Top Ten Paid Actresses

Taken from Hollywood Reporter

1. Julia Roberts -- $20 million
Since giving birth to twins in November 2004, Roberts has reduced her roles in front of the camera in favor of spending more time with her family, but she's still perceived as the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. Although Roberts hasn't chosen her next feature film, she'll flex her stage muscles in "Three Days of Rain" -- written by Richard Greenberg and directed by "Wicked's" Joe Mantello -- which begins a 12-week run on Broadway in March. In addition, she voices the title character in Paramount's planned June release "Charlotte's Web."

2. Nicole Kidman -- $16 million-$17 million
This Oscar winner has built her reputation on taking risky roles and accepting smaller fees just for the chance to continue challenging herself -- but that doesn't mean she can't command the big bucks when she wants to. Kidman reportedly earned $17.5 million for the critical favorite political drama "The Interpreter," released by Universal in April, and Warner Bros. Pictures paid her a tidy $16 million for its 2006 sci-fi release "The Visiting." Her next juicy role is in Picturehouse Films' upcoming drama "Fur," in which she plays photographer Diane Arbus, whose life ended in suicide in 1971.

3. Reese Witherspoon -- $15 million
With a reputation for being a hard-working perfectionist and a tough producer, Witherspoon has cemented her place in Hollywood's elite. Although this fall's DreamWorks romantic comedy "Just Like Heaven" underdelivered on its opening weekend with $16.4 million at the domestic boxoffice, everyone's likely to forget about that -- she could very well earn an Oscar nomination for playing June Carter Cash in Fox's November opener "Walk the Line," which took in a respectable $22.4 million in its first weekend.

4. Drew Barrymore -- $15 million
Like Witherspoon, this child star-turned-boxoffice diva is as much at home in front of the camera as she is wearing her producer's hat. She shared top billing with Jimmy Fallon and another producer credit in the Farrelly brothers' April baseball comedy "Fever Pitch" for Fox, a modest success that drummed up $42 million at the domestic boxoffice. And looking ahead, she's co-starring with Eric Bana and Robert Duvall in director Curtis Hanson's Las Vegas-set "Lucky You" for Warner Bros. Pictures, as well as playing opposite Will Ferrell in Universal's "Curious George."

5. Renee Zellweger -- $10 million-$15 million
Zellweger brought her varied Oscar-winning talents to Universal's 2004 release "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" and the studio's summer offering "Cinderella Man," for which she was paid a package deal of $21 million. While "Reason" didn't quite match the overwhelming success of the franchise's first installment in 2001, it performed well internationally for the native Texan and her co-stars, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth. "Cinderella," on the other hand, earned praise from critics but stalled at the domestic boxoffice, earning only $61.6 million. Up next for Zellweger are two Paramount films: Hideo Nakata's supernatural thriller "The Eye" and the Janis Joplin biopic "Piece of My Heart."

6. Angelina Jolie -- $10 million-$15 million
Although its release played out as much in the tabloids at it did in theaters, Fox's June romantic actioner "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," starring Jolie and Brad Pitt, took in an impressive $185 million at the domestic boxoffice, making it the highest-grossing film this year featuring a female lead. Jolie earned more than $10 million for "Smith," and her asking price is likely to rise to $15 million for whatever she chooses next. While she's busy with the Robert De Niro-directed 2006 release "The Good Shepherd" for Universal, she still managed to find time to continue her humanitarian efforts on behalf of the United Nations and expand her family by adopting a baby daughter.

7. Cameron Diaz -- $10 million-$15 million
As one of the first actresses to hit the $20 million benchmark, Diaz's earning potential remains significant -- even if it's not quite the high she achieved for 2003's "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle." Families fawn over her as the voice of Princess Fiona from the hit franchise "Shrek" -- a new one of which is due from DreamWorks in 2007 -- but this year didn't have a fairy-tale ending for the charming actress. Despite great reviews, her latest endeavor, Fox's October drama "In Her Shoes," opened at a less-than-modest $10 million stateside, but here's hoping a starring role in director Nancy Meyers' latest, "Holiday," for Sony, will get her back on her feet.

8. Jodie Foster -- $10 million-$12 million
In an industry where most women are concerned with getting as many roles as they can while they're young -- quality be damned -- Foster is somewhat of an anomaly. She chooses her movies carefully and is unafraid of taking time away from the spotlight (though the perception is that she's working hard to rebuild her career after taking time off for motherhood). But as she proved in this summer's Buena Vista thriller "Flightplan," not only can she open a movie, she also can make it a success. While all of the under-40 actresses fret over their next job, Foster will be next starring alongside Denzel Washington and Clive Owen in Spike Lee's "Inside Man" for Universal.

9. Charlize Theron -- $10 million
She's all about truly embodying her characters. When Theron packed on the pounds and married herself to the mind of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003's "Monster," she walked away with the Oscar for best actress. In her most recent role in Warner Bros. Pictures' October drama "North Country," she takes on a Wisconsin accent and becomes a miner, earning her first $10 million paycheck in the process. And this month, she dyes her golden locks black and pours herself into the title character of Paramount's "Aeon Flux." She's currently working on a sequel to 2003's "The Italian Job," as well as indie-darling director Kimberly Peirce's next project.

10. Jennifer Aniston -- $9 million
While her bankability in leading roles has yet to be proved -- and that is an unmistakably large hurdle to overcome -- Aniston is toplining films with some of the industry's biggest stars, and rumor has it that her asking price is $9 million-$10 million for her next film. While the Miramax infidelity drama "Derailed" with Clive Owen didn't thrill critics upon its release in November, she has several other upcoming films that might, including Warner Bros. Pictures' "Rumor Has It," about a woman who discovers her family was the basis for the 1967 film "The Graduate"; Sony Pictures Classics' "Friends With Money"; and Universal's "The Break Up," in which she co-stars with Vince Vaughn.

Source: Hollywood Reporter