Sofia Vergara Tops Highest-Paid TV Actor Ranking With $42.5M

Modern Family actor Sofia Vergara is the highest-paid TV actor earning  $42.5m  in 2017-18, according to Forbes magazine. She is on the top for the seventh year in a row.

Vergara earned $42.5m (£33m) in this past one year. She is way ahead than the top-earning man, The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons, who is on $26.5m (£20.5m). Five of the six next highest-paid on-screen actors behind Vergara are in The Big Bang Theory.

Vergara reigns at the top not only because of her salary from her role on the hit ABC comedy but also to a chain of endorsements and lucrative licensing deals. Among many deals are coffee maker SharkNinja Coffee and furniture chain Rooms To Go.

"Our attention is on the people watching Modern Family and how to appeal to them outside of the show, too,” Luis Balaguer, Vergara’s manager and business partner, told Forbes. "Our endorsement department is a well-oiled machine."

Vergara's giant leap, is considerably more than second-ranked Kaley Cuoco with $24.5 million. Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo ranks third with $23.5 million. Playing the central character, Meredith Grey, for 15 seasons now on Shonda Rhimes' show has given her the room to negotiate for a hefty upfront fee, a cut of the backend and a producer fee on spinoff Station 19. 

The top 10 men still earned more than the top 10 women, but the gap has closed since last year

The Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory actors make up 13 of the 20 names.

The top 10 female actors earned a combined $168.5m between June 2017 and June 2018, considerably up from $156.5 in the previous 12 months. The total for the top 10 men amounted to $181m in 2017-18, down from $185m of the previous year. The Forbes figures include sponsorship and licensing deals as well as TV show salaries.

Featured image credit: Heightline

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