Kidman knocks America's Sweetheart Roberts from top-paid actress spot

Last Updated: Thursday, November 30, 2006 | 10:36 AM ET

CBC Arts

Hollywood has a new queen, as actress Nicole Kidman knocked peer Julia Roberts off the top of a list of the industry's highest-paid actresses.

In the Hollywood Reporter's fifth annual list, announced Wednesday, the U.S.-born, Australia-raised Kidman came in first for 2006, earning as much as $17 million US per film.

Actress Nicole Kidman was named the Hollywood Reporter's top-earning actress in Hollywood, unseating four-time champion and America's Sweetheart, Julia Roberts.
(Associated Press/Reed Saxon)

Last year, Kidman — Academy Award-winning star of The Hours and the new independent film Fur — placed second after Roberts, also an Oscar-winner, who had previously topped the list four consecutive times.

Though Roberts has made as much as $20 million US per film in the past, she did not make the cut in 2006, during which she took a break from live action film and spent time taking care of her twin toddlers and doing some voiceover work for animated features. She also made her Broadway debut in the play Three Days of Rain.

For Hollywood Reporter's latest tally, Reese Witherspoon placed second. This year's best actress Oscar-winner for Walk the Line, Witherspoon earned up to $15 million US per film.

Quick on her heels, however, were Renee Zellweger, Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz (who placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively).

Rounding out the top 10 highest-earning Hollywood actresses for 2006 were three more Oscar-winners — Halle Berry, Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie — along with Kirsten Dunst and Jennifer Aniston.

The entertainment trade paper will include the list in its upcoming Women in Entertainment Power 100 issue.