Los Angeles - Cameron Diaz earned some 50 million dollars over the past year to take the title of Hollywood's top-earning actress on Forbes annual list, the business magazine reported Monday.
Cameron Diaz waves at the fans during the red carpet event held to promote the film in Tokyo, Japan, 06 August 2008. Directed by British director Tom Vaughan, the romantic comedy is about an unexpected love develops between highly-strung stockbroker Joy (Diaz) and a laid-off carpenter Jack (Ashton Kutcher) who accidently meet in Las Vegas. EPA/DAVID COLL BLANCO
In total, Hollywood's 10 top-earning actresses collectively banked 244.5 million dollars between June 1, 2007 and June 1, 2008, the report said.
Diaz's main earnings came from her lucrative role as princess- turned-ogre in DreamWorks' Shrek franchise. But she also starred in the spring comedy, What Happens in Vegas, and has nabbed large pay cheques for her role in the adaptation of Jodi Picoult's best-selling novel My Sister's Keeper, and a fourth installment of Shrek.
Diaz was followed on the rich actress list by British beauty Keira Knightley, who earned 32 million dollars from starring roles in movies like Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Atonement.
Former Friends star Jennifer Aniston earned 27 million dollars with starring roles in the family comedy Marley & Me and the dating ensemble He's Just Not That Into You. Her income was boosted by payments from the syndication of Friends and endorsement deals for Glacéau's Smartwater and Heineken.
Reese Witherspoon and Gwyneth Paltrow tied for fourth place on the list, with each banking some 25 million dollars during the year. Filling out the top ten were Jodie Foster, Sarah Jessica Parker, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Angelina Jolie.
Though the actresses earnings were impressive by almost anyone's standards, they were still much lower than those for top-earning male actors. According to a recently published Forbes list, Will Smith was the top earner with 80 million dollars, followed by Johnny Depp with 72 million dollars and Eddie Murphy with 55 million dollars.
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