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Natalie Portman voted best investment

Dec 27, 2012, 22:01 GMT

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman has been voted Hollywood's most profitable star.

The 31-year-old 'Black Swan' actress - whose dark ballet movie earned $329 million at the box office worldwide after being made for an estimated $13 million - has topped a new list of Hollywood's Best Actors For The Buck compiled by Forbes magazine, with 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2' star Kristen Stewart coming in a close second.

The star's movies rake in $42.70 (£26.48) for every dollar she is paid. Other hits movies which helped Natalie - who took much of last year off after the birth of her first son in June, 2011 - secure her position as the best investment in the movie business included 'No Strings Attached' in which she starred alongside Ashton Kutcher, which made $150 million after being produced for just $25 million.

Kristen Stewart - who also topped the magazine's Highest Earning Actress list - came in second place, returning an average of $40.60 (£25.23) to movie studios for every $1 she gets paid.

The 22-year-old brunette beauty was paid $25 million to star in the final two 'Twilight Saga' movies, the first of which grossed over $300 million and the second of which is still in theatres.

Her British boyfriend Robert Pattinson - with whom she reunited with in August following her brief fling with her 'Snow White and the Huntsman' director Rupert Sanders, a movie which grossed $400 - also made the list, and came in fourth place after 'Transformers' star Shia LaBeouf for returning $31.70 for every dollar he is paid.

Their co-star Taylor Lautner, also made the list in sixth place after 'Harry Potter' star Daniel Radcliff, bringing in an average return of $29.50.

Forbes uses data on actors' earnings gathered for their Celebrity 100 list and Box office grosses and budget estimates for their last three films they stared in over the last three years that opened in more than 2,000 theatres, calculating the return on investment for the studios who pay his (or her) salary. They don't count movies where the actor was in a supporting or large ensemble role or animated movies.

Eddie Murphy was recently named Hollywood's most over-paid actor alongside Katherine Heigl and Reese Witherspoon.