Deepika Padukone on world’s highest paid actresses list Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar among the top 10 for male actors

Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone is the only newcomer to the World’s Highest-Paid Actresses ranking and the only Indian star to make the cut, FORBES magazine reported here last week. Of the 10 listmembers, 30% including Padukone hail from outside the U.S.; Chinese actress Fan Bingbing makes the cut for the second consecutive year, while Charlize Theron, a dual South African/American citizen, returns to the list for the first time since 2013.

Padukone has already landed a spot in a list of the world’s highest paid actresses, with earnings of $10 million even before her Hollywood debut. The list also features heavyweights like Hollywood stars Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston.

Deepika, daughter of India’s celebrated badminton player Prakash Padukone, who will soon be making her Hollywood debut along “Fast and Furious” star Vin Diesel in “xXx: Return of Xander Cage”, she earns far less than her Hollywood counterparts for roles, but compensates with over a dozen lucrative endorsements.

The magazine also put the spotlight on the gender pay gap in the Indian film industry, stating that “though a top male star might earn close to $5 million a movie, prominent Indian actresses rarely clear $1 million a film”, adding that “it’s a discrepancy not uncommon in Hollywood”. Other names to feature in the list include Mila Kunis, Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson.

The Forbes annual list again highlighted the pay gap between men and women in Hollywood. Earlier this week the magazine named “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence the world’s highest paid actress for a second straight year, with an estimated 2016 take of $46 million. Forbes said 18 actors banked more than $20 million in its June 2015-June 2016 scoring period, compared with four actresses.

Jackie Chan, who has not had a big U.S. box office hit for years but is a prolific actor and producer in the burgeoning Chinese entertainment market, was second on the list with $61 million. Matt Damon came in third with $55 million, largely due to the success of his 2015 space film “The Martian.”

“Iron Man” Downey fell from top spot, despite reprising his comic book hero role in “Captain America: Civil War.” He ranked eighth, tied with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, with $33 million.

Harrison Ford crept onto the list for the first time since 2009 thanks to his return as Han Solo in the blockbuster new “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” movie and video game. Ford, who also is to reprise his role as adventurer Indiana Jones in 2019, ranked 20th with earnings of about $15 million.

Forbes estimates earnings, before taxes and management fees, from movies, TV and commercial endorsements. The rest of the Top 10 were: Tom Cruise with $53 million came 4^th, while Johnny Depp with $48 million came 5^th. Ben Affleck who made $43 million comes 6^th; Vin Diesel with $35 million comes 7^th. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan with his $33 million earnings comes 8^th; Robert Downey Jr. also made $33 million. Another Bollywood star on the list with his $31 million earnings is Akshay Kumar.