Sandra Bullock beats Jennifer Lawrence and Scarlett Johansson to highest paid actress

The Gravity star earned an estimated $51 million in the past 12 months

Sandra Bullock trapped in space in Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity

Sandra Bullock has been named the highest paid actress in Hollywood by Forbes, earning an estimated $51 million in the past year.

The US actress’s earnings are largely attributed to Gravity, which took $716 million at the global box office and won seven Oscars.

Jennifer Lawrence was named the second highest-paid actress with estimated earnings of $34 million, thanks to her starring role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games franchise.

However, despite Lawrence leading an action film series, Hollywood’s women still earn less than their male counterparts.

The top ten financially-successful actors brought in $419 million in total, while the top ten actresses earned just over half of that sum at $226 million. Bullock would have placed third on a combined list of male and female actors.

Forbes calculated the earning estimates through discussions with agents, producers, managers, lawyers and other trusted industry figures.

Jennifer Anniston placed third on the list with $31 million, mainly thanks to smaller-scale comedies like Horrible Bosses, endorsement work for products and of course, the legacy of Friends.

Gwyneth Paltrow is in fourth with $19 million following the success of 2013’s top grossing film, Iron Man 3, while Cameron Diaz and last year’s top earner Angelina Jolie complete the top five with $18 million each.

Scarlett Johansson earned an estimated $17 million, Amy Adams and Natalie Portman brought in a reported $13 million and Twilight’s Kristen Stewart took around $12 million.

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Robert Downey Jr topped the male list for the second consecutive year with estimated takings of $75 million after starring in the Iron Man and Avengers films. Marvel has grossed close to $4 billion from his movies.

Dwayne Johnson came second with $52 million, followed by Bradley Cooper, Leonardo DiCaprio and Chris Hemsworth.