Leonardo DiCaprio topped it for the first time, flying past last year's winner, Johnny Depp. DiCaprio, 36, landed huge paydays for blockbusters Inception and Shutter Island, reportedly earning over $50 million for the former thanks to a contract guaranteeing him a percentage of the profits. It brought Forbes' grand total of the actor's earnings to $77 million between May 2010 and May 2011.
His earnings last year were approximately $75 million, dropped to number two with $50 million. He was trailed by comedian, actor, singer, producer Adam Sandler. The 44-year-old funnyman earned an estimated $40 million last year.
Will Smith and Tom Hanks rounded out the top five with $36 million and $35 million, respectively.On the actresses list, which was released last month, Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker tied for first, both earning $30 million.
Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon also tied for a close spot behind Jolie, 36, and Parker, 46, earning $28 million each. And even though her career has been in a downswing, Julia Roberts came in fifth with $20 million thanks to her mega-hit Eat, Pray, Love.
In evidence that there's still a huge divide between men and women in Hollywood, the highest-earning actresses raked in less than half of DiCaprio's pay.Each year, Forbes compiles data from agents, lawyers, producers and other industry insiders to estimate actors' earnings.
Reese Witherspoon was born on 22th March 1976, in New Orleans, LA. Her mother was a professor with numerous degrees, including a PhD in pediatric nursing, while her father was a surgeon as well as a lieutenant in the Army Reserves. His military post led the family to relocate to Weisbaden, Germany, shortly after Witherspoon was born. She spent her infancy overseas before the family returned to the United States and settled in Nashville, TN.
The youngest of two kids as well as the only daughter, Witherspoon was bookish and ambitious, simultaneously planning to go into medicine like her parents, but also telling the girls in the schoolyard at the private Harding Academy that she was going to be the next Dolly Parton. A family friend recruited the perky blonde for a local TV commercial when she was seven; thus marking the humble beginnings of the girl who would one day find herself among the highest paid actresses in Hollywood.
Inspired by her brush with local fame, Witherspoon began taking acting lessons, and when she was 11 years old, took first place in a multi-state talent competition. For the next several years, Witherspoon maintained her focus on schoolwork and cheerleading, as well as absorbing her traditional Southern upbringing, which she would later credit with her strong work ethic and sense of responsibility. Her accomplished mother and grandmother instilled self-respect and high moral standards, which probably came in handy sooner than expected when their 14- year-old daughter inadvertently landed the lead role in a Hollywood film.
Though vehemently denied by both camps, Witherspoon was soon spotted with CAA talent agent, Jim Toth, in early 2010. Toward the end of the year, Witherspoon and Toth were a confirmed couple, complete with numerous photos ops with her children, while Gyllenhaal had reportedly moved on to actress Rachel Bilson. Back on the big screen, Witherspoon starred as a female professional softball player torn between a corporate executive (Paul Rudd) and a Major League Baseball pitcher (Owen Wilson) in James L. Brooks' love triangle comedy, "How Do You Know" (2010).
Reese Witherspoon Biography Actress. Born Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon on March 22, 1976, in Nashville, Tennessee. The daughter of a physician and a nurse, Witherspoon grew up in Nashville, where she was a debutante and attended Harpeth Hall, a private all-girls high school.
On a whim in 1991, Witherspoon answered a call for extras in her hometown newspaper. She wound up with the lead in her first feature film, The Man in the Moon. She was 14 years old. Her first year out of high school, Witherspoon considered abandoning acting altogether to follow her parents into medicine. But in 1996, her performance in Freeway earned her the Catalonian International Film Festival award for best actress. She deferred college for a year to focus on acting, then studied English literature at Stanford University briefly before deciding to return to work. She quickly established herself as a talented actress in films such as Pleasantville (1998), Election (1999) and Cruel Intentions (1999). While filming Cruel Intentions, Witherspoon began exploring an off-set romance with co-star Ryan Phillippe, whom she had met previously at her 21st birthday party. The couple married in 1999, and welcomed two children soon after: daughter Ava Elizabeth (born 1999) and son Deacon (born 2003).
In 2001, Witherspoon continued to soar when she starred in the surprise box-office hit Legally Blonde. Witherspoon played Elle Woods, a tow-headed sorority girl who follows her ex to Harvard Law School. The movie proved to be such a success that it spawned a sequel. Witherspoon starred in, and produced, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) earning $15 million—15 times the amount she was paid for the original. The franchise quickly established Witherspoon as a must-have commodity, and propelled her to the realm of A-List actors. She also became one of the most highly paid actresses in Hollywood, according to the Hollywood Reporter, regularly commanding $15 to $20 million a movie.
Witherspoon further proved her acting mettle in 2005, when she appeared as country singer June Carter to Joaquin Phoenix's Johnny Cash in the biopic Walk the Line. The film proved to be both a critical and commercial success, and Witherspoon won an Academy Award, Golden Globe and a BAFTA for her singing and acting in the film. But while Witherspoon was experiencing professional success, she was experiencing serious challenges in her personal life. Reese and her husband, actor Ryan Phillippe announced their separation in October 2006, and divorced in October 2007. Phillippe immediately went public about his emotions surrounding their split. "After the divorce, I was a physical wreck. I wanted to die," Phillippe told the British magazine Man About Town in November 2007. "I was ready to kill myself. I was not taking care of myself at all. I would wake up and cry and vomit."
His earnings last year were approximately $75 million, dropped to number two with $50 million. He was trailed by comedian, actor, singer, producer Adam Sandler. The 44-year-old funnyman earned an estimated $40 million last year.
