Here are the 10 highest-paid actresses and how much they bag per role
The highest-paid actress is Margot Robbie, who earned approximately $59 million from the 2023 Barbie film. Other top earners on this list include Reese Witherspoon, Millie Bobby Brown, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, and Zendaya, among others. These lead and supporting artists have retained global popularity in films, which have earned them between $10 million and $50 million per role.
Source: Original
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Key takeaways
- A closer look at the highest-paid actresses of all time
- 10. Zendaya ($10 million)
- 9. Nicole Kidman ($17.5 million)
- 8. Julia Roberts ($25 million)
- 7. Reese Witherspoon ($26 million)
- 6. Millie Bobby Brown ($26 million)
- 5. Jennifer Lawrence (40 million)
- 4. Jennifer Aniston ($42 million)
- 3. Cameron Diaz ($43 million)
- 2. Scarlett Johansson ($43 million)
- 1. Margot Robbie ($50 million)
- Who is the highest-earning actress in the world now?
- Who is the highest-paid actress of all time?
- What is Margot Robbie's highest-grossing film?
- Is Zoe Saldaña the highest-paid actress?
Key takeaways
- Elite actresses reportedly receive between $10 million and $59 million per role for high-grossing global films and TV series.
- The highest-paid actress in Hollywood, Margot Robbie, earned $59 million ($78 million gross) from her starring role in Barbie.
- In 2025, Scarlett Johansson topped Forbes list of the highest-paid actors, earning $43 million ($50 million gross) for her role in the Jurassic World franchise.
- In 2024, Jennifer Aniston was the sixth highest-paid actor on the Forbes list and the second woman, earning $42 million ($56 million gross).
A closer look at the highest-paid actresses of all time
In compiling and ranking the highest-paid actresses and their earnings, we used recorded industry estimates, acknowledging that these figures may not reflect actual final revenue or compensation from upfront fees, back-end profits, production fees, and royalties. The salary and net worth figures mentioned are based on publicly available information and reports from reputable sources, including Celebrity Net Worth, Forbes, Reuters, and IMDb.
Actress | Estimated salary per role ever paid | Net worth |
Margot Robbie | $59 million | $60 million |
Scarlett Johansson | $43 million | $165 million |
Cameron Diaz | $43 million | $140 million |
Jennifer Aniston | $42 million | $320 million |
Jennifer Lawrence | $40 million | $160 million |
Millie Bobby Brown | $26 million | $20 million |
Reese Witherspoon | $26 million | $300 million |
Julia Roberts | $25 million | $300 million |
Nicole Kidman | $17.5 million | $250 million |
Zendaya | $10 million | $40 million |
10. Zendaya ($10 million)
Source: UGC
- Full name: Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman
- Date of birth: 1 September 1996
- Age: 29 years as of April 2026
- Place of birth: Oakland, California, United States
- Profession: Actress, singer, producer
Zendaya is reportedly paid at least $10 million to star in a film after becoming an A-list star. Her net worth is $40 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Additionally, she received $10 million for her lead roles in Dune: Part Two and Challengers.
In 2023, Zendaya broke the record of the highest-earning Black actress on network television, once held by Angela Bassett and Kerry Washington.
According to the Los Angeles Times, she hit the $1 million per episode mark after renegotiating with HBO and increasing her Euphoria Season 3 earnings.
9. Nicole Kidman ($17.5 million)
Source: Twitter
- Full name: Nicole Mary Kidman
- Date of birth: 20 June 1967
- Age: 58 years as of April 2026
- Place of birth: Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
- Profession: Actress, producer, singer
Nicole Kidman's net worth is to be $250 million as of 2026, according to Cosmopolitan. In the 1990s, the Babygirl star was one of the highest-paid actors, earning between $200,000 and $7 million for films such as Days of Thunder, Batman Forever, and Moulin Rouge, among others.
Between 2003 and 2005, she earned 15 million for four films, including Cold Mountain, The Stepford Wives, The Interpreter, and Birth. This increased to $17.5 million for Bewitched in 2005. On top of this, she has starred in a handful of television series, like Big Little Lies, where her season 2 salary was $1 million per episode.
8. Julia Roberts ($25 million)
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: Julia Fiona Roberts
- Date of birth: 28 October 1967
- Age: 58 years as of April 2026
- Place of birth: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
- Profession: Actress, producer
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Julia Roberts has accumulated approximately $300 million in wealth as of April 2026. She played the lead in a dramatisation of the real-life Erin Brockovich story in 1990, making her the first woman to earn $20 million in a single movie. In 2003, she earned about $25 million for her role in Mona Lisa Smile, her highest recorded salary as of April 2026.
7. Reese Witherspoon ($26 million)
Source: Facebook
- Full name: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon
- Date of birth: 22 March 1976
- Age: 50 years as of 2026
- Place of birth: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- Profession: Actress, producer, entrepreneur
On 1 January 2022, Reese Witherspoon made it into the Guinness World Records as the highest-earning actress on television, with an estimated annual income of $115 million. These earnings partly came from The Morning Show, an estimated $20 million in acting and production fees each season.
In 2025, Witherspoon's earnings were $26 million ($34 million gross), as per Forbes. While the publication does not reveal which films gave her the highest income, she starred in a high-grossing 2025 romantic comedy alongside Will Ferrell on Amazon Prime Video's You're Cordially Invited.
6. Millie Bobby Brown ($26 million)
Source: Facebook
- Full name: Millie Bobby Brown
- Date of birth: 19 February 2004
- Age: 22 years as of 2026
- Place of birth: Marbella, Andalusia, Spain
- Profession: Actress, model, producer
Millie Bobby Brown is the youngest person ever to appear on the Forbes highest-paid actors list at 21 years of age. Her total earnings from Stranger Things are reported to be about $26 million in acting fees, rising to approximately $35 million, including gross-revenue distributions.
According to a report by Fortune, when Stranger Things premiered in 2016, she was receiving $10,000 and $30,000 per episode in the first and second seasons. In the third season, her paycheck increased to $250,000 an episode and finally to $300,000 an episode for the final season.
5. Jennifer Lawrence (40 million)
Source: Twitter
- Full name: Jennifer Shrader Maroney Lawrence
- Date of birth: 15 August 1990
- Age: 35 years as of April 2026
- Place of birth: Indian Hills, Kentucky, United States
- Profession: Actress, producer
Jennifer Lawrence topped the 2015 Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid actresses, banking $52 million in the entire year. Jennifer Lawrence's salary for the first Hunger Games movie was $500,000; however, the amount skyrocketed after the film's commercial success.
In the second Hunger Games movie, she earned $10 million acting as Katniss Everdeen. Her earnings increased to $40 million for the last two films, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2, released in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
For the 2016 movie Passengers, Jennifer Lawrence earned $20 million. In the 2021 Netflix film, Don't Look Up, she was reportedly paid $25 million.
4. Jennifer Aniston ($42 million)
Source: UGC
- Full name: Jennifer Joanna Aniston
- Date of birth: 11 February 1969
- Age: 57 years as of 2026
- Place of birth: Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Profession: Actress, producer, businesswoman
Jennifer Aniston ranked sixth in the 2023 Forbes list of the highest-paid actors, earning $42 million ($56 million gross). As per Celebrity Net Worth, Jennifer Aniston's net worth is estimated at $320 million with an average $1.25 million per episode salary.
Her earnings from The Morning Show are reportedly $2 million for acting and executive producing each episode. Jennifer Aniston also still receives an estimated $5 million per year in residual income from Friends.
3. Cameron Diaz ($43 million)
Source: Twitter
- Full name: Cameron Michelle Diaz
- Date of birth: 30 August 1972
- Age: 53 years as of April 2026
- Place of birth: San Diego, California, United States
- Profession: Actress
Cameron Diaz returned from retirement in 2025 with a two-film deal with Netflix valued at $45 million for Back in Action, as reported by Bloomberg News.
Her highest earnings came from her 2011 hit Bad Teacher. As per Yahoo Finance, Diaz received a guaranteed $1 million salary to appear in the film and was also awarded a significant percentage of box office sales, approximately $42 million.
For her 2014 role in The Other Woman, Cameron Diaz earned an estimated $18 million. For starring in the Charlie’s Angels films, she earned $12 million and $20 million, respectively.
2. Scarlett Johansson ($43 million)
Source: Facebook
- Full name: Scarlett Ingrid Johansson
- Date of birth: 22 November 1984
- Age: 41 years as of April 2026
- Place of birth: Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
- Profession: Actress, producer, director
Scarlett Johansson leads the 2025 Forbes list of the highest-paid actresses with total earnings of $43 million, or approximately $50 million gross. Universal Pictures secured her as the lead of the rebooted Jurassic World franchise with a reported upfront fee of $20 million, supplemented by a significant share of the film's profits.
In 2019, she made a cumulative $56 million, an amount that placed her among the top 50 highest-earning celebrities on Forbes. The magazine also ranked her as the highest-paid woman in the Marvel Universe, pocketing about $15 million per film, in addition to a profit percentage.
Her net worth is estimated at $250 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, accumulated across two decades as the Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
1. Margot Robbie ($50 million)
Source: Instagram
- Full name: Margot Elise Robbie
- Date of birth: 2 July 1990
- Age: 35 years as of April 2026
- Place of birth: Dalby, Queensland, Australia
- Profession: Actress, producer
In 2023, Margot Robbie ranked second on the Forbes list of the highest-paid actors, after closing the year with $59 million ($78 million gross). As the starring actress and producer, she cashed in on roughly 12.5% of all back-end profits, which was estimated to be more than $60 million.
Two years later, a Forbes reported that Robbie had earned approximately $50 million from the Barbie role and a cameo appearance in Asteroid City. In 2024, Deadline reported that for her 2025 role, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Sony had made a $50 million deal.
As per the Cosmopolitan, Margot Robbie earned about $347,000 for her role in The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013. Her compensation rose to $667,000 in 2015 after playing Ann Burden in Z for Zachariah. For her role in Suicide Squad's sequel, Birds of Prey, Forbes reported that she made $10 million.
Who is the highest-earning actress in the world now?
As of the most recent Forbes data, Scarlett Johansson is the highest-paid actress. She leads the Forbes 2025 highest-paid actress list with $50 million in gross earnings. However, Margot Robbie held the title in 2023, earning approximately $59 million through her Barbie role and a cameo in Asteroid City.
Who is the highest-paid actress of all time?
Margot Robbie currently holds the record of the highest-paid actress of all time with $59 million from Barbie. Her earnings also come from her role as a film producer, with films such as Barbie, Saltburn, I, Tonya, and Promising Young Woman through her production company, LuckyChap Entertainment.
What is Margot Robbie's highest-grossing film?
Margot Robbie played Stereotypical Barbie, the lead role in Barbie, a film that made the most money at the global box office in 2025. The cultural phenomenon grossed more than $1.44 billion worldwide.
Is Zoe Saldaña the highest-paid actress?
According to The Guardian, Zoe Saldaña became the highest-grossing actor in 2026, with her films earning $15.47 billion, according to data from The Numbers, as reported by Fortune.
This milestone came following the global success of Avatar: Fire and Ash, Avatar: Way of Water, and other top-grossing films she acted in, including Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Avengers.
Margot Robbie holds the record for the highest-paid actress of all time. This list of top earners includes experienced entertainers such as Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, and Cameron Diaz, as well as young actresses like Millie Bobby Brown and Zendaya.
Legit.ng published an article detailing how much the Severance cast was paid. The American psychological thriller series featured a star-studded cast that included actors and actresses whose net worth ranged between $8 million and $50 million.
Although Appe has yet to disclose the official salaries and bonuses of the cast members, lead actors are reported to have received between $100,000 and nearly $500,000 per episode.
Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
