Cash Is Queen

Making it big in Hollywood is no easy feat—and even if you do, the paycheck doesn’t always match the star power (just ask Scarlett Johansson about her Disney showdown). Some actresses clawed their way to massive salaries, while others stepped outside the spotlight to build empires of their own.

And the lineup here? Full of surprises. In fact, when you see who snagged the #1 spot, you’ll probably be left scratching your head and asking, “Wait… how did she make THAT much money?”

Rosie O’Donnell

$100 million

If there was one surefire way to boost your net worth in the 1990s, it was to appear on a show that went into syndication. In Rosie O’Donnell’s case, that ended up being her namesake talk show, which ran from 1996 to 2002.

Fortune Live Media, Flickr

Angelina Jolie

$120 million

Angelina Jolie already had a Hollywood pedigree before she began acting, and she began her career in modeling when she was still just a teen. She’s starred in—and directed—a number of hit films since then, as well as being a partial owner of Chateau Miraval with her ex, Brad Pitt. Jolie is also known for her charity and activist work.

Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

Amy Irving

$120 million

Amy Irving got her big break appearing in 1976’s film adaptation of the Stephen King novel Carrie. She began dating director Stephen Spielberg in 1976, and after a brief break-up, they wed in 1985. They divorced in 1989, and she walked away with a cool $100 million after a judge denied the validity of a pre-nup agreement that had been written up on a napkin.

Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

Drew Barrymore

$125 million

Considering her longevity in the business, it’s no wonder that Drew Barrymore made this list. She’s been a steady fixture on screen since 1982’s ET, and with her namesake talk show, it’s unlikely that she’ll ever become a Hollywood has-been.

Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Cameron Diaz

$140 million

Cameron Diaz was already turning heads as a model when she landed her breakout role in The Mask back in 1994—and the film’s success instantly launched her into Hollywood stardom. After stepping away from acting in 2018, she shocked fans with the news that she’s making a big-screen comeback in Netflix’s action-comedy Back in Action.

David Shankbone, CC-BY-SA-3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Frances Fisher

$145 million

Fisher started her career on soap operas before branching out to TV and film in the 80s and 90s. You may remember her as Kate Winslet’s character’s mother in Titanic. In the 90s, she dated both Clint Eastwood and George Clooney. What range!

ARTIVIST, Flickr

Audrey Tatou

$145 million

Best known for the 2001 comedy Amelie, this French actress has more than 40 acting credits to her name. The daughter of a teacher and a dental surgeon, she is named after Audrey Hepburn.

Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

Meryl Streep

$160 million

Perhaps the most beloved actress of her generation, Meryl Streep has been gracing screens since 1977. She’s won three Oscars and countless other awards, and is one of the highest-paid actresses in the world.

Dick Thomas Johnson, CC-BY-SA-2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Jennifer Lawrence

$160 million

Lawrence’s early indie success in low-budget flicks like Winter’s Bone catapulted her into the path of casting directors for the hotly-anticipated film adaptations of The Hunger Games book series. Combine that with her tenure in the X-Men series, as well as more critically-acclaimed fare, and you’re got a pretty respectable net worth of $160 million.

Jennifer Lawrence Films, Flickr

Sofia Vergara

$160 million

Network sitcoms might not shell out the mega-salaries they once did, but Sofia Vergara still cashed in big during her Modern Family days—pulling a reported $170,000 to $180,000 per episode for the hit ensemble comedy.

Britt Bellamy, CC-BY-SA-3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Scarlett Johansson

$165 million

Scarlett Johansson had been in the industry for years before she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe—so it’s no wonder that she came into it with a lot of perspective. Johannson began fighting for equal pay during contract negotiations for the second Avengers film, and ended up taking Disney to court for breach of contract after the release of Black Widow, alleging they damaged the film’s earning potential with a dual-release strategy.

JCS, CC-BY-SA-3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Catherine Deneuve

$185 million

Catherine Deneuve began her acting career in the 60s in classics like Repulsion and Belle du Jour. Not only did she act, but she was also the face of Chanel no 5 perfume in the 1970s, and was regarded as such a beauty that her face was used to represent Marianne, the national symbol of France, in the 1980s. Deneuve is the richest French actress in the world.

Martin Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Krysten Ritter

$185 million

People may think of Krysten Ritter as Aaron Paul’s girlfriend on Breaking Bad or as the lead on the all-too-short-lived Jessica Jones. But Ritter is a busy bee in Hollywood, and has over 50 credits to her name.

Gage Skidmore, CC-BY-SA-2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Charlize Theron

$200 million

Charlize Theron is as bankable as she is versatile, and makes a reported $12 to $18 million per film. That’s a long way from her early days in Hollywood in the mid-90s, when, according to her, she once got in a screaming match at a bank after they refused to cash a check for her—the only money she had.

Gage Skidmore, Flickr

Jane Fonda

$200 million

Jane Fonda grew up in the shadow of Old Hollywood royalty, but it wasn’t secretarial work that made her shine—acting eventually came calling. On top of her film and TV career, she became an unlikely fitness mogul in the 80s, with her workout tapes selling a staggering 17 million copies.

She did take a hit with a $10 million divorce in the 80s, but later split from media titan Ted Turner in the early 2000s—where it’s safe to assume the settlement came with a hefty payday.

manhhai, Flickr

Demi Moore

$200 million

Moore has been a Hollywood mainstay since the early 80s and anchored a number of blockbusters—but she’s also made her name as a successful producer. Additionally, she got $90 million in her divorce from Bruce Willis.

Liv Oeian, Shutterstock

Ariana Grande

$240 million

The pint-sized pop star got her start on Nickelodeon shows, and will return to the screen in the 2024 screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked. Between June 2019 and June 2020, she earned an estimated $70 million!

David Shankbone, CC-BY-SA-2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Nicole Kidman

$250 million

Nicole Kidman’s $250 million net worth dwarfs her husband Keith Urban’s $75 million. She’s one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, and for her work in the HBO drama series The Undoing opposite Hugh Grant, she earned $1 million per episode.

Georges Biard, CC-BY-SA-3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Xuxa Meneghel

$250 million

Remember Xuxa? It’s likely that, unless you’re from Brazil, only a small percentage of kids who grew up in the 1990s do. This wildly popular children’s entertainer tried to cross over the US with mixed results, but has maintained popularity in her native Brazil for decades, making her that country’s richest artist.

Gabriela Korossy, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Brazil, Wikimedia Commons

Jessica Biel

$250 million

Jessica Biel has kept a steady presence in Hollywood ever since her breakout on Seventh Heaven—but the real boost to her fortune comes from her marriage to Justin Timberlake. Thanks to his massive music and business empire, most of Biel’s net worth, estimated at $200 to $230 million, is tied to her superstar husband.

Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Julia Roberts

$250 million

America’s Sweetheart makes between $20 and $40 million a year from acting jobs and endorsements—with $10 million coming from her annual contract as global brand ambassador of Lancôme Paris.

David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Christa Miller

$250 million

She’s sandwiched between two of America’s Sweethearts on this list, Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock, but Christa Miller could be Cleveland’s Sweetheart. She earned a pretty penny through her years on The Drew Carey Show, but a lot of her fortune is shared with her husband, mega-successful TV producer Bill Lawrence.

Kathy Hutchins, Shutterstock

Sandra Bullock

$250 million

Ever since 1994’s Speed, Bullock has been a reliable hitmaker, appearing in rom-coms, blockbusters, and thrillers. For Gravity, she got a paycheck of $20 million, as well as a 15% share of the film’s gross box office receipts, merch, TV deals, and DVD sales. Now that’s savvy negotiating.

Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

$250 million

People automatically think of Seinfeld when they think of JLD, but forget that she stayed on our screens long after, following up with two hits: The New Adventures of Old Christine and Veep. Though it’s often rumored that she’s a billionaire, that’s likely only because her father was billionaire financier Gerard Louis-Dreyfus, who was reported to be worth $4 billion at the time of his death in 2016.

Gage Skidmore, Flcikr

Lady Gaga

$300 million

Lady Gaga spent years hustling before her big break around 2005, but once she hit the spotlight, she never left it. These days, she rakes in $30 to $40 million annually, thanks to powerhouse tours and her lucrative Las Vegas residency.

John Bauld, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Jennifer Aniston

$320 million

Though Friends has been off the air for nearly two decades, Jennifer Aniston still consistently earns some $20 million a year through film and TV work, as well as endorsements. She set a good precedent while on Friends, as Aniston and her castmates all agreed to negotiate their salaries as a group, which eventually earned them $1.25 million per episode each.

Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

Jessica Alba

$340 million

Though she’s appeared in many successful TV series and films, including 2005’s Fantastic Four, Alba made most of her fortune by starting The Honest Company. Inspired by the birth of her first child and her own history of childhood illnesses, she wanted to create a line of personal care products with natural ingredients. It blew up, and is currently valued at $550 million.

TechCrunch, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Victoria Principal

$350 million

Victoria Principal spent years on the mega-hit primetime soap Dallas in the 80s, which certainly boosted her net worth—but she definitely boosted it more when she began her skincare line, Principal Skin, which has brought in more than $1 billion in revenue.

Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

Jennifer Lopez

$400 million

Jennifer Lopez not only has a higher net worth than her ex A-Rod, but also her current husband Ben Affleck. There’s her record sales, her work judging on shows like American Idol, and her films, as well as her perfume line and endorsements. She has a big, ongoing deal to make movies with Netflix, though she also spent $20 million of her own money financing This Is Me…Now.

Nathan Congleton, Flickr

Barbra Streisand

$400 million

A lifetime of dazzling sold-out crowds has paid off handsomely for Barbra Streisand—and the release of her long-awaited memoir, My Name Is Barbra, only added another boost to her already overflowing fortune.

NIH Image Gallery, Wikimedia Commons

Reese Witherspoon

$440 million

Reese Witherspoon would’ve likely landed on this list even if she’d only ever stuck to acting—but she’s this high on it as a result of her savvy business sense, which includes her production company and her book club, which often promotes books just to ink the film deal on them. Successes like Daisy Jones & the Six and Where the Crawdads Sing are just two examples of how this kind of forward-thinking works in her favor.

dtstuff9, CC-BY-SA-2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ellen DeGeneres

$500 million

Her namesake sitcom was one thing, but Ellen’s long-running namesake top show really put her over the top to land her this high on the list. Though the show ended in 2022, she’s found a new money-making passion since—she’s reportedly flipping houses.

Everett Collection, Shutterstock

Mary-Kate And Ashley Olsen

$500 million (combined)

The Olsen twins have been working since they were infants, and have made a combined $500 million. Though many could attribute this to their successful clothing and fragrance lines, it’s easy to forget just what kind of empire they had in the 1990s, with their video series, merchandise tie-ins, and feature films like It Takes Two.

David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Elizabeth Taylor

$600 million - $1 billion

At the time of her passing, Elizabeth Taylor had a reported net worth of between $600 million and $1 billion. Though her Hollywood career was fruitful, it was her “Diamonds” perfume line that truly raked in the cash. During her lifetime, she raised over $270 million for HIV/AIDS research, and when she passed on, she split her fortune between her family and her own AIDS Foundation.

Anefo / Croes, R.C., CC BY-SA 3.0 NL, Wikimedia Commons

Beyoncé

$760 million

Considering the frenzy around her recent tour, it’s no shock that Beyoncé can pull in around $80 million in a single touring year. Add in her high-profile endorsements, public appearances, and a jaw-dropping real estate empire shared with husband Jay-Z—whose own fortune clocks in at an estimated $2 billion—and Queen Bey’s wealth is nothing short of royal.

Parkwood Pictures Entertainment, LLC, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Zhao Wei

$1 billion

Zhao Wei is not only one of the most successful actresses in China, she’s also a savvy businesswoman. She was one of the earliest investors in Alibaba Pictures, started by the founder of Alibaba. Since its start in 2015, that company has produced, distributed, or invested in some 60 titles, including Star Trek Beyond and Mission Impossible — Fallout.

andersphoto, Shutterstock

Rihanna

$1.4 billion

Though she hasn’t appeared on screen since 2018’s Ocean’s 8—and hasn’t released an album since 2016’s Anti (and we really wish she would), Rihanna sits near the top of this list—above even Beyonce—for one remarkable reason: her Savage X Fenty lingerie line and her wildly successful Fenty beauty line. And unlike many celebrity products, Fenty is the real deal—high-quality, well-reviewed products that keep fans coming back for more.

Liam Mendes, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Oprah Winfrey

$3 billion

Though most regard her more as a media magnate, we can’t forget Oprah’s 1985 Oscar nom for her work in The Color Purple. How is Oprah so rich? Let us count the ways. There was, of course, the talk show, which she started to produce herself before syndication, meaning more $$$, as well as the book club, the network, the magazine, the spin-offs, the satellite radio channel…need we go on?

Kathy Hutchins, Shutterstock

Dina Merrill

$5 billion

Yes, there are two entries after Oprah Winfrey—and you might not necessarily recognize their names. When actress Dina Merrill, who appeared in films like Butterfield 8 and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, passed on in 2017, she was worth $5 billion. As the daughter of Marjorie Merriweather Post, she was heir to the Post Cereal fortune, and she later married one of the heirs of the Colgate-Palmolive fortune. Aside from her acting career, Merrill was also a prolific philanthropist.

John Mathew Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Jami Gertz

$8 billion

At first glance, you might think, Jami Gertz—who? But spend a little time with TV and movies, and you’ll know her face: she was Muffy in Square Pegs, the mysterious Star in The Lost Boys, and Dr. Melissa Reeves—the perpetually interrupted fiancée of Bill Pullman—in Twister. A-ha! That Jami Gertz.

While she’s had plenty of Hollywood credits, the bulk of her staggering fortune comes from savvy investments with her husband, billionaire businessman Tony Ressler. Together, they own stakes in the Milwaukee Brewers, the Atlanta Hawks, and more.

Tinseltown, Shutterstock