Priyanka Chopra has become the first Indian star to enter the Forbes list of highest paid television actresses in the world, after starring on American series ‘Quantico’.
Priyanka ranks eighth in the coveted list, which has retained American actress Sofia Vergara at the first position fifth year in a row.
The 44-year-old Colombian-American actress brought home a whooping $43 million before management fees and taxes, but not all came from her hit TV show ‘Modern Family’. Vergara has
an impressive array of endorsement deals as well as her line of products.
Priyanka has earned $11 million. She made her international acting debut last year with ABC's ‘Quantico’ and now is gearing up for its second season.
Back home, the 34-year-old actress has starred in two Bollywood films in the past one year – ‘Bajirao Mastani’ and ‘Jai Gangaajal’— and will make her Hollywood film debut with ‘Baywatch’ alongside Bollywood heavy-hitters including Dwayne Johnson, the world's highest-paid actor.
But like most television actresses (and actresses, in general), her millions are not made from screen time alone.
Priyanka is one of India's top picks for advertisers, reported Forbes magazine.
She has had a very successful foray in the American entertainment industry so far. Apart from appearing on the popular late night TV talk shows, she presented at this year's Oscars and is all set to present at the Emmys next week.
She is also one of the hosts for the 2016 Global Citizen Festival, which will be headlined by musicians like Rihanna and Selena Gomez, on September 24.
‘The Big Bang Theory’ actress Kaley Cuoco is at the second position, with an earning of $24.5 million.
Mindy Kaling came up third with USD 15 million, followed by a tie for fourth place between Ellen Pompeo and Mariska Hargitay, who both made $14.5 million.
‘Castle’ star Stana Katric, who like Priyanka makes a debut on the list, is placed at seventh position. Another newcomer on the rankings is Julia Louis-Dreyfus ('Veep').
Kerry Washington of ‘Scandal’ fame finds herself at sixth position, with $13.5 million earnings. The list comprises 15 highest paid actresses.
While Hollywood has a lot of work to do to close the gender wage gap between actors and actresses, it's not as severe in TV as in the film industry.
A reason for this is that ensemble casts generally negotiate their salaries together, Forbes said.
Meanwhile, before Priyanka, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone also made the country proud by entering the 2016 Forbes list of world's highest paid actresses.
The list, which saw Jennifer Lawrence sitting at the top, placed Deepika at the 10th position. Deepika, who shared screen space with Priyanka in ‘Bajirao Mastani’, is like the ‘Quantico’ star, set for her Hollywood debut next year.
She will be seen alongside Vin Diesel in ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’.
