Jennifer Lawrence Is Officially The Highest Paid Actress In The World

The Hunger Games star made a whopping $52 million over the last 12 months

Just four years after her big break in Hollywood, Jennifer Lawrence has become the highest paid actress in the world.

The 25-year-old Oscar-winner made a whopping $52million over the last 12 months, thanks to starring roles in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I and X:Men Days Of Future Past.

J-Law tops Forbes’ list of the 18 Highest Paid Actresses In The World, earning $16.5m more than Scarlett Johansson who comes in at number two.

Mum-of-one Scarlett took home a hefty paycheck for her turn as the Black Widow in Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age Of Ultron.

Third on the list is Melissa McCarthy, who has gone from TV sidekick to comedy genius thanks to unforgettable roles in Bridesmaids and The Heat.

McCarthy made $23 million over the last year, thanks to box office hit Spy.

Despite racking up some impressive numbers, the female stars in Hollywood are still trailing their male counterparts when it comes to wages.

Robert Downey Jr topped the list of highest paid actors for the third year in a row, taking home an eye-watering $80 million for his portrayal of Iron Man.

Jackie Chan made $50 million coming in second while Vin Diesel took home $47 million for his roles in Furious 7 and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Pay inequality has become a hot topic in Hollywood over the last year, with Patricia Arquette using her Oscars acceptance speech to call for the gap to be addressed:

"To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America."

Amanda Seyfried joined the debate when she revealed that she had once been paid 10 per cent of her male co-star’s salary, despite being evenly billed.

In the UK, men earn on average 19.1 per cent more than women thanks to a number of gender biased systems in place that penalise female workers including time taken to have children and a disproportionate number of women in low wage sectors.