Angelina Jolie tops Hollywood's female rich list

(REUTERS)

The money being paid to top Hollywood actresses has dropped dramatically over the past year, with leading men still being expected to earn significantly more.

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Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker topped the list of highest paid actresses, according to Forbes magazine, earning $30m each.

The top 10 highest-paid actresses earned a total of $218m between May 2010 and May 2011.

Jolie starred in two big-budget films in 2010, Salt and The Tourist. The latter, in which she starred alongside Johnny Depp, initially performed poorly in the US but went on to make $280m worldwide.

Parker made most of her money from Sex and the City – through re-runs of the show and the second movie in the franchise which came out in 2010, and, despite a poor critical reception, earned $290m.

Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon shared third place, while last year's highest earner Sandra Bullock dropped to ninth. Meryl Streep fell from ninth to 10th place.