Highest Paid TV Actors And Actresses Of 2015

ByAmy Lamareon August 31, 2015inArticles›How Much Does

It pays to be funny… literally. Of the highest paid television stars of the year, 15 of them hail from the land of sitcoms and of those 15 actors and actresses, 10 of them are on just two sitcoms: The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family.

Modern Family’s bombshell, Sofia Vergara , tops the list with a hefty $30 million earned between June 1. 2014 and June 1, 2015. Her castmates, Ed O’Neill , Eric Stonestreet , Jesse Tyler Ferguson , and Ty Burrell also made the list (although significantly further down in the ranks), thanks to the cast banding together in 2012 to lock in multi-year contracts that would have their per episode salaries grow with each season. Side projects and endorsement deals account for the big disparity between Vergara’s salary and the Modern Family men.

The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons was narrowly edged out of the top spot by Vergara and is enjoying being so highly ranked for the first time due to a new contract, the big Broadway hit “Act of God,” and last year’s Emmy for Leading Actor in a comedy series. Don’t cry for Parsons’ castmates however, as they are all sitting firmly in the third, fourth, and fifth spots among TV’s highest paid actors. The Big Bang Theory cast’s contract calls for additional salary increases over the show’s ninth and tenth seasons, so look for this merry band of misfits to make even more money on next year’s list.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

This list measures earnings before subtracting management fees and taxes; figures are based on data from Nielsen as well as interviews with agents, managers, lawyers and syndication experts.

Kerry Washington

Earnings: $6 million

Starring in: Scandal

Zooey Deschanel (tie)

Earnings: $7 million

Starring in: The New Girl

Lena Dunham (tie)

Earnings: $7 million

Starring in: Girls

Julianna Margulies

Earnings: $8 million

Starring in: The Good Wife

Kevin Spacey

Earnings: $9.5 million

Starring in: House of Cards

Ellen Pompeo (tie)

Earnings: $10 million

Starring in: Grey’s Anatomy

Melissa McCarthy (tie)

Earnings: $10 million

Starring on: Mike & Molly

Eric Stonestre et (tie)

Earnings: $10.5 million

Starring in: Modern Family

Ed O’Neill (tie)

Earnings: $10.5 million

Starring in: Modern Family

Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Earnings: $11 million

Starring in: Modern Family

Ty Burrell

Earnings: $11.5 million

Starring in: Modern Family

Mariska Hargitay (tie)

Earnings: $12 million

Starring in: Law & Order: SVU

The Kardashian Sisters (combined) (tie)

Earnings: $12 million

Starring in: Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Simon Baker (tie)

Earnings: $12 million

Starring in: The Mentalist

Patrick Dempsey (tie)

Earnings: $12 million

Starring in: Grey’s Anatomy

Ray Romano (tie)

Earnings: $15 million

Starring in: Everybody Loves Raymond

Jon Cryer (tie)

Earnings: $15 million

Starring in: Two and a Half Men

Ashton Kutcher (tie)

Earnings: $20 million

Starring in: Two and a Half Men

Kunal Nayyar (tie)

Earnings: $20 million