Forbes recently released the 2016 edition of its list of the world’s highest-paid actresses. Topping the list for the second year in a row is American actress Jennifer Lawrence, with earnings of $46 million pre-tax. However, in addition to Lawrence and many of the other usual Hollywood suspects, this year’s list also includes China’s Fan Bingbing (number five with $17 million) and India’s Deepika Padukone (number 10 with $10 million). Fan was also included on last year’s list, ranking number four with $21 million.
An accompanying Forbes article offers some analysis of the list’s trends, including the tendency for high-paid actresses to supplement their earnings from films with endorsement deals. Indeed, the article discloses that Padukone, whose paychecks for movie roles are significantly smaller than those of her companions on the list, makes a significant chunk of her income through these lucrative endorsements.
The article also points out that, while the highest-paid actresses together banked about $205 million in the last year, there is still a major pay gap between men and women in the entertainment industry.
While four of the women on this year’s list made more than $20 million, a full 18 leading actors met or exceeded the same threshold. Forbes will release its 2016 list of the world’s highest-paid actors on Aug. 26.
While Fan Bingbing is a bona fide superstar in China and Hong Kong, she is still relatively unknown in the West. Those who do recognize her are most likely to do from her role as Blink in “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”
Source: People's Daily