The 21 Highest-Grossing Actresses of All Time

These female movie stars make serious bank at the box office.

The 21 Highest-Grossing Actresses of All Time

It’s no secret that Hollywood has been a male dominated industry, but that’s changing, albeit slowly. A recent study from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University found that, in 2018, female characters accounted for 31 percent of lead characters in that year’s top 100-grossing films, a historical high (although the percent of female speaking roles has stagnated since 2016). But only a handful of actresses appeared on our list of the highest-grossing movie stars of all time. So we decided to take a look at the highest-grossing female movie stars of all time.

For this list, we used BoxOfficeMojo and looked at worldwide box office totals to rank each star. Some of them will certainly change in the future as these actresses seem to be destined to make box office smash hits for years to come. But for now, these are the top 21 highest-grossing actresses in the world.

21. Elizabeth Banks

Worldwide gross: $5.59 billion

Elizabeth Banks’ broad range of comedic acting has landed her numerous roles in popular films. Her highest-grossing movies are the four “Hunger Games” movies, where she played District 12 escort Effie Trinket. She voiced Wyldstyle in “The Lego Movie” and its sequel, which grossed nearly $660 million worldwide and were her next top-grossing movies. The “Pitch Perfect” trilogy made over $588 million worldwide, and she has appeared in a number of critically acclaimed and commercially successful films like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Seabiscuit.” Banks’ next move might be her biggest yet — she not only plays Bosley in the upcoming “Charlie’s Angels” reboot, she also directed it.

20. Kristen Wiig

Worldwide gross: $5.88 billion

Kristen Wiig made her way from a “Saturday Night Live” cast member in 2005 to one of the most recognizable female celebrities on the planet, even when she’s not on camera. Wiig’s voice acting abilities have landed her roles in some hugely popular movies like the “Despicable Me” films, which earned more than $2 billion at the box office. She also voiced Ruffnut in all three “How to Train Your Dragon” movies, which earned over $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office.

19. Angelina Jolie

Worldwide gross: $5.99 billion

Angelina Jolie does more producing and directing than acting these days — in fact, the last film she acted in was “Kung Fu Panda 3” as the voice of Tigress. And the “Kung Fu Panda” series raked in a lot of cash worldwide, reaching $1.8 billion in ticket sales. Aside from that franchise, Jolie’s highest-grossing movie is “Maleficent,” which grossed $758.5 million worldwide, and then 2005’s “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” where she and Brad Pitt played with guns while members of “Team Aniston” scowled.

But Jolie isn’t done with acting. She will don the black horns once again in “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” which is now in post-production.

18. Jennifer Lawrence

Worldwide gross: $6.02 billion

As one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood, Jennifer Lawrence can command quite a hefty paycheck — she can make around $15 million for big-budget flicks like “Red Sparrow” — and she has the box office earnings to back up her worth. Lawrence’s “Hunger Games” franchise earned $2.96 billion worldwide, with other films like the current “X-Men” franchise, “American Hustle” and “Silver Linings Playbook” contributing to her worldwide grosses.

17. Tilda Swinton

Worldwide gross: $6.05 billion

One of the most versatile actresses around, Tilda Swinton has appeared in 38 movies. Her top earner is “Avengers: Endgame,” with “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “Doctor Strange,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Constantine” and “Vanilla Sky” being Swinton’s other top-grossing films.

16. Julia Roberts

Worldwide gross: $6.07 billion

Julia Roberts has appeared in over 45 films, and the movie that made her famous, “Pretty Woman,” is still her highest grossing. The 1990 classic earned $463 million worldwide and made Roberts a household name. Her other mega-hits include “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Ocean’s Twelve, “Notting Hill,” “Runaway Bride” and “Hook.”

15. Evangeline Lilly

Worldwide gross: $6.12 billion

Evaneline Lilly started out as Kate Austen in the TV series “Lost,” which made her famous. She went on to appear in “Real Steel” and landed a role as the elf Tauriel in “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.” But her recent work as Hope van Dyne/the Wasp is her most famous and highest-grossing role. She appeared in “Ant-Man,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and “Avengers: Endgame.”

14. Lupita Nyong'o

Worldwide gross: $6.39 billion

Lupita Nyong'o has only appeared in eight films, and all but one were commercial successes. The one that wasn’t — “Queen of Katwe” — was a limited-release indie film. She appeared in “Black Panther,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Us,” and she lent her voice to 2016’s “The Jungle Book.”

13. Anne Hathaway

Worldwide gross: $6.83 billion

Anne Hathaway’s biggest hit is “The Dark Knight Rises,” wherein she played Selina Kyle (otherwise known as Catwoman), which earned $1.08 billion worldwide. She played the White Queen in both “Alice in Wonderland” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” two films which made over $1.3 billion at the box office. The New Yorker also picked up roles in big hits such as “Rio,” “Rio 2,” “Interstellar,” 2012’s “Les Miserables” and “The Devil Wears Prada.”

12. Letitia Wright

Worldwide gross: $6.86 billion

She’s only 25 years old and has only appeared in six movies, but Letitia Wright’s movies have earned billions at the box office, thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She starred as Shuri in “Black Panther,” “Avengers: Endgame” and “Avengers: Infinity War,” which accounted for the bulk of her movie grosses, and also as Reb in “Ready Player One,” a nostalgic CGI-fest that earned $1.32 billion worldwide.

11. Cameron Diaz

Worldwide gross: $7.05 billion

Cameron Diaz has been churning out hits ever since her big-screen debut with “The Mask,” which grossed $351.6 million around the world (it remains her sixth highest-grossing film). Four years later she made the classic comedy “There’s Something About Mary,” which grossed nearly $370 million worldwide, and a few years later she voiced Princess Fiona in “Shrek” and its three main sequels, which grossed about $3 billion worldwide (not counting “Puss in Boots”). A fifth “Shrek” movie is in the works.

10. Natalie Portman

Worldwide gross: $7.39 billion

Natalie Portman had a small role in the MCU as Jane Foster in “Thor,” and “Thor: The Dark World,” and she did manage to nab the $2.76 billion in worldwide earnings from “Avengers: Endgame” thanks to her brief appearance (Although she likely wasn’t paid for it — it was all unused footage from the previous films). Portman’s other biggest hits were the “Star Wars” prequels, which grossed $2.5 billion, and “Black Swan,” which made $329.4 million.

10. Natalie Portman

"It's always strange being a kid on the set, because you're treated like an equal when you're working. But then when you break, the other actors go back to their trailers to take naps and drink beer, and I have to, like, go do school."

- Natalie Portman

9. Karen Gillan

Worldwide gross: $7.6 billion

After an impressive run as Amy Pond alongside the eleventh doctor in BBC’s “Doctor Who,” Karen Gillan’s role as a Hollywood star took off. She appeared as Nebula in both “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” She co-starred alongside Dwayne Johnson in “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which earned $962 million worldwide, and we wouldn’t be surprised if its upcoming sequel breaks the billion-dollar barrier.

9. Karen Gillan

"I have no sense of being famous - you're just working. And then you'll have a random day in London when you'll do some press and it creeps into your awareness that this goes out - that what you do every day goes out to televisions right across the country."

- Karen Gillan

8. Elizabeth Olsen

Worldwide gross: $7.97 billion

Elizabeth Olsen’s role as Scarlet Witch in four MCU movies earned her a top-10 spot on this list. She also starred in the 2014 “Godzilla” reboot, which earned over $529 million. While there is no Scarlet Witch standalone movie in the works, there is a planned streaming series called “WandaVision” (hopefully that title is tentative) in production, which will feature Scarlet Witch and her lover, Vision. The show is slated to appear on the Disney’s upcoming streaming service, Disney+.

8. Elizabeth Olsen

"I believe that you are only in control of so much. So whatever you are not in control of you can't worry about."

- Elizabeth Olsen

7. Michelle Rodriguez

Worldwide gross: $8.32 billion

Michelle Rodriguez’s tough girl persona has landed her roles in blockbuster films. She has appeared in five “The Fast and the Furious” movies, which earned over $4 billion worldwide. In “Avatar,” she played Trudy Chacon, and she also starred in “Turbo,” “S.W.A.T.” and “Resident Evil: Retribution.”

7. Michelle Rodriguez

"I would like to see a fierce Fantasia mixed with Blade Runner, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars all in one. That's the kind of movies I want to make."

- Michelle Rodriguez

6. Helena Bonham Carter

Worldwide gross: $8.42 billion

Helena Bonham Carter has made over 35 movies, from cult classics to blockbuster hits. Her highest-grossing features include her role as Bellatrix Lestrange in three “Harry Potter” films, 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” 2015’s “Cinderella” and the 2001 “Planet of the Apes.” Another dozen of her successful movies include “Big Fish,” “Ocean’s 8,” “Dark Shadows” and “Fight Club.” She will soon appear as Princess Margaret in Netflix’s third season of “The Crown.”

6. Helena Bonham Carter

“I'm definitely a bit of Peter Pan, reluctant to grow up....part of me would prefer not to have any responsibility whatsoever.”

- Helena Bonham Carter

5. Gwyneth Paltrow

Worldwide gross: $8.77 billion

Gwyneth Paltrow was one of the first movie stars to hop on the multi-billion-dollar MCU train; she first appeared as Pepper Potts in the 2008 “Iron Man.” She acted in four additional MCU movies, all of which were her highest grossing films. But “Se7en,” “Shakespeare in Love” and “Shallow Hal” were also big hits at the box office and contributed to her worldwide earnings.

5. Gwyneth Paltrow

"When you're so out there in the public eye, people are constantly criticizing every aspect about you."

- Gwyneth Paltrow

4. Emma Watson

Worldwide gross: $9.68 billion

Emma Watson has only made 18 films so far, but half of them were mega blockbusters. Her role as Hermione Granger in eight “Harry Potter” films grossed over $7.7 billion worldwide, while starring role as Belle in the 2017 “Beauty and the Beast” film made over $1.2 billion. Expect her movie earnings to significantly increase after “Little Women” debuts in 2019, in which she plays Meg March. Not that she needs the cash — Watson reportedly earned $60 million for her role in the “Harry Potter” films.

4. Emma Watson

"Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong."

- Emma Watson

3. Cate Blanchett

Worldwide gross: $9.87 billion

Cate Blanchett is the third highest-grossing actress in the world, thanks to her part as Galadriel in the blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” trilogies. She also starred in the critically panned-but-commercially-successful “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which earned over $786 million worldwide. And she had a role in the MCU, too, as Hela in “Thor: Ragnarok.”

3. Cate Blanchett

"It was only when I realized how actors have the power to move people that I decided to pursue acting as a career."

- Cate Blanchett

2. Zoe Saldana

Worldwide gross: $11.22 billion

Zoe Saldana’s role as Gamora in four MCU movies contributed over $6 billion to her movie grosses, but a decade earlier, she starred in the highest-grossing movie of all time — “Avatar.” That film brought in over $2.78 billion at the worldwide box office, while the newest “Star Trek” films, in which she played Nyota Uhura, grossed over $1 billion.

2. Zoe Saldana

"I'm very accepting with my age. It's like notches on your belt: experience, wisdom, and a different kind of beauty. There comes a day when you've become comfortable in your skin."

- Zoe Saldana

1. Scarlett Johansson

Worldwide gross: $14.29 billion

Scarlett Johansson isn’t just the world’s highest grossing female movie star, she’s also the world’s highest paid actress. Forbes estimates that made $40.5 million for one year’s worth of work from 2017-2018, and her role in “Avengers: Endgame” is likely to increase that amount for her 2019 earnings. At the box office, Johansson has been appearing in films since her 1994 debut in the comedy “North” (she was 10 years old), and has appeared in over 40 movies. In total, those films have raked in nearly $14.3 billion at the box office, and her upcoming stand-alone Black Widow film is likely to earn her hundreds of millions more.

1. Scarlett Johansson

"I went through this realization that acting, at its heart, is the ability to manipulate your own emotions."

- Scarlett Johansson