In a neverending battle fit for the tabloids, the top spot for highest-paid actress was a battle between Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston. Angelina Jolie is Hollywood’s highest paid actress, banking $27 million in the past year to beat out her partner Brad Pitt’s ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, who raked in $25 million. Most of Angelina Jolie’s income came from Angelina Jolie’s share of the profits from her action film "Wanted," but Angelina Jolie was also paid a large upfront sum for her role in "Salt."
Jennifer Aniston, who was married to Pitt before he became involved with Angelina Jolie, earned most of her millions from the romantic comedy "Marley and Me" and her upcoming film "The Baster." "Jennifer Aniston also still earns money from (reruns of TV series) Friends and she gets a nice paycheck shilling for Glaceau’s SmartWater," Forbes.com said. Jennifer Aniston gets a nice paycheck shilling for Glaceau’s SmartWater.
As is still typical for Hollywood, as even the high paid actresses earned significantly less than their male counterparts. Harrison Ford was the top-earning actor this year with $65 million, $38 million more than Angelina Jolie earned. All told, the top 10 actors earned $393 million, compared with $183 million for the top 10 actresses.
Meryl Streep ranks third on our list of highest paid actress thanks to last summer’s surprise smash hit Mamma Mia. The film took in $603 million and helped Streep earn $24 million between June 2008 and June 2009.