Forbes’ Top Paid Actresses of 2016

August 26, 2016 5:00 am
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - FEBRUARY 28:  Actress  Jennifer Lawrence arrives at the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 28, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California.  ( John Shearer/Getty Images)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - FEBRUARY 28: Actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives at the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 28, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. ( John Shearer/Getty Images)

For the second year in a row, Jennifer Lawrence is cinema’s queen. She earned $46 million before taxes, finishing well ahead of Melissa McCarthy’s $33 million. Lawrence may find it difficult to complete the threepeat, however: With The Hunger Games series over, she can no longer count on that massive payday. (Lawrence is also one of three Oscar winners on the list.)

This year is significant for featuring actresses who work (and thrive) outside the American market. It’s likely you’ve never heard of China’s Fan Bingbing or India’s Deepika Padukone, much less paid to watch them in a movie, but that didn’t stop them from earning $17 million and $10 million, respectively.

It’s also worth noting that the combined $77 million earned by Lawrence and McCarthy still trails Robert Downey, Jr.’s $80 million last year.

Here is the complete top 10 earners, who raked in a total of $205 million between them.

1. Jennifer Lawrence, $46 million

( John Shearer/Getty Images)

2. Melissa McCarthy, $33 million

Actress Melissa McCarthy attends the 2016 Time 100 Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 26, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
(Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
FilmMagic

3. Scarlett Johansson, $25 million

(Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
(Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Getty Images

4. Jennifer Aniston, $21 million

SANTA BARBARA, CA - JANUARY 30: Jennifer Aniston arrives at the 30th Santa Barbara International Film Festival - Montecito Award held at Arlington Theatre on January 30, 2015 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Michael Tran/FilmMagic)
(Michael Tran/FilmMagic)
FilmMagic

5. Fan Bingbing, $17 million

SHANGHAI, CHINA - JUNE 11: (CHINA OUT) Actress Fan Bingbing walks the red carpet of the 19th Shanghai International Film Festival at Shanghai Grand Theatre on June 11, 2016 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
(VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
VCG via Getty Images

6. Charlize Theron, $16.5 million

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 09: Actress Charlize Theron attends the 2016 MTV Movie Awards at Warner Bros. Studios on April 9, 2016 in Burbank, California. (Photo by C Flanigan/WireImage)
(C Flanigan/WireImage)
WireImage

7. Amy Adams, $13.5 million

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - FEBRUARY 28: Actress Amy Adams arrives at the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 28, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images)
(John Shearer/Getty Images)
Getty Images

8. Julia Roberts, $12 million

CULVER CITY, CA - JUNE 04: Actress Julia Roberts accepts the Woman of the Decade award onstage during Spike TV's 10th Annual Guys Choice Awards at Sony Pictures Studios on June 4, 2016 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
(Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Getty Images

9. Mila Kunis, $11 million

HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 02: Actress Mila Kunis attends the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Jupiter Ascending" at TCL Chinese Theatre on February 2, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
(Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Getty Images

10. Deepika Padukone, $10 million

Indian Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone attends the launch of Axis Bank Indias mobile banking app in Mumbai on September 11, 2015. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
(AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images

To read more about the list, click here.

 

 

 

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