How Rich Are Reese Witherspoon and Other Top TV Stars?
Television star salaries have skyrocketed in recent years along with the rise of streaming services. It’s arguable that Apple TV+ set a new high standard for earnings when it agreed to pay Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon more than $1 million per episode to star in “The Morning Show,” Variety reported. Although that threshold had been reached before — by Aniston herself when she starred on “Friends” — seven-figure salaries are usually not the norm for shows in their first season.
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Given the lucrative television contracts that have become the norm for A-list stars, it’s no wonder that small-screen roles have helped pad the wealth of these actors and actresses. Can you guess how much these well-known TV stars are worth?
Last updated: March 1, 2021
Tim Allen
If you grew up in the ’90s, you probably know Tim Allen best as Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on “Home Improvement.” After the series wrapped in 1999, Taylor focused his acting efforts on big-screen roles, but returned to TV once again in 2011 as the star of “Last Man Standing.”
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Jennifer Aniston
No round-up of TV stars is complete without mentioning Jennifer Aniston, whose time on “Friends” propelled her to A-list status. The Golden Globe winner starred on the sitcom for 10 years and also made a name for herself on the big screen, starring in movies like “The Good Girl” and “Cake.”
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Sterling K. Brown
“This Is Us” has brought Sterling K. Brown to new levels of fame — and fortune. After the first two seasons of the primetime drama were a huge ratings success, Brown — along with his co-stars Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Chrissy Metz and Justin Hartley — renegotiated their salaries for a $250,000 per episode payday, The Hollywood Reporter reported. That amounts to $4.5 million per season.
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Donald Glover
Music fans might know Donald Glover better as Childish Gambino, the actor’s hip-hop alter-ego. Glover made it big on the small screen in 2016 as the creator and star of “Atlanta,” which earned him Emmy Awards as both an actor and director.
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Taraji P. Henson
Although Taraji P. Henson’s first major roles were in movies, it was her role as Cookie on “Empire” that made her a bona fide star. The show ran from 2015 to 2020.
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Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher’s first professional acting gig was on “That ’70s Show,” which turned out to be quite the lucky break. Kutcher starred on the sitcom from 1998 to 2006. In 2011, he became the highest-paid actor on television when he replaced Charlie Sheen on “Two and a Half Men,” with earnings of $700,000 per episode, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
Outside of his acting roles, Kutcher has added to his net worth as a savvy investor, investing in Uber and Airbnb back when they were startups, Forbes reported. As of 2016, his investment portfolio was worth $250 million.
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Sandra Oh
Sandra Oh has been nominated for 12 Emmy Awards — including five for her portrayal of Dr. Cristina Yang on “Grey’s Anatomy” and five for “Killing Eve” (as both a star and producer of the show). Her acting roles have meant more than critical acclaim — it’s also meant money in the bank.
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Ellen Pompeo
In 2017, Ellen Pompeo signed a contract that at the time made her the highest-paid actress on television, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The deal covered the 14th, 15th and 16th seasons of the long-running medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” with Pompeo earning more than $20 million a year — $575,000 per episode, along with a seven-figure signing bonus and backend equity.
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Ray Romano
Comedian-turned-TV star Ray Romano starred on the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” from 1996 to 2005. He’s starred in a number of other series since then, including “Men of a Certain Age” and “Parenthood.” Up next, he will star in the series “Made for Love,” due out this year.
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Jerry Seinfeld
Like Romano, Jerry Seinfeld was a stand-up comic before he became a sitcom star. Seinfeld created, wrote and starred in his namesake show from 1989 to 1998, and by the ninth season, he was earning about $1 million per episode, The New York Times reported.
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Sofia Vergara
Sofia Vergara topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid actresses of 2020 with $43 million in earnings for the year. Those millions came from her final season of “Modern Family,” her new gig as a judge on “America’s Got Talent,” and lucrative licensing and endorsement deals.
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Reese Witherspoon
Although Reese Witherspoon is definitely a movie star, some of her biggest paychecks of late have come from her TV roles. She’s commanded $1 million-per-episode paychecks for Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show,” Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere” and season two of HBO’s “Big Little Lies,” Variety reported.
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