Million Dollar Ladies

It’s the time of year when the lists of Powerful Hollywood Types are released. The latest comes from industry rag Hollywood Reporter, which has taken its annual peek into the world of the biggest female earners. So who made it to the top? Not a huge surprise, really…

Despite having taken time away from acting to have twins, Julia Roberts is still up at Number One, able to command $20 million a film. She won’t even be seen on screen next year, despite voicing the title character (a spider) in Charlotte’s Web.

Second is Nicole Kidman, who takes pay cuts to star in low-budget projects like Birth and Dogville, but was paid $16-$17 million a film for the box-office friendly likes of The Interpreter and upcoming alien invasion drama The Visiting. She’s followed by Reese Witherspoon at third, with $15 million. That may have appeared a bit rich after Just Like Heaven tanked, but she’s rebounded strongly with chunky box office and Oscar buzz for the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line.

Also raking in $15 million per film is Drew Barrymore, whose canny producing skills and smart choices keep her in the money. At fifth place, it’s Renee Zellweger, who gets between $10 and $15 million depending on the film. She earned a none-too shabby $21 million alone in a two-picture deal with Universal to star in Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason and Cinderella Man.

Angelina Jolie, at sixth, pocketed $10 million for Mr & Mrs Smith, and can expect her price to rise to around $15 million after the Doug Liman actioner was a huge success. She’ll need it if she keeps adopting kids…

Cameron Diaz was among the first actresses to hit the $20 million mark, but her earning power has waned in recent years, dropping down to the $10-$15 million mark. Poor love. She hasn’t been helped by In Her Shoes’ spectacular flop at the US box office.

Back with a bang is Jodie Foster, who these days is happy to wait for the right role to come along (although industry buzz is that she’s planning to kickstart her career in a more prolific fashion). Still, time away hasn’t dimmed her paycheques - she can still pull down $10-$12 million per movie, putting her in eighth place.

At ninth, Charlize Theron might have got the gold for Monster, but she saw the green for North Country, which paid her $10 million. And rounding out the Top 10 is ex-Friends star Jennifer Aniston, who may be unproven as a movie star but still can ask for and get $9 million per movie. With three high-profile movies due next year, that could rise dramatically. She may need it when the legal bills roll in after her divorce from Brad Pitt…

Here's the list as, well, a list:

1) Julia Roberts ($20 million)
2) Nicole Kidman ($16-$17 million)
3) Reese Witherspoon ($15 million)
4) Drew Barrymore ($15 million)
5) Renee Zellweger ($10-$15 million)
6) Angelina Jolie ($10 million)
7) Cameron Diaz ($10-$15 million)
8) Jodie Foster ($10-$12 million)
9) Charlize Theron ($10 million)
10) Jennifer Aniston ($9 million)