Scarlett Johansson tops Forbes' best-paid actresses list

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‍American actress Scarlett Johansson garnered the top place on Forbes' 2018 list of the world's highest-paid actresses, which was released Thursday.

Johansson, 33, raked in 40.5 million US dollars in pre-tax earnings from June 1, 2017 to June 1, 2018 thanks to her role as Black Widow in this year's hit movie "Avengers: Infinity War," Forbes said.

Her latest annual income quadrupled her earnings from the previous year and bumped last year's top-ranked Emma Stone from No. 1.

Angelina Jolie, with pre-tax earnings of 28 million US dollars, ranked the second on the list. Her turn in the forthcoming “Maleficent 2” accounts for the majority of her payday.

Angelina Jolie Pitt at an opening night gala on November 5, 2015, in California. /VCG Photo

Jennifer Aniston is third with 19.5 million US dollars. The former “Friends” star made most of her money by endorsing the likes of Emirates airlines, Smartwater and Aveeno.

Jennifer Lawrence and Reese Witherspoon claimed fourth and fifth place respectively, with a pre-tax income of 18 million dollars and 16.5 million dollars, followed by Mila Kunis, Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Melissa McCarthy and Gal Gadot.

The combined earnings of the world's 10 highest-paid actresses totaled 186 million US dollars between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018, before fees and taxes, up eight percent on last year, but nine percent down on the 2016 total.

As the world’s top-paid actress, Scarlett Johansson ranked the 76th place on the 2018 edition of the Celebrity 100, Forbes’ list of best-paid celebrities, and she is the only female star on the list, forming a sharp contrast with their male counterparts.

By pocketing 239 million US dollars pretax and fees, George Clooney becomes the world’s best-paid actor, ranking the second among the Celebrity 100.

Eight other actors entered the Celebrity 100 with earnings over 35 million US dollars, including Dwayne Johnson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Jackie Chan, etc.

George Clooney at the 66th Venice Film Festival on September 8, 2009. /VCG Photo

The gender pay gap in Hollywood has received wide-spread attention since the 2014 Oscars, when Patricia Arquette brought up the issue in her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress, “it’s our time to have wage equality for once and for all.”

Her sentiment was later echoed by many iconic stars including Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, and Viola Davis.

According to a 2016 study quoted by Forbes, female characters account for only 28.7 percent of all speaking roles in films, which greatly reduced the opportunities for actresses to earn big bucks.

However, some actresses have turned to find other chances for earning: Witherspoon cofounded her Pacific Standard production company and Hello Sunshine media house to option rights for female-led parts. Others, like Aniston, supplement acting income with hefty endorsement deals, said Forbes.

(With inputs from Xinhua)