Dior deal can't keep Lawrence at top of actress earnings list as Emma Stone takes top spot

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Aug 17, 2017

Fresh off winning her first Oscar, actress Emma Stone ousted Jennifer Lawrence on Wednesday to claim the top spot on Forbes' 2017 list of the world's highest-paid actresses. She also beat Jennifer Aniston, despite both Jennifers earnings being heavily boosted by endorsement deals with Lawrence promoting Dior and Aniston promoting beauty brand Aveeno.

Stone, 28, who was previously a spokesperson for Revlon, won best actress for her role as a struggling actress in "La La Land," which drove her earnings power higher as she made $26 million in pre-tax earnings, according to Forbes' calculations over a 12-month period from June 2016 to June 2017.

She outpaced Jennifer Aniston, 48, who came in at No. 2 this year with earnings of $25.5 million, with residual income still coming in from the television sitcom "Friends" and other endorsement deals with brands such as SmartWater and Emirates Airline.

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Lawrence, 27, who topped the Forbes list for two consecutive years, dropped to No. 3 this year with earnings of $24 million, almost half of her prior year's earnings of $46 million.

The actress, who has spoken out on equal pay for women in Hollywood, saw her earnings dip this year after the conclusion of the "Hunger Games" franchise, but continues to make money from movie deals and that endorsement deal with Dior.

Forbes compiles its annual celebrity earnings lists from box office and Nielsen data, as well as from interviews with industry insiders.

The top 10 list also includes other names whith strong fashion and beauty links. Numbers three though 10 are Melissa McCarthy, Mila Kunis, Emma Watson, Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett, Julia Roberts and Amy Adams. Forbes said no stars from Asia made the cut this year.

Forbes said the cumulative total earned by the world's top 10 highest-paid actresses - $172.5 million - was down 16 percent from the previous year.

Last year, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson topped Forbes' list of highest-paid actors at $64.5 million, more than double the amount made by Stone this year. Forbes is expected to release its list of top-earning male actors later this week.

Additional reporting by Sandra Halliday