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After three years at the top, Sofia Vergara will now have to share the title of highest-paid TV actress with fellow comedic actress Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting.
The “Modern Family” actress, 43, and Cuoco-Sweeting, 29, were named the world’s highest-paid TV actresses by Forbes, banking $28.5 million apiece pretax between June 1, 2014 and June 1, 2015.
According to Forbes, the actresses amassed their fortunes with their impressive sitcom contracts that were padded out by lucrative endorsement deals.
Vergara has deals with CoverGirl and Head and Shoulders and she also continues to run the talent management and entertainment-marketing firm Latin World Entertainment that she co-founded in 1994.
As for Cuoco-Sweeting, who reportedly negotiated a $1 million per episode salary with "Big Bang" co-stars Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki, she has a top-dollar endorsement deal with Priceline.com.
Vergara’s “Modern Family” co-star Julie Bowen joins the duo to round up the top three women, with Ellen Pompeo (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and Mariska Hargitay (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”) in the other two slots.
Critics point at the lack of racial diversity on the list, reflecting the onscreen reality that more white actresses are hired in the industry.
The only Latina woman among the top 10 was Vergara, while “Scandal” actress Kerry Washington, who made $7 million, was the only black actress named.
“Hopefully, as America begins to welcome more television shows featuring primarily Hispanic or African-American characters – Fox’s Empire, ABC’s blask-ish, Lifetime’s Devious Maids or the CW’s Jane the Virgin, for example – the paychecks of these actresses will catch up, and we will see a list including Taraji Henson, Tracee Ellis Ross or Gina Rodriguez in the years to come,” Forbes’ Madeline Berg wrote.
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