Story highlights
The top salary for TV women is $28.5 million
Another "Modern Family" star made the top 10 list
"Scandal" star Kerry Washington also made the cut
Sofia Vergara’s role as brash and beautiful Gloria on the hit ABC sitcom “Modern Family” has been very good for her – to the tune of $28.5 million.
Her “Modern Family” role, plus endorsements for CoverGirl and Head & Shoulders, has made her the world’s highest-paid television actress for the fourth year in a row, according to Forbes magazine’s annual list. She also runs Latin World Entertainment, which she launched in 1994.
This year, she has some company. “The Big Bang Theory” co-star Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting tied Vergara for first place for the first time, thanks for her reported $1 million per episode pay and a deal with Priceline.com.
“Modern Family” co-star Julie Bowen appeared on the list for the first time in third place, earning $12 million for her role and an endorsement deal with Bridgestone.
Fourth-place Ellen Pompeo of “Grey’s Anatomy” brought home $11.5 million, and fifth-place Mariska Hargitay of “Law & Order: SVU” earned $11 million.
Film salaries still outpace television salaries. Jennifer Lawrence is this year’s top-paid film actress, and her $52 million paycheck dwarfs the top television actresses’ salaries.
“The Good Wife’s” Julianna Margulies took home $10.5 million, tying with funnywoman Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation”), who also wrote a best-selling book, “Yes Please.” “The Mindy Project” star Mindy Kaling also had endorsement deals, all of which earned her $9 million. “Scandal” star Kerry Washington made $7 million, tying with “The Middle” star Patricia Heaton.
Men still make more than women in television, Forbes says, noting that its cutoff for this year’s list of top-paid TV actors was $9.5 million: $4.5 million more than that for TV actresses.