HOLLYWOOD — Sofia Vergara’s role as brash and beautiful Gloria on the hit ABC sitcom “Modern Family” has been very good for her — to the tune of $28.5 million.
Her “Modern Family” role, plus endorsements for CoverGirl and Head & Shoulders, has made her the world’s highest-paid television actress for the fourth year in a row, according to Forbes magazine’s annual list. She also runs Latin World Entertainment, which she launched in 1994.
This year, she has some company. “The Big Bang Theory” co-star Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting tied Vergara for first place for the first time, thanks for her reported $1 million per episode pay and a deal with Priceline.com.
“Modern Family” co-star Julie Bowen appeared on the list for the first time in third place, earning $12 million for her role and an endorsement deal with Bridgestone.
Fourth-place Ellen Pompeo of “Grey’s Anatomy” brought home $11.5 million, and fifth-place Mariska Hargitay of “Law & Order: SVU” earned $11 million.
Film salaries still outpace television salaries. Jennifer Lawrence is this year’s top-paid film actress, and her $52 million paycheck dwarfs the top television actresses’ salaries.
“The Good Wife’s” Julianna Margulies took home $10.5 million, tying with funnywoman Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation”), who also wrote a best-selling book, “Yes Please.” “The Mindy Project” star Mindy Kaling also had endorsement deals, all of which earned her $9 million. “Scandal” star Kerry Washington made $7 million, tying with “The Middle” star Patricia Heaton.
Men still make more than women in television, Forbes says, noting that its cutoff for this year’s list of top-paid TV actors was $9.5 million: $4.5 million more than that for TV actresses.
