Sofia Vergara Is TV’s Highest Paid Actress for 6th Straight Year

Followed by Kaley Cuoco, Mindy Kaling and more

Sofia Vergara
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“Modern Family” star Sofia Vergara once again tops Forbes’ annual list of the highest-paid TV actresses, but it’s not just because of her acting.

Vergara, along with her co-star Julie Bowen made the top 10, but Vergara was able to gain a lead thanks to licensing and endorsement deals with Pepsi, CoverGirl, Head & Shoulders and more.

She also has deals for three perfumes, a coffee machine with SharkNinja and a line of furniture at Rooms To Go.

Thanks to these business deals and an estimated $41.5 million annual salary for her ABC sitcom, Vergara has hit the No. 1 spot on the list for the sixth year in a row.

Her annual earnings were nearly twice Kaley Cuoco’s, who came in second place with $26 million thanks to her high paycheck for CBS’ “Big Bang Theory.” Forbes notes that while Cuoco makes more per episode on her sitcom, Vergara has more business deals, which give her an extra boost.

Of the top 10, eight are currently on network shows, since those tend to pay actors more per episode. Network shows also tend to produce more episodes per season, clocking in at 20-plus episodes per season versus something like Netflix’s “House of Cards,” which had a 13-episode season.

Also, as Forbes notes, casts in network shows tend to negotiate their salaries together, while actors in other series tend to get weighed differently. So Robin Wright makes less per episode than her co-star Kevin Spacey while Bowen and Vergara make the same amount as their male counterparts.

Here’s the total top 10:

1. Sofia Vergara: $41.5 million
2. Kaley Cuoco: $26 million
3. Mindy Kaling: $13 million
3. Ellen Pompeo: $13 million
5. Mariska Hargitay: $12.5 million
6. Julie Bowen: $12 million
7. Kerry Washington: $11 million
8 Priyanka Chopra: $10 million
9. Robin Wright: $9 million
10. Pauley Perrette: $8.5 million

There wasn’t too much of a change from last year’s list. The top five consists of the same group.

Perrette jumped from number 11 to 10 despite making less in 2017. Bowen jumped from 10th to sixth. Actors like Julianna Margulies and Stana Katic, whose shows ended during last year’s count, didn’t make the cut this year.

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