Katy Perry and other kickass women of the Forbes superstar list
Last month, we were totally pumped over Forbes‘ Most Powerful Women list, featuring fab ladies from the likes of German chancellor Angela Merkel to our girl T-Swift. Now, Forbes’ annual Celeb 100 was just released, listing the superstars who get paid the most. The list includes boxers, singers, TV personalities, actors — the works. Except there’s just one problem. . . out of 100, only 16 (18, if you count the members of Fleetwood Mac) of the celebs on the list are women.
As The Guardian points out, the women on the list make $809 million combined compared to the men, who make $4.35 billion combined. Still the women on the list deserve some major credit for kicking ass and taking names, despite the gender pay gap. In fact, the most successful PERSON in music this year was a woman and she goes by the hallowed name of Katy Perry (love that person)!
Perry, who was Forbes‘ cover subject, clocked in as the third highest paid celeb at $135 million, just behind Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao who banked a bundle on boxing this year. But Perry’s business savvy put her ahead of fellow music industry folks like One Direction.
“I am proud of my position as a boss, as a person that runs my own company,” Perry told Forbes. “I’m here to inspire other females.” And she’s doing just that.
After Perry, Taylor Swift was the next highest-paid female celeb at number 8 ($80 million). No surprise there, after her totally MASSIVE success with 1989, as well as her battle against major music corporations such as Spotify and Apple to pay musicians fairly. You go, T-Swift.
Next at number 12, comedian and television host Ellen DeGeneres at $75 million. Of course, DeGeneres is known for her hit talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show—but she also recently announced the launch of her lifestyle brand, called “ED by Ellen,” which will feature a women’s clothing line, home goods, and accessories.
There’s also Lady Gaga at number 25, a fabulous singer who totally proved that she can belt it out during this year’s Oscar performance of “The Sound Of Music.” Of course, our goddess Beyoncé made the list at 29 ($54.5 million), as well as reality star Kim Kardashian.
At number 34, Jennifer Lawrence is one of the few Hollywood women to make Forbes’ list. After being the highest grossing celeb of 2014, 2015 was a fabulous year for Lawrence, largely due to The Hunger Games, which is one of the only blockbuster action movies with a female lead, as Forbes points out. The only other Hollywood lady to make the list: Scarlett Johansson at number 65. Oh, and another amazing thing to highlight: JUDGE JUDY WAS ON THE LIST. That’s right: Judge Judy Sheindlin clocked in at 43.
It’s clear that the gender pay gap endemic is something that is still alive and well in our world, but we still are celebrating the strong, go-getting ladies who made the list this year. Check out more about Forbes’ list here.
[Images via Instagram and Facebook]