The Richest Women of Colour in Hollywood

Viola Davis has so many awards under her belt, she almost can't contain them all. An Oscar? She's got one. An Emmy? Yup, she has one of those too. A Golden Globe? Of course. A Tony. Sure. In fact, she has two. But even though the How to Get Away With Murder star is a critically acclaimed actress and her career is "comparable to Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Sigourney Weaver" (her words, not ours, but we see her), she most certainly doesn't get paid like them. Her memorable 2018 interview recently resurfaced and, once again, not only played up the gender pay gap but also how black women were being paid significantly less than their white counterparts.

As an actress, writer and producer, Mindy Kaling had to create work for herself (like that little project called, well, The Mindy Project). And because she's smart, talented and beautiful, success came quickly so she's paid it forward — by making more shows for us to enjoy (cough, cough, Never Have I Ever) and appearing in shows that we can't help but love (The Morning Show).

There are only five movies to ever to bring in more than $2 billion at the box office and Saldana has appeared in three of them (Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Avatar, FYI). Add in the Star Trek franchise, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies — of which we're getting a Vol. 3, not to mention the much-anticipated sequel, Avatar 2, and there'll likely be another billion-dollar flick of which she'll be a part. Yet, her paychecks don't reflect her participation in all these blockbusters. What the actual, ya know?

Much of her income comes from her acting career but she also earns a pretty penny from her haircare company, Flawless by Gabrielle Union, giving the ageless beauty something to cheer about. (No, really, it's been 20 years since she broke into the spotlight in Bring It On, yet looks exactly the same as those days she played Isis.)

Pinkett Smith's big breakthrough came in 1996, when she co-starred alongside Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor. She headlined the series Hawthorne, took part in all the Madagascar movies, and starred on Gotham. But it's her popular Facebook Watch series, Red Table Talk (in which she appears alongside daughter Willow and mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris), that has revived the actress' career — all on her terms, we might add. And she literally leaves everything on the table — including the behind-the-scenes dirt on her and husband Will Smith's marriage. Of course, it also happened to be the most watched episode of the series up until now, so, yeah. Smartest move ever.

For seven seasons, the Scandal star has supplemented her income with endorsements for Neutrogena and Movado, but she's since moved on to bigger things. Washington not only starred in this year's Little Fires Everywhere but she, along with co-star Reese Witherspoon, executive-produced the project too. And while much of 2020 has been a clusterf*ck for most, Washington was both thrilled and honoured to direct an episode of Insecure, and called for more #MomentsOfBlackJoy in the world right now. THIS.

The original royal has gained the majority of her fortune through her vast and groundbreaking music career and projects on both the small and big screens. Next up for the rapper/singer/actress: Equalizer, a remake of the 1985 series that starred Edward Woodward and was remade into two successful films starring Denzel Washington. This time, Latifah not only stars as the titular character but she's also executive producer.

Despite its magnificence, her career as a supermodel is just a teensy part of her net worth. Her fame began to bloom in the '90s, but in 2003, when she created and hosted the reality favourite, America's Next Top Model, that's when she soared to superstardom. Two years later, she debuted her talk show, The Tyra Banks Show, which aired from 2005 to 2010, wrangled acts for the America's Got Talent judges and viewers for a few seasons, and will make her debut on Dancing With the Stars this fall.

It also helps that Tyra's especially good at money, and even had to create an account from which she buys frivolous things. Oh, if only.

Berry was one of the highest-paid actress in the early 2000s, and still commands a decent paycheck, but it's her trusty, lucrative contract with Revlon — which has existed since 1996 — that earns the Oscar winner an estimated $10 million per year.

Ziyi's first career was as a dancer, and she went on to win national championships. But like many dancers, she wanted to see what else the world of performing had to offer and she eventually appeared in commercials and then movies. But in 2000, Ziyi starred in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, gaining international recognition and the opportunity to appear in other more mainstream movies like Rush Hour 2, Memoirs of a Geisha, and the most recent Godzilla reboots. It's her big-screen projects in China, however, from which she really scores the big bucks, er, yuan.

Her time on Modern Family may be done, but her six-figure salary per episode for all those seasons, not to mention the residuals, will seemingly never end. She just kick-started a new career in reality television, as a judge on America's Got Talent, and it's been a fun, undoubtedly lucrative ride. Add in her lucrative deals, endorsing everything from CoverGirl to coffeemakers to dandruff-fighting shampoos, and no wonder she's rolling in it.

Janet may come from one of the most infamous musical families around and started singing early, but she also appeared in several TV series. But her singing career was undeniable, and it was her fourth album, Rhythm Nation 1814, that solidified her icon status. At the time, 1989, she was a black singer-songwriter, demanding to be taken seriously and wanted to share something meaningful with the world. As The Atlantic puts it, the groundbreaking album featured "socially conscious themes addressing poverty, injustice, drug abuse, racism and war," "blended the sounds, struggles, and voices of the street," and "fused the personal and the political." We need more of that, please. Now.

She's starred in the Fantastic Four on the big screen and Dark Angel on the small, but those projects are small potatoes in comparison to the giant spud that is The Honest Company, the wellness brand she founded in 2011, that not only empowers people to live happy, healthy lives but ensures she earns a hefty paycheck. In 2016, the company had $250 million in sales, and the following year, it was valued just shy of $1 billion.

The tennis star... pfft, let's call a spade a spade her, the GOAT, has a massive net worth that basically cements her "greatest" status. The 23-time grand slam champion (technically, 39 if you include her doubles career) earns a fortune in the sport that pays men and women equally, but along with prize money, she also rakes in a ton from endorsements, from brands like Nike, Gatorade, Pepsi and Aston Martin. Oh, and ICYDK, she and sister Venus also happen to be minority owners of the Miami Dolphins. Beauty, brains and brawn. LOVE. IT. ALL.

The singer has made her fortune mostly through record sales, touring and shaking those hips that don't lie, and has sold more than 125 million albums worldwide. She's the highest-selling Colombian singer of all time, and the second most successful Latina singer ever, after Gloria Estefan, of course.

Shakira she also earned a decent chunk of change from her two seasons as a judge on The Voice, and let's not forget her amazing Super Bowl Halftime Show with J.Lo (who you'll see shortly). But it's her side gig, a line of beauty and personal care products from which she really brings home the bacon, er, tocino. The fragrances, which are sold under the name S by Shakira, brought in just under $45 million in its first year, 2010, and continues to rake it in with every new fragrance that drops.

At the end of every November since 1994, "All I Want for Christmas is You" (or one of its many remakes), is overplayed, allowing Mariah Carey to cash in every time it gets air time. And that's just one of her songs! Which is why her net worth shouldn't be surprising. Because aside from making millions off the one song, Carey also has dozens of other singles, from one her many hit albums, not to mention residencies and tours. She also has a children's book, based on the aforementioned holiday ditty, and a memoir in the works for the end of the year. And there's also her forays into television, from her time as a judge on American Idol as well as her eight-episode series, Mariah's World. Um, actually, maybe let's forget those.

The multi-hyphenate (no, really, is there anything she doesn't do or hasn't done?) keeps busy with her hit reality show, World of Dance (where she serves as judge and executive producer), her unstoppable movie career, and let's not forget how she continues to sing and dance her heart out (um, Super Bowl Halftime Show, anyone?). Add in her endorsement deals and, well, stylish JLo isn't hitting a low anytime soon.

Albums adored by critics and fans? Check. Sold-out world tours? Check. Successful fashion brands? Check. During most, if not all of Beyonce's solo career, she's been able to do what she's wanted to do. But it's her work as of late that is making the most noise (or, at the very least, should be). Her visual albums are clearly brilliant pieces of work, whether it's the deliciousness of Lemonade, to her ode to Africa with The Gift (the companion piece to the all-star soundtrack of the live action The Lion King), to her most elaborate visual work yet in Black Is King, which celebrates Black pride and ancestry. We can't wait for her next one.

RiRi proves she's not just a pretty voice (though she has been filling up arenas pre-COVID for years), and we've been (im)patiently waiting for new music from her. But it's her product line of prettying up faces that makes up the bulk of her fortune. Fenty Beauty, the makeup brand she co-owns with luxury goods group LVMH, along with her Savage X Fenty lingerie line is what has her in the penultimate spot.

No surprise here, Oprah is at the top of the list because, well, she tops most lists. In spite of her tough upbringing, her name is now synonymous with success, mostly (but not exclusive to), the way in which she transformed her talk show into a media empire. Winfrey often ranks on Forbes' rich lists, is the only black female billionaire in America, and continues to come up with new ways to use her position for good, for better. We bow down.