The World's Highest-Paid Actresses 2015: Jennifer Lawrence Leads With $52 Million

Jennifer Lawrence may have been made famous by The Hunger Games, but she’s certainly not short of bread: The 25-year-old banked $52 million pre-tax over 12 months to be the best paid actress–$16.5 million more than second-ranked Scarlett Johansson, who earned $35.5 million.
For the first time ever, the ranking examined the world’s highest-paid leading ladies to create a truly global list of actress earnings. Despite the broader valuations, only one non-American made the list: Chinese actress Bingbing Fan, who ranked No. 4 with a $21 million haul. Fan, who joins the ranking thanks to roles in movies such as The White-Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom and endorsements with Chopard and L’Oreal, is likely best-known to U.S. cinema-goers for her role in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Melissa McCarthy, ranked third with $23 million, is the only other actress to bank over $20 million in our scoring period. The Bridesmaids star has proven her ability to carry movies solo–Spy and Tammy grossed a combined $335 million worldwide–and now she’s turning to fashion, launching an all-sizes clothing line.
“I started to think if I could do anything to build women up rather than the constant tear down I’m going to do it,” says McCarthy of her designs, which aim to break down the size barriers within women’s fashion.

The Top 18 highest-earning female movie stars

1. Jennifer Lawrence: $52,000,000 (£33m)
2. Scarlett Johansson: $35,500,000 (£22.6m)
3. Melissa McCarthy: $23,000,000 (£14.6m)
4. Bingbing Fan: $21,000,000 (£13.4m)
5. Jennifer Aniston: $16,500,000 (£10.5m)
6. Julia Roberts: $16,000,000 (£10m)
7. Angelina Jolie: $15,000,000 (£9.5m)
8. Reese Witherspoon: $15,000,000 (£9.5m)
9. Anne Hathaway: $12,000,000 (£7.6m)
10. Kristen Stewart: $12,000,000 (£7.6m)
11. Cameron Diaz: $11,000,000 (£7m)
12. Gwyneth Paltrow: $9,000,000 (£5.7m)
13. Meryl Streep: $8,000,000 (£5.1m)
14. Amanda Seyfried: $8,000,000 (£5.1m)
15. Sandra Bullock: $8,000,000 (£5.1m)
16. Emma Stone: $6,500,000 (£4.4m)
17. Mila Kunis: $6,500,000 (£4.4m)
18. Natalie Portman: $6,000,000 (£3.9m)