--- description: Because she triumphs in many genres. Because she's popular here and abroad. Because she can out-stare any male star. And because she's Angelina Jolie! title: World's Best Paid Actress: Angelina Jolie — Maleficent Proves Why image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt147a247c624558cc/698695c6e8524bd1ca60342f/angelina-jolie-maleficent.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mighty _Maleficent_: Why Angelina Jolie Is the World’s Highest-Paid Actress by [Richard Corliss](/author/richard-corliss/) ## Richard Corliss Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2014 7:56 PM CUT  Angelina Jolie arrives at the world premiere of Maleficent at the El Capitan Theatre on May 28, 2014 in Los Angeles. Angelina Jolie arrives at the world premiere of Maleficent at the El Capitan Theatre on May 28, 2014 in Los Angeles.Matt Sayles—Invision/AP by [Richard Corliss](/author/richard-corliss/) ## Richard Corliss Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2014 7:56 PM CUT Producer Joe Roth said of _Maleficent_, “There was no point in making the movie if it wasn’t her.” The “her” in question is Angelina Jolie, who played the role of the sorceress fairy badmother in Roth’s live-action origins story based on the Disney animated feature _Sleeping Beauty_. No one but Jolie could have incarnated Maleficent with such plausible majesty. And nobody else could have led this troubled production, with only so-so entertainment value, to a $70-million first weekend at the North American box office — plus another $100 million in foreign markets. **(READ: Corliss on** [**Angelina Jolie in** **_Maleficent_**](http://time.com/136170/maleficent-movie-review-angelina-jolie/ "undefined")**)** The year’s biggest opening for a movie with a female lead, _Maleficent_ certifies the standing of Jolie as the one actress who can open big movies to big numbers. In action and fantasy films — genres usually dominated by men — Jolie, who turns 39 on Wednesday, has consistently appealed to audiences of all demographics. Fanboys worship her; women admire her; kids flock to see her as Sleeping Beauty’s nemesis or to hear her growl as the sexy Tigress in the _Kung Fu Panda_ movies. From her first superheroine role in _Lara Croft: Tomb Raider_ — which earned $275 million globally in 2001, back when that was real money — Jolie has been the one actress who can stand up to any male star and stare him down. Unlike Tom Cruise or Adam Sandler, she’s not an aging kid in arrested development; unlike them, she hasn’t been in an expensive flop since [_Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow_](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101041004-702125,00.html "undefined") a decade ago. And her films almost always earn more money where it counts, in foreign markets. Jolie’s exotic mixture of brains and glamour makes her the one reliable international star, and one of the few of either gender to make people in every country pay to see her. **(FIND: Angelina Jolie on** [**TIME’s Top 10 Performances**](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1855948%5F1864351%5F1864357,00.html "undefined")**)** The box-office numbers for Jolie’s last four mainstream live-action movies prove her worth. _Mr. & Mrs. Smith_, the 2005 spy romance that introduced her to her future partner Brad Pitt, opened to $50.3 million and grossed $186.3 million in North America and nearly $300 million more abroad. In her [2008 _Wanted_](http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1818519,00.html "undefined"), the male lead James McAvoy added little marquee luster, yet the suppervillain movie earned $50.9 million its first three days in 2008, $134.5 for its domestic run and more than $200 million overseas. Two years later, [_Salt_](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2005859,00.html "undefined"), another solo action film, took in nearly $300 million worldwide. [_The Tourist_, a spy comedy with Johnny Depp](http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2036475,00.html "undefined"), was no great shakes at home ($67.6 million), but it earned $211 million abroad, putting the film solidly in the black. In sum, Jolie’s films have earned $4.88 million globally, and she’s sure to pass the $5-billion threshold shortly, as her new film opens in China and Japan. That’s why, despite her not having appeared on screen since _The Tourist_ nearly four years ago, Jolie commanded a $33-million salary for _Maleficent_, making her [the only woman in the 2013 top-10 list of highest-paid actors](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2564925/Hollywood-mans-world-stuck-1950s-Angelina-Jolie-woman-break-list-10-highest-paid-actors.html "undefined") (tied for ninth with Denzel Washington). For the third time last year, she perched atop [_Forbes_ magazine’s list of the top-paid actresses](http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mfl45gdgh/angelina-jolie-30-million/ "undefined"). **(READ:** [**Who Are the 10 Richest Actors in Movies and TV?**](http://time.com/107317/who-are-the-worlds-10-richest-actors-ten-guys/ "undefined")**)** Her box-office clout stems in part from the limitations of her statuesque regality. Jolie is _not_ the girl next door — unless you live on Olympus. And though she is one of the most famous celebrity mothers — and played a brave, forlorn mom in Clint Eastwood’s _Changeling_ — her iconography makes her unsuitable for maternal roles. In a way, _Maleficent_ domesticates this least domestic of all actresses, by turning her into Sleeping Beauty’s surrogate mother. But audiences have come to see Jolie toss thunderbolts of righteous wrath, not to nurture. Her fans should know that she’ll be in full feral form soon in a third _King Fu Panda_ and a second _Salt_. Behind the screen, Jolie works tirelessly for UNICEF and has directed two indie films: _In the Land of Bloody and Honey_, a political drama in the Bosnian and Serbian languages ($300,000 when it played in all of 18 theaters in 2011), and the forthcoming _Unbroken_, the true story of an Olympic runner imprisoned by the Japanese during World War II; that film, for which Joel and Ethan Coen contributed to the script, opens Christmas Day. **(READ:** [**Angelina Jolie on motherhood**](http://time.com/109032/angelina-jolie-knows-how-lucky-she-is-and-isnt-embarrassed-to-talk-about-it/ "undefined")**)** And last month _Variety_ reported that [she and Pitt will collaborate in some fashion on a Jolie script](http://variety.com/2014/film/news/brad-pitt-angelina-jolie-movie-1201170582/ "undefined"), the details as yet undivulged. It won’t be _Maleficent_, but it might, Jolie’s world of fans hope, be magnificent. ### Angelina Jolie's Career Over the Years: Her Life in Photos  Angelina Jolie played Kate "Acid Burn" Libby, a talented hacker, in the 1995 cyberpunk thriller Hackers in one of her earliest roles. United Artists  Starring opposite Denzel Washington, Jolie played a police officer named Amelia Donaghy in the 1999 thriller The Bone Collector. Universal  Jolie's critically acclaimed role as Lisa Rowe, a diagnosed sociopath, in the 1999 movie Girl, Interrupted would land her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Columbia  Jolie rocked dreadlocks as Sara "Sway" Wayland, a talented car thief, in the 2000 blockbuster Gone in 60 Seconds. Buena Vista  The prolific actress became the face of the iconic video character Lara Croft in the live action adaptation of the game Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Paramount  Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a romantic action film where a married couple of assassins are unwittingly pitted against each other, had Jolie facing off against future real life partner Brad Pitt. 20th Century Fox  The ever-talented Jolie tried her hand at voice acting as Tigress, the leader of a pack of kung fu masters called the Furious Five, in Kung Fu Panda. DreamWorks  The perennial femme fatale plays Fox, an accomplished assassin with the ability to curve bullets, in the 2008 action thriller Wanted. Universal  In 2010, Jolie played Evelyn Salt, a CIA operative with a secret past inSalt. Columbia  Jolie's latest role has her playing the titular role in Maleficent, Disney's live-action re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty. Disney ### Angelina Jolie: Humanitarian  UNHCR's Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie Pitt greets refugees and migrants during her visit to the port of Piraeus, Greece, March 16, 2016\. She urged the international community to respond to Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II with generosity and not the "politics of fear." Louisa Gouliamaki—AFP/Getty Images  UNHCR special envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt shakes hands with Kachin ethnic refugee children as she visits Eight Miles Palana IDP camp in Myitkyina capital city of Kachin state, Myanmar on July 30, 2015. Soe Zeya Tun—Reuters  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Special Envoy Angelina Jolie meets displaced Iraqis who are members of the minority Christian community, living in an abandoned school in Al Qosh, northern Iraq on Jan. 26, 2015\. Jolie wrote an Op-Ed for the New York Times on the suffering she witnessed there. Andrew McConnell—UNHCR/Reuters  Actress Angelina Jolie, right, is presented with the Insignia of an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, London, Oct. 10, 2014. Anthony Devlin—AP  Angelina Jolie. in her role as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Special Envoy, listening to Maltese military officers discussing rescue at sea operations for refugees at a military base in Valetta, Malta, Sept. 14, 2014. Pete Muller—EPA  Angelina Jolie, special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), visits Karenni refugee Baw Meh, 75, and Baw Meh's family from Myanmar on World Refugee Day, at Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp, Myanmar in this photo release on June 20, 2014. R. Arnold—UNHCR/Reuters  Actress and Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie, hugs Neema Namadamu of the Democratic Republic of Congo a the 'End Sexual Violence in Conflict' summit in London June 11, 2014. Lefteris Pitarakis—Reuters  Actress Angelina Jolie leaves Lancaster House after attending the G8 Foreign Minsters' conference on April 11, 2013 in London. Oli Scarff—Getty Images  Angelina Jolie meets with refugees at the Zaatari refugee camp on Dec. 6, 2012 outside of Mafraq, Jordan. Jason Tanner—UNHCR/Getty Images  Angelina Jolie walks through the jungle led by Plinio, the President of Providencia community on April 22, 2012 in Ecuador. Jason Tanner—UNHCR/Getty Images  Angelina Jolie visits Libya to help agencies bringing aid to Libyans in Tripoli and Misrata on Oct. 11, 2011 in Misrata, Libya. Jason Tanner—UNHCR/Getty Images  Angelina Jolie speaks during an annual meeting of UNHCR's governing executive committee in Geneva Oct. 4, 2011. Jason Tanner—UNHCR/Reuters  Angelina Jolie, meets with Khanum Gul, 35, a mother of 8 and her youngest son, Samir at their makeshift home at Tamil Mill Bus site in Kabul city, Afghanistan in Feb. 2011. Jason Tanner—UNHCR/Getty Images  Angelina Jolie speaks with media during a visit to the Jalozai flood victim relief camp in Pakistan's northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Sept. 7, 2010. Morteza Nikoubazl—Reuters  Actress Angelina Jolie visits the Green Zone in Baghdad Feb. 7, 2008. James Deady—U. S. Department of Defense/Reuters  Actress Angelina Jolie's back is seen as she arrives to attend the premiere of the film "A Mighty Heart" in New York, June 13, 2007. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Angelina Jolie accepts the Global Humanitarian Award at the United Nations Association of the United States of America annual gala dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel Oct. 11, 2005 in New York. Evan Agostini—Getty Images  Angelina Jolie speaks at the National Press Club on March 8, 2005 in Washington DC. Jolie answered questions about her work as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations and her work with refugees and orphans. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Angelina Jolie arrives at the El-Geneina airport in West Darfur as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees on Oct. 25 2004. Cris Bouroncle—AFP/Getty Images  Actress Angelina Jolie visits Bella refugee camp Aug. 22, 2003 in Ingushetia, near the Chechen border in Russia's North Caucasus region. Tanya Makeeva—Getty Images  Angelina Jolie receives gifts from the children at the Tham Hin refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border May 19, 2002\. Jolie visited the camp on as part of her role as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Sukree Sukplan—AFP/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2812017/maleficent-angelina-jolie-best-paid/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2812017/maleficent-angelina-jolie-best-paid/"},"headline":"Mighty Maleficent: Why Angelina Jolie Is the World’s Highest-Paid Actress","datePublished":"2014-06-02T19:56:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:14:56.488Z","description":"Because she triumphs in many genres. Because she's popular here and abroad. Because she can out-stare any male star. And because she's Angelina Jolie!","url":"https://time.com/2812017/maleficent-angelina-jolie-best-paid/","keywords":["movies","celebrities","Box-office","Angelina Jolie","Maleficent","TIME 100"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt147a247c624558cc/698695c6e8524bd1ca60342f/angelina-jolie-maleficent.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Corliss","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/richard-corliss/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt147a247c624558cc/698695c6e8524bd1ca60342f/angelina-jolie-maleficent.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Angelina Jolie arrives at the world premiere of Maleficent at the El Capitan Theatre on May 28, 2014 in Los Angeles.","caption":"Angelina Jolie arrives at the world premiere of Maleficent at the El Capitan Theatre on May 28, 2014 in Los Angeles.","creditText":"Matt Sayles—Invision/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2812017/maleficent-angelina-jolie-best-paid/","name":"Mighty Maleficent: Why Angelina Jolie Is the World’s Highest-Paid Actress"}}]}] ```