List of highest-paid American television stars

This is a list of people starring on American television that are the highest-paid, based on verified sources for each person.

TV and streaming salaries per episode

Name	Program	Role	Salary	Inflation Adjusted	Year	Ref.
Sarah Jessica Parker	Sex and the City	Carrie Bradshaw	$3.2 million	$5,327,000	2001–2004	[1]
Jennifer Aniston	The Morning Show	Alex Levy	$2 million	$2,460,000	2019–	[2][3]
Reese Witherspoon		Bradley Jackson
Charlie Sheen	Two and a Half Men	Charlie Harper	$1.8-2 million	$2,516,000	2010–11	[4]
Ray Romano	Everybody Loves Raymond	Raymond Barone	$1.725 million	$2,737,000	2003–05	[5]
Kelsey Grammer	Frasier	Frasier Crane	$1.6 million	$2,664,000	2002–04	[6]
Chris Pratt	The Terminal List	James Reece	$1.4 million	$1,701,000	2022–	[7]
Tim Allen	Home Improvement	Tim Taylor	$1.25 million	$2,359,000	1998–99	[4]
Jerry Seinfeld	Seinfeld	Jerry Seinfeld	$1 million	$1,929,000	1997–98	[8]
Helen Hunt	Mad About You	Jamie Buchman	$1 million	$1,888,000	1998–99	[9]
Paul Reiser		Paul Buchman
Jennifer Aniston	Friends	Rachel Green	$1 million	$1,665,000	2002–04	[10]
Courteney Cox		Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow		Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc		Joey Tribbiani
David Schwimmer		Ross Geller
Matthew Perry		Chandler Bing
James Gandolfini	The Sopranos	Tony Soprano	$1 million	$1,516,000	2006–07	[11]
Kaley Cuoco	The Big Bang Theory	Penny	$1 million	$1,310,000	2015–17	[12]
Johnny Galecki		Leonard Hofstadter
Jim Parsons		Sheldon Cooper
Simon Helberg		Howard Wolowitz			2017	[13]
Kunal Nayyar		Raj Koothrapali
Nicole Kidman	Big Little Lies	Celeste Wright	$1 million	$1,230,000	2019	[14]
Reese Witherspoon		Madeline Martha Mackenzie
Jeff Bridges	The Old Man	Dan Chase	$1 million	$1,215,000	2021–	[7]
Sarah Jessica Parker	And Just Like That	Carrie Bradshaw	$1 million	$1,160,000	2021–	[1]
Roseanne Barr	Roseanne	Roseanne Conner	$875,000	$1,754,000	1996-97	[15]
John Goodman	Roseanne/The Conners	Dan Conner	$860,000	$1,754,000	1996-97; 2019-	[16]
Ashton Kutcher	Two and a Half Men	Walden Schmidt	$755,000	$989,000	2014	[4]
Drew Carey	The Drew Carey Show	Drew Carey	$750,000	$1,249,000	2001–04	[4]
David Hyde Pierce	Frasier	Niles Crane	$750,000	$1,249,000	2004	[17]
Lauren Graham	Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life	Lorelai Gilmore	$750,000	$983,000	2016	[18]
Alexis Bledel		Rory Gilmore
Bryan Cranston	Your Honor	Michael Desiato	$750,000	$911,000	2019–2020	[7]
Hugh Laurie	House	Dr. Gregory House	$700,000	$959,000	2011–12	[19]
Andrew Lincoln	The Walking Dead	Rick Grimes	$650,000	$814,000	2017–18	[20]
Kate Winslet	Mare of Easttown	Mare Sheehan	$650,000	$790,000	2019–2020	[7]
Jon Cryer	Two and a Half Men	Alan Harper	$620,000	$822,000	2013–15	[21]
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	Seinfeld	Elaine Benes	$600,000	$1,157,000	1997–98	[4]
Jason Alexander		George Costanza
Michael Richards		Cosmo Kramer
Eric McCormack	Will & Grace	Will Truman	$600,000	$936,000	2005–06	[22]
Debra Messing		Grace Adler
Megan Mullally		Karen Walker
Sean Hayes		Jack McFarland
Steve Martin	Only Murders in the Building	Charles-Haden Savage	$600,000	$729,000	2020–	[7]
Martin Short		Oliver Putnam
Selena Gomez		Mabel Mora				[23]
Gillian Anderson	The First Lady	Eleanor Roosevelt	$600,000	$729,000	2021–	[7]
Viola Davis		Michelle Obama
Michelle Pfeiffer		Betty Ford
Pedro Pascal	The Last of Us	Joel Miller	$600,000	$729,000	2021–
Ellen Pompeo	Grey's Anatomy	Meredith Grey	$575,000	$707,000	2005–	[24]
Alec Baldwin	Dr. Death	Robert Henderson	$575,000	$699,000	2020–2021	[7]
Norman Reedus	The Walking Dead	Daryl Dixon	$550,000	$689,000	2017–18	[20]
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	Veep	Selina Meyer	$500,000	$749,000	2019	[25]
Julie Bowen	Modern Family	Claire Dunphy	$500,000	$615,000	2017-2020	[26]
Ty Burrell		Phil Dunphy
Jesse Tyler Ferguson		Mitchell Pritchett
Ed O'Neill		Jay Pritchett
Eric Stonestreet		Cameron Tucker
Sofía Vergara		Gloria Pritchett

Television hosts

Simon Cowell

Ellen DeGeneres, host of the eponymous The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Network primetime salaries per season

Name	Program	Role	Salary	Year	Ref.
Simon Cowell	The X Factor	Judge	$75 million	2012–13	[27]
Ariana Grande	The Voice	Coach	$25 million	2021	[28]
Katy Perry	American Idol	Judge		2017–18	[29]
Jennifer Lopez		Judge	$20 million	2011–12	[30]
Christina Aguilera	The Voice	Coach		2011–16	[31]
Mariah Carey	American Idol	Judge	$18 million	2012–13	[32]
Ryan Seacrest	American Idol	Host	$15 million	2013–16	[27]
Britney Spears	The X Factor	Judge		2012	[32]
Miley Cyrus	The Voice	Coach	$13 million	2016–17	[33]
Adam Levine				2016–18	[33]
Blake Shelton				2016–18	[33]
Kelly Clarkson			$12 million	2018	[34]
Shakira				2013	[35]
Gwen Stefani				2017	[36]
Nicki Minaj	American Idol	Judge		2012–13	[37]

Daytime annual salaries

Name	Program	Role	Salary	Year	Ref.
Ellen DeGeneres	The Ellen DeGeneres Show	Host	$50 million	2017	[38]
Judith Sheindlin	Judge Judy	Judge	$47 million	2013	[39]
Barbara Walters	The View	Host	$13 million	2007	[40]
Bob Barker	The Price Is Right	Game show host	$10 million	2001	[41]

News presenters

Name	Program	Role	Salary	Year	Ref.
Matt Lauer	Today	Anchor	$21 million		[42]
Meredith Vieira	Today	Anchor	$15 million		[43][44]
Katie Couric	CBS Evening News	News anchor	$15 million		[45]