For the sixth year in a row, Sofia Vergara of Modern Family is the most well-paid actress on TV, according to Forbes’ 2017 ranking.
The Colombian actress amassed US$41.5mil (RM176mil) between June 2, 2016 and June 1, 2017, with approximately a quarter of that sum as salary for her participation in ABC sitcom Modern Family.
Numerous endorsement deals were also factored into the ranking, with Procter and Gamble’s hair product brand Head and Shoulders and makeup marque CoverGirl, as well as soft drink and snackfood corp PepsiCo.
“Our attention is on the people watching Modern Family and how to appeal to them outside of the show, too,” Vergara’s manager and business partner, Luis Balaguer, told Forbes about her licensing endorsement business. In fact, licensing has become Vergara’s preferred method of product endorsement – three Avon perfumes, a Rooms To Go furniture line, and a SharkNinja coffee machine have resulted from that strategy.
Speaking fees and feature film involvements played a part in the dollar total as well; Vergara voiced a flamenco dance in critically panned, US$180mil (RM762mil) worldwide box office smash The Emoji Movie. It’s the endorsements that make Vergara such a successful money maker, and the reason for the gap between the ranking’s first and second places.
Priyanka Chopra earned US$10mil as reported by Forbes. Photo: Reuters
Established TV series
Kelly Cuoco received US$26mil for Season 10 of The Big Bang Theory, in which she plays apartment neighbour Penny, working out at a little over US$1mil (RM4.2mil) per episode. The ranking’s pre-tax, pre-fee estimates were derived from Nielsen, Box Office Mojo, and IMDB data and industry interviews.
Mindy Kaling of The Mindy Project earned US$13mil (RM55mil) for the year, as did Ellen Pompeo of Grey’s Anatomy.Common among the Top 10 actresses is ongoing involvement in an established TV series; only Priyanka Chopra’s FBI thriller Quantico is less than five years old.
Along with Vergara, Indian actress, producer, model and celebrity Priyanka Chopra is one of two Top Ten actresses born outside of the United States. Kaling’s parents, both medical doctors, were born in India and Hargitay’s father, a bodybuilder and actor who married her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield, was born in Hungary. – AFP Relaxnews
Forbes’ Highest-Paid TV Actresses, 2017
1. US$41.5mil – Sofia Vergara (Modern Family, 2009-)
2. US$26mil (RM110mil) – Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory, 2007-)
3. US$13mil (RM55mil) – Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project, 2012-2017)
3. US$13mil (RM55mil) – Ellen Pompeo (Grey’s Anatomy, 2005-)
5. US$12.5mil (RM53mil) – Mariska Hargitay (Law And Order – SVU, 1999-)
6. US$12mil (RM50.8mil) – Julie Bowen (Modern Family, 2009-)
7. US$11mil (RM46.5mil) – Kerry Washington (Scandal, 2012-2018)
8. US$10mil (RM42.3mil) – Priyanka Chopra (Quantico, 2015-)
9. US$9mil (RM38mil) – Robin Wright (House Of Cards, 2013-2017)
10. US$8.5mil (RM36mil) – Pauley Perrette (NCIS, 2003-)
