Highest Paid Talk Show Hosts and TV stars in the US

No wonder a lot of kids want to be TV celebrities when they grow up. A Yahoo! article shows that several US TV stars are indeed paid a lot.

Leading the pack is perennial top-paid talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who earns $315 million per year for her The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Judge Judy Sheindlin may be an unknown TV personality in other parts of the world, but she has no reason to worry because she is paid $45 million per year for her courtroom reality show Judge Judy. Another reality show host earning big bucks is Ryan Seacrest, who takes home $15 million a year for hosting the hugely popular American Idol franchise.

For TV drama series, Hugh Laurie of House, M.D. gets $400,000 per episode while Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) partners Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay each get $375,000 per episode for their role. The ladies of Desperate Housewives don’t feel desperate as they each earn $400,000 per episode.

Below is the list of the highest-paid TV stars per category.

Highest Paid Talk Show Hosts (per year)

  1. Oprah Winfrey (Oprah Winfrey Show) – $315 million
  2. Judge Judy Sheindlin (Judge Judy) – $45 million
  3. David Letterman (The Late Show) – $28 million
  4. Jay Leno (The Tonight Show) – $25 million
  5. Conan O’Brien (The Conan O’Brien Show) – $10 million
  6. Ellen DeGeneres (The Ellen DeGeneres Show) – $8 million
  7. Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live) – $6 million
  8. Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately) – $3.5 million
  9. George Lopez (Lopez Tonight) – $3.5 million

Highest Paid TV Drama stars (per episode)

  1. Hugh Laurie (House) – $400,000+
  2. Christopher Meloni & Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) – $395,000 (each)
  3. David Caruso (CSI: Miami) – $375,000
  4. Marg Helgenberger (CSI) – $375,000
  5. Mark Harmon (NCIS) – $375,000
  6. Laurence Fishburne (CSI) – $350,000
  7. Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) – $350,000
  8. Denis Leary (Rescue Me) – $350,000
  9. Gary Sinise (CSI: NY) – $275,000
  10. Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy) – $250,000
  11. David Boreanaz (Bones) – $200,000
  12. Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) – $200,000
  13. Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) – $175,000
  14. Dana Delany (Body of Proof) – $150,000
  15. Lauren Graham (Parenthood) – $150,000
  16. Jada Pinkett Smith (HawthoRNe) – $150,000
  17. Jimmy Smits (Outlaw) – $150,000
  18. LL Cool J (NCIS: Los Angeles) – $125,000
  19. Chris O’Donnell (NCIS: Los Angeles) – $125,000
  20. Mark Feuerstein (Royal Pains) – $125,000
  21. Jason Lee (Memphis Beat) – $125,000
  22. Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds) – $125,000
  23. Tom Selleck (Blue Bloods) – $125,000
  24. Michael Weatherly (NCIS) – $125,000
  25. Matt Bomer (White Collar) – $100,000
  26. Nathan Fillion (Castle) – $100,000
  27. Thomas Gibson (Criminal Minds) – $100,000
  28. Jon Hamm (Mad Men) – $100,000
  29. Cole Hauser (Chase) – $100,000
  30. Alex O’Loughlin (Hawaii Five-0) – $100,000
  31. Timothy Olyphant (Justified) – $100,000
  32. Scott Caan (Hawaii Five-0) – $80,000
  33. Angie Harmon (Rizzoli & Isles) – $75,000
  34. Anna Paquin (True Blood) – $75,000
  35. Blair Underwood (The Event) – $75,000
  36. Zachary Levi (Chuck) – $60,000
  37. Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) – $40,000
  38. Shailene Woodley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) – $40,000
  39. Ashley Tisdale (Hellcats) – $30,000

Highest Paid TV Comedy stars (per episode)

  1. Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) $1.25 million
  2. Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) $550,000
  3. Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
  4. Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
  5. Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
  6. Eva Longoria Parker (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
  7. Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons) $400,000
  8. Julie Kavner (The Simpsons) $400,000
  9. Tina Fey (30 Rock) $350,000
  10. Jeremy Piven (Entourage) $350,000
  11. Steve Carell (The Office) $297,000
  12. Angus T. Jones (Two and a Half Men) $250,000
  13. David Duchovny (Californication) $200,000
  14. Kevin Dillon (Entourage) $200,000
  15. Adrian Grenier (Entourage) $200,000
  16. Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly) $180,000
  17. Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) $175,000
  18. William Shatner ($#*! My Dad Says) $150,000
  19. David Spade (Rules of Engagement) $150,000
  20. Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) $100,000
  21. Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement) $85,000
  22. Betty White (Hot in Cleveland) $75,000
  23. Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) $60,000
  24. Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory) $60,000
  25. Ty Burrell (Modern Family) $50,000
  26. Jane Lynch (Glee) $50,000
  27. Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) $40,000
  28. Matthew Morrison (Glee) $30,000
  29. Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) $30,000
  30. Dylan and Cole Sprouse (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) $20,000 (each)
  31. Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family) $15,000

Highest Paid Reality TV stars (per year)

  1. Ryan Seacrest (American Idol) $15 million
  2. Joel McHale (The Soup) $2 million
  3. Piers Morgan (America’s Got Talent) $2 million
  4. Kate Gosselin (Kate Plus 8) $250,000 per episode
  5. Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi (Jersey Shore) $30,000 per episode

Source: Yahoo! TV

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3 thoughts on “Highest Paid Talk Show Hosts and TV stars in the US”

  1. Oprah deserves all the blessings aside from the money. I, many times, watched her commencement speech at Stanford University. And what really good about her is she gives back to the society. She put up a school in Africa for the less fortunate.

    Nice post!
    .-= dokwayne´s latest blog ..Managing crisis =-.

    Reply

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