Trending Topics

‘Forbes’ Highest-Paid Actresses List Lacks Diversity

Emma Stone (from left), Jennifer Anniston and Jennifer Lawrence appeared on the highest-paid actresses list last year, too. (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

There have been a few changes to the annual list of highest-paid actresses this year.

For one, Emma Stone took Jennifer Lawrence’s top spot and the top 10 has shuffled since then, too. What hasn’t changed is Forbes’ list of women, which still includes Mila Kunis, Julia Roberts and Charlize Theron.

And once again, Black women are left out in the cold.

For the second year in a row, the likes of Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis are nowhere to be found in the rankings, continuing a trend that has occurred for at least a decade. That’s despite their award-winning turns in two of the biggest movies of the last year — Hidden Figures” and “Fences.”

Instead, Forbes’ tally from June 2016 to June 2017 gives Stone the crown with a $26 million income. She can credit landing the top spot to her role in “La La Land,” which was briefly — and mistakenly — announced as the winner of the Best Picture Oscar in February. (“Moonlight” was the actual winner.) Melissa McCarthy and Jennifer Anniston swapped places, putting the “Mother’s Day” actress at No. 2 with $22.5 million and McCarthy earning $18 million at No. 4. Jennifer Lawrence’s $24 million earnings placed her at No. 3 and Mila Kunis rounds out the top five with $15.5 million.

Check out the complete list below.

  1. Emma Stone – $26 million
  2. Jennifer Aniston – $25.5 million
  3. Jennifer Lawrence – $24 million
  4. Melissa McCarthy – $18 million
  5. Mila Kunis – $15.5 million
  6. Emma Watson – $14 million
  7. Charlize Theron – $14 million
  8. Cate Blanchett – $12 million
  9. Julia Roberts – $12 million
  10. Amy Adams – $11.5 million
Back to top