The richest actresses in the world in 2026 include Jami Gertz, Selena Gomez, Juhi Chawla, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Lopez. Most of them made their biggest money outside acting, through businesses, production houses, beauty brands or a spouse’s company. Juhi Chawla is India’s richest actress, per the Hurun India Rich List 2025.
How we built this list
Net worth figures for film stars are estimates. Only a few outlets, such as Forbes, Bloomberg and Hurun, publish their own numbers with a stated method. Many viral lists online repeat figures with no source at all.
Our earlier 2021 version of this article had several such numbers, including some very high estimates for TV actresses that we could not match to any reliable source. For this 2026 update, every figure below is attributed to the outlet that reported it, with the year. Where we could not find a sourced number, we have left the name out of the ranking.
Quick facts: richest actresses in the world
| Actress | Reported net worth | Source and year | Main source of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jami Gertz | About $8 billion (household) | Celebrity Net Worth, via NME, 2023 | Husband Tony Ressler’s investment business |
| Selena Gomez | $1.3 billion (Bloomberg); about $700 million (Forbes) | Bloomberg 2024; Forbes 2025 | Rare Beauty |
| Juhi Chawla and family | Rs 7,790 crore (about $880 million) | Hurun India Rich List 2025 | Red Chillies, Knight Riders stake |
| Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen | About $500 million combined | Celebrity Net Worth, via NME, 2023 | Fashion label The Row |
| Reese Witherspoon | $440 million | Forbes, 2023 | Hello Sunshine sale |
| Jennifer Lopez | About $400 million | Celebrity Net Worth, via NME, 2023 | Music, films, brands |
1. Jami Gertz
Jami Gertz is known for 1980s and 1990s films such as The Lost Boys and Twister, and for TV comedies like The Neighbors. She tops most lists of rich actresses because of household wealth. Her husband, Tony Ressler, is a co-founder of the investment firm Ares Management and owns the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks with Gertz.
NME, citing Celebrity Net Worth, put the couple’s wealth at about $8 billion in 2023. This is family wealth, not money earned from acting, which is why some lists leave her out.
2. Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez started on Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place and now stars in Only Murders in the Building. Her real fortune comes from Rare Beauty, the make-up brand she launched in 2020.
Bloomberg estimated her wealth at $1.3 billion in September 2024, calling her one of the youngest self-made billionaires. Forbes uses a lower figure: about $700 million, placing her seventh on its 2025 list of America’s richest self-made women.
3. Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla, the star of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Darr, is India’s richest actress. The Hurun India Rich List 2025 put the wealth of Juhi Chawla and family at Rs 7,790 crore, roughly $880 million.
Most of it comes from business. She and her husband Jay Mehta are partners with Shah Rukh Khan in Red Chillies Entertainment and in the Knight Riders cricket franchises, including the IPL’s Kolkata Knight Riders.
4. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
The Olsen twins became famous as babies sharing the role of Michelle Tanner on Full House. They stepped away from acting long ago and built The Row, a high-end fashion label respected in the luxury market.
NME, citing Celebrity Net Worth, reported their combined wealth at about $500 million in 2023. That makes them the richest names on the list whose fortune came from building their own brand after child stardom.
5. Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon won an Oscar for Walk the Line and later became one of Hollywood’s sharpest producers. In 2021 she sold a majority stake in her media company, Hello Sunshine, in a deal valued at $900 million, and kept a share of it.
Forbes estimated her net worth at $440 million in 2023 and named her the world’s richest self-made actress at the time.
6. Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez works across music, film and business, with hits on both the charts and the box office. NME, citing Celebrity Net Worth, put her net worth at about $400 million in 2023. Her income comes from films, tours, endorsements and her own brands.
Names that dropped out of our list
Our older list included Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson and others with exact dollar figures. These stars are clearly wealthy, and Aniston still earns from Friends and from producing. But we could not find a current, reliably sourced estimate for each, so we have not ranked them.
We also removed several names whose high figures appear only on unsourced websites. If a reliable outlet publishes new numbers, we will update this page. For more star money stories, see our celebs section.
Richest Indian actors, for comparison
The same Hurun India Rich List 2025 placed Shah Rukh Khan at Rs 12,490 crore, making him India’s richest actor. Hrithik Roshan was at Rs 2,160 crore and Amitabh Bachchan at Rs 1,630 crore. Like Juhi Chawla, Shah Rukh’s wealth is driven by Red Chillies and his cricket team stake. Read more Bollywood news on Buzzpedia.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the richest actress in the world in 2026?
Jami Gertz is usually named first because of her household’s estimated $8 billion. Among actresses who made their own fortune, Selena Gomez leads, with Bloomberg estimating $1.3 billion.
Who is the richest actress in India?
Juhi Chawla. The Hurun India Rich List 2025 put the wealth of Juhi Chawla and family at Rs 7,790 crore.
Is Selena Gomez a billionaire?
Bloomberg said so in September 2024, valuing her at $1.3 billion. Forbes estimated about $700 million in its 2025 list.
Who is the richest self-made actress?
Forbes named Reese Witherspoon the richest self-made actress in 2023, at $440 million, largely from the Hello Sunshine sale.
Sources: Business Today on Hurun India Rich List 2025, NME, AOL on Forbes self-made women list.
