier, cast renegotiations allowed the pay for both Bialik and Rauch to shoot up. It’s too bad for them that the show is now over.

2018 #5. Julie Bowen – $12.5 Million

Modern Family has another female powerhouse. Bowen makes most of her money from the comedy. She joined the show in 2009 and makes an estimated mid-six-figures for each episode.

Bowen doesn’t do many endorsements and instead makes her cash on-screen. While she’s recognized now as Claire Dunphy, she also had roles in Dawson’s Creek, Ed, Boston Legal and Lost.

2018 #4. Mariska Hargitay – $13 Million

The original cast member on Law & Order: SVU has been carrying the show since it premiered in 1999. She has managed to negotiate a large per-episode fee and a cut of the backend cash.

Her character is New York Police Department Captain Olivia Benson. It makes sense that Hargitay is the longest-running cast member for the show.

2018 #3. Ellen Pompeo – $23.5 Million

Pompeo ranked third in 2018. Playing Meredith Grey for 15 seasons on Grey’s Anatomy allowed her to negotiate a nice upfront fee, a cut of the backend and even a producer fee on spinoff Station 19.

She has won seven major awards during her Grey’s Anatomy tenure. Most recently, Pompeo was named People’s Choice Award for the Female TV Star of the Year in 2020.

2018 #2. Kaley Cuoco – $24.5 Million

Cuoco is another name you’ll get used to seeing on this list. Her and her male co-stars from The Big Bang Theory took a pay cut from an estimated $1 million per episode to $900,000 per episode in order to pay more to other actresses Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik.

Approximately 95% of Cuoco’s earnings in 2018 were due to her role on The Big Bang Theory. Now that the show has ended, she’ll look elsewhere for work.

2018 #1. Sofia Vergara – $42.5 Million

Spoiler alert: this isn’t the last time you’re going to see the Modern Family star’s name on this list. In 2018, the money rolled in from the show, and a slew of lucrative licensing deals. Among them were SharkNinja Coffee and furniture chain Rooms To Go.

She also had time to appear in two films that year as well. She was Rebecca in the crime thriller Bent and Vivien in the heist comedy The Con is On. Those were the leading women from 2018. As expected, there were a few new names and a few repeats. Moving on to 2016…

2016 #10. Julie Bowen – $10 Million

As part of the Modern Family cast, Bowen enjoyed one of the best ensemble contracts in television in 2016. Her ads for Neutrogena helped push her to an eight-figure salary that year.

In addition to her breakthrough role on Modern Family, Bowen also played Aunt Gwen on Dawson’s Creek (2000), Carol Vessey on Ed (2000–04), Denise Bauer on Boston Legal (2005–07) and Sarah Shephard on Lost (2005–07).

2016 #9. Julianna Margulies – $10.5 Million

The Good Wife’s last season gave a sweet paycheck to Margulies. The drama lasted seven seasons and had over 150 episodes.

After several small TV roles, Margulies achieved wide recognition for her starring role as Carol Hathaway on NBC’s long-running medical drama series ER. She received a Primetime Emmy Award for her work.

2016 #8. Priyanka Chopra – $11 Million

This Bollywood star made herself known stateside with her role in Quantico. Prior to that, she was a part of both Bajirao Mastani and Jai Gangaajal.

Chopra eventually married Nick Jonas in 2018. Before that, she had a role in Baywatch alongside Dwayne Johnson, Pamela Anderson, Zac Efron and David Hasselhoff.

2016 #7. Stana Katic – $12 Million

The Castle star was new to the list in 2016. It was thanks to a contract negotiation that got her a nice chunk of the backend and a salary increase for the show’s final season.

The Canadian-American has another major role these days. Katic plays Agent Emily Byrne in the thriller series Absentia on Amazon Prime.

2016 #6. Kerry Washington – $13.5 Million

The Scandal actress had more than solely her role on the Shonda Rhymes show to fill her pockets. Washington used her fame to lock in an endorsement deal with Apple Music, along with the aforementioned Neutrogena and Movado.

Most recently, Washington co-starred in Little Fires Everywhere with Reese Witherspoon. There were eight episodes for the Hulu show.

2016 #5. Mariska Hargitay – $14.5 Million

Law & Order: SVU has seen unprecedented success. The show produced by Dick Wolf was going into its 18th season in 2016, which meant Hargitay’s salary was going to continue to rise.

The drama is now at 22 seasons strong. The detectives who are part of the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit investigate crimes of sexual nature.

2016 #4. Ellen Pompeo – $14.5 Million

The Grey’s Anatomy actress is one of the first stars who producer Shonda Rhymes launched into stardom. Pompeo benefited with a massive salary.

She has been married to Chris Ivery since 2007. They have three kids together named Sienna May, Stella Luna and Eli Christopher.

2016 #3. Mindy Kaling – $15 Million

Kaling not only earned a salary for her leading role in The Mindy Project, but also for creating and producing the show named after her. On top of that, she made money from her book deal.

It was reported that she and former The Office co-star BJ Novak earned an advance of more than $7 million for their book of essays. Kaling served as an actor, writer, executive producer and director for The Office.

2016 #2. Kaley Cuoco – $24.5 Million

The Big Bang Theory stars, including Cuoco, negotiated the best deal in television at $1 million each per episode in 2016. As we now know, they renegotiated thereafter to help keep other cast members.

Almost all of Cuoco’s 2016 money was made from her role as Penny on The Big Bang Theory. That didn’t change as time went on, either.

2016 #1. Sofia Vergara – $43 Million

Are you noticing yet how consistently Vergaga makes money (and shockingly similar amounts)? In 2016, Vergara was not only the highest paid female TV actress, but she also made more than any male TV actor, too.

It wasn’t her role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett that was responsible for her 66% earnings bump over the previous year. Instead, it was endorsements and licensing deals. Products included a line of furniture, dandruff shampoo Head & Shoulders, and even nurse scrubs. That’ll wrap up 2016, and we now move on to 2014…

2014 #10. Kerry Washington – $6 Million

Washington nearly doubled her annual salary from 2013. She was still earning most of her money from Scandal and deals with Neutrogena and Movado even back then. This was the year she got married and gave birth to a girl in April.

Kerry Washington is also known for her roles as Della Bea Robinson in Ray (2004), as Kay in The Last King of Scotland (2006), as Alicia Masters in the live-action Fantastic Four films of 2005 and 2007, and as Broomhilda von Shaft in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained (2012).

2014 #9. Mindy Kaling – $6.5 Million

Many don’t know that her real name is actually Vera Mindy Chokalingam. She got most of her income from an exclusive syndication deal with Hulu Plus for The Mindy Project.

She still made some profits from syndication deals and residuals for The Office, too. With an endorsement deal with XFinity, she was up $2 million from the previous year.

2014 #8. Amy Poehler – $7 Million

The Parks & Recreation star brought in just under $4.5 million for her role as government employee Leslie Knope for the sixth season of the NBC sitcom. Poehler also had a $2 million endorsement deal with Old Navy. She also was part of the indie film They Came Together.

The actress was happy to hear that Parks & Recreation was renewed for a seventh season. She also signed a three-year deal with NBC and Universal TV.

2014 #7. Alyson Hannigan – $9.5 Million

Like her costar Smulders, Hannigan, also earned $340K for each episode of HIMYM. The syndication values added to that earned her nearly as much as Smulders.

After a siesta from TV, Hannigan returned to the small screen, starring in the Ben Affleck/Matt Damon TV movie, More Time With Family. Prior to HIMYM, Hannigan was best known for her role as Willow Rosenberg in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

2014 #6. Cobie Smulders – $10 Million

It was a big year for Vancouver-native Smulders, who earned a reported $340K per episode for the last season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM). Her character in the show was even a hockey-loving Canadian.

She made additional profits from her roles in Captain America: Winter Soldier and other movies.

Combine that with nearly $1.5 million in syndication revenues from HIMYM and Smulders had herself quite the year.

2014 #5. Ellen Pompeo – $10 Million

Pompeo was still raking in millions for her role as Meredith Grey on Grey’s Anatomy even back in 2014. The actress and cast mate Patrick Dempsey signed on for two more seasons of the show early that year.

Grey’s Anatomy was tied as ABC’s top series among the adult demographic. It was ranked third in overall viewership, behind only Castle and Scandal.

2014 #4. Julianna Margulies – $10 Million

Margulies made $6.5 million for her roles as actress and producer of The Good Wife. She also profited from a multi-window syndication deal for the show and a lucrative L’Oreal contract.

The New York native married attorney Keith Lieberthal in 2007. Prior to that, she had dated Ron Eldard, another actor, for more than a decade.

2014 #3. Kaley Cuoco – $11 Million

Thanks to the success of TV’s most profitable show of that year, The Big Bang Theory was a huge launching pad for Cuoco’s career. She went on to star alongside Kevin Hart in the comedy The Wedding Ringer and had a lucrative line of endorsements for companies such as Priceline and Toyota.

Cuoco was one of the youngest actresses to be named on the list in 2014. At the time, she took home a reported $350K per episode for The Big Bang Theory and as we know, better days were ahead.

2014 #2. Mariska Hargitay – $13 Million

Hargitay got a salary increase for her Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning acting as Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU. In 2014, the show boasted a double-digit increase in viewership over the previous season.

When not acting, Hargitay runs her own non-profit, The Joyful Heart Foundation. It confronts childhood sexual abuse. In addition to her $450K per episode salary that year, she earned more profits from syndication of the popular show.

2014 #1. Sofia Vergara – $37 Million

Again, Vergara earned more than the top-earning TV actor in 2014. That year, it was Ashton Kutcher with $26 million. The Modern Family star continued her streak mainly due to her business savvy.

Similar to the rest of her cast mates, the Colombian-born star earned a reported $325,000 per episode then. However, the majority of her earnings came from her lucrative endorsements and licensing deals.  Vergara was the face of Diet Pepsi, CoverGirl, Head & Shoulders, AT&T and the medication Synthroid. Let’s move on to the final leap year that we cover, 2012. The question on your mind by now must be- will Sofia Vergara top the list yet again…?

2012 #10. Ellen Pompeo – $9 Million

At the time, eight seasons of Grey’s Anatomy had paid off for Pompeo. Per Forbes, she was earning an estimated $275K per episode. However, she was doing more than just acting for that show. Pompeo launched a production company, Calamity Jane, the previous year. The company had already sold a project to ABC.

Pompeo is the recipient of a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Special Achievement in Entertaining by the National Italian American Foundation, and a nomination for a Golden Globe Award.

2012 #9. Felicity Huffman – $9 Million

Huffman joined Longoria as Desperate Housewives actresses who made a lot in 2012. Around that same time, she also worked on ad campaigns, including one for Got Milk with husband William H. Macy.

These days, those two have been in the news for the wrong reasons. It was Huffman who took the fall for the academics scandal involving their children.

2012 #8. Zooey Deschanel – $9 Million

Deschanel’s character won over fans on Fox’s New Girl. The show was among the first of its season to easily get renewed and it ended up running for seven seasons.

When not playing Jess on Fox, she stayed busy with website hellogiggles.com, commercial deals with companies like Apple and an original web series, The Single Life.

2012 #7. Mariska Hargitay – $10 Million

Law & Order: SVU was the most-watched in the series with an average of 53 million weekly viewers. When long-running showrunner Christopher Meloni left the show for True Blood, there were rumors that Hargitay may leave as well. That obviously didn’t happen.

The southern California native speaks five languages: English, French, Hungarian, Spanish and Italian. Hargitay married Peter Hermann, who also acted on Law & Order: SVU, back in 2004.

2012 #6. Tina Fey – $11 Million

Fey got a 30 Rock pay bump after the syndication on both Comedy Central and WGN America. The show lasted seven seasons and Fey was also a writer.

She is best known for her work on Saturday Night Live. Not only did Fey act, but she was the first female head writer for the show, too.

2012 #5. Khloe Kardashian – $11 Million

Another Kardashian sister made the 2012 list. Khloe had a lot going on that year, which helped launch her career to new heights.

She had Khloe & Lamar, a $30 million deal for three more seasons of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, the Kardashian Kollection clothing line, a family boutique, DASH and the Kardashian Khaos store in Las Vegas’ Mirage.

2012 #4. Bethenny Frankel – $12 Million

The Bravo reality star expanded on her successful Skinnygirl Cocktail line and wrote a book, Skinnydipping. She tried out a daytime talk show, Bethenny, but it only lasted for one season.

Frankel originally rose to prominence as a contestant on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. She was the runner-up in 2005.

2012 #3. Eva Longoria – $15 Million

Longoria made an estimated $375,000 per episode of Desperate Housewives. Unfortunately for her bank account, the show ended in 2012.

Longoria went on to team with Pepsi and L’Oreal Paris to promote their products. She produced NBC’s Ready For Love and worked on a new pilot picked up by Lifetime called Devious Maids, which ended up lasting four seasons.

2012 #2. Kim Kardashian – $18 Million

Kardashian just missed the top spot and was the closest to toppling Vergara of any year.  It was a busy year for her between a four-hour fairytale wedding on E!, which led to a quick, much-publicized divorce from Kris Humphries.

Like her sister Khloe, Kim signed a $30 million deal for three more seasons of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, worked on clothing line called Kardashian Kollection and opened boutique DASH. The reality star also came out with a signature perfume.

2012 #1. Sofia Vergara – $19 Million

Vergara held the top spot in every year reviewed in this article- absolutely incredible longevity. The Modern Family star wasn’t only starring on the small screen for 2012, either. She had roles in The Three Stooges, New Year’s Eve, Happy Feet Two and The Smurfs.

She also launched a Kmart clothing line back when the brand wasn’t struggling so badly. Vergara’s face was plastered all over New York City and was seen on TV in Diet Pepsi commercials. She also worked with Cover Girl, Burger King, State Farm and Comcast.

What a fascinating look back at the changing of the guard (or lack thereof) in Hollywood’s leading small-screen women. To think that 2012 wasn’t that long ago, yet television has changed so dramatically since. It’ll be interesting to see who takes the crown from Sofia Vergara in the coming years…