Gaga's at No 1 as highest female earner in pop

Lady Gaga has been named the highest-earning female this year (AP)

Lady Gaga has been named the highest earning female artist of 2011, pocketing £58m from tours, record sales and sponsorship deals.

The controversial singer earned twice as much as the runner-up, the US country-pop artist Taylor Swift, according to the list of the most successful women in music compiled by Forbes.

Katy Perry came third with £28m while Adele was the only Briton to make it into the top 10. Earnings from her record-breaking album 21 were estimated at £11.6m.

Lady Gaga extended her dominance of the pop world with the Born This Way album, which sold 8 million copies. Her Monster Ball tour continued into 2011, grossing $1.3m each night. The New York singer-songwriter, 25, expanded her income through endorsement deals with brands including Virgin Mobile, Polaroid, Monster Cable and the dating website plentyoffish.com.

Lady Gaga has said she gives half of her earnings to her father.