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The world's best-paid actors and actresses
 Oscars
and Emmys are nice, but definitely not necessary to bank the highest
paychecks in Hollywood. Last year's top earner made his mark playing
a supersized elf.
By Forbes
Acclaim doesn't always follow the money in showbiz.
Certainly, the world's highest-paid actors and actresses aren't
exactly wowing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
None of them was even nominated for an acting Oscar this year. In
fact, only four of them have ever won an Oscar.
But earn they do. In the course of a single year, these 20 stars
pulled down some $460 million combined, according to Forbes' annual
listing of the World's Most Powerful Celebrities. Start investing
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Among this highly compensated group, Johnny Depp, who made $37 million,
has come closest to winning the coveted 13.5-inch statuette in recent
years. Last year, he was nominated for Best Actor for his performance
in "Finding Neverland." Close, but no statuette -- the
Oscar went to Jamie Foxx.
Depp had another chance this year, although not for Best Actor.
Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride," for which Depp provided the
voice of Victor Van Dort, was up for Best Animated Feature Film.
But as in years past, Depp didn't have much Oscar luck. In fact,
despite a lengthy list of critically acclaimed performances, the
42-year-old star has yet to win an Oscar for his acting.
Another Hollywood Hunk, Tom Cruise, has nothing to show for his
millions either -- at least in terms of gold-plated statuettes.
Despite earning $31 million in a single year, Cruise has just three
nominations and no statuettes under his belt. At 43, the "War
of the Worlds" star will try again with "Mission Impossible
III," which hits theaters later this year.
Better luck in television
In fact, the actors and actresses on our list have won more awards
for their work on the television screen than on the silver screen.
Four of the 20 stars have been nominated for their TV performances
in the last two years, and three have Emmys to show for it.
Jennifer Aniston, as famous for her acting as she is for her love
life, is among them. In 2004, the 37-year-old actress received her
fifth Emmy nomination for her performance as Rachel Green on NBC's
"Friends" (she won in 2002). That may explain why the
highly bankable star earned $18.5 million. While the hit sitcom,
now in syndication, remains Aniston's cash cow, she has parlayed
her TV success into Hollywood stardom. With two recent films to
her name -- "Derailed" and "Rumor Has It" --
and several more on the way, Aniston's Emmy statuette may one day
have an Oscar by its side.
Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton have both won Emmys for their leading
roles in CBS's sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond." While
the duo continues to cash in from the show -- now in syndication
-- they have both moved on to new projects. Next up for Romano:
the silver screen. The actor, who earned $36.5 million, will appear
in the upcoming flicks "Grilled" and "Ice Age II."
For Heaton, the next move is on the production side. She recently
signed a mega-development deal with ABC Television and its sister
studio, Touchstone TV, to produce long-form projects and series
through her production company.
To determine the world's highest-paid actors and actresses, we
turned to the 2005 edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100 list, which
ranks the most powerful actors, models, chefs and directors based
on their media exposure (magazine covers, TV and radio mentions),
Web presence (number of Google hits) and earnings.
Slideshow: The best-paid actors and actresses
The best-paid actors and actresses
Actor Age 2005 income Actor Age 2005 income
Jennifer Aniston 37 $18 million Nicole Kidman 38 $14.5 million
Drew Barrymore 31 $22 million Jennifer Lopez 36 $17 million
Sandra Bullock 41 $10.5 million Tobey Maguire 30 $32 million
Tom Cruise 43 $31 million Brad Pitt 42 $25 million
Matt Damon 35 $17 million Julia Roberts 38 $8 million
Johnny Depp 42 $37 million Ray Romano 48 $36.5 million
Cameron Diaz 33 $13 million Adam Sandler 39 $28 million
Will Ferrell 38 $40 million Will Smith 37 $35 million
Jennifer Garner 33 $14 million Denzel Washington 51 $30 million
Patricia Heaton 47 $9 million Naomi Watts 37 $11.5 million
-- By Lacey Rose, Forbes
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