The highest paid celebrities list for the year 2010 was recently released by Forbes. Though male celebrities mostly dominated the list but there were quite a few female celebrities too. The top 5 female celebrities as per the Forbes list are:

1. Oprah Winfrey: American television host, actress, producer, and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey is the highest paid female celebrity yet again. She was the highest paid celebrity including both male and female with a massive pay of $290M as per Forbes. However, the 57 year old Oprah lost her top spot in the "Powerful Celebrities List" to pop sensation Lady Gaga. Oprah's net worth as of March 2011 is assumed to be 2.7 billion and she is ranked 420 on the world's richest list and 135th richest in the United States. Oprah Winfrey is best known for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011. Her rise from abject poverty to the richest African American has touched the hearts of millions of Americans and people around the world. She was not only a celebrity but a way of life according to many and it was not a surprised that Barack Obama, by one estimate, is said to have received over a million votes in the close 2008 Democratic primary race due to Oprah's support. However, the series finale of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" aired on May 25, 2011 and Americans are still struggling to come to terms with the end of an era.

2. Lady Gaga: Lady Gaga is second highest paid female celebrity with a pay of $90 M in 2010. Though she ranks behind Oprah in Money rank and TV/Radio rank but she tops the celebrity list in new age media ranks such as web rank and social rank. Lady Gaga also ranked no.2 in press rank and she has replaced talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey as the most powerful celebrity in this year's Forbes list. The 25 year old was also involved in a lot of controversies in the last year too which seems to have worked in her favor and increased her popularity even further.

3. Bethenny Frankel: The third female celebrity in the highest paid list is the American natural foods chef, television personality and author Bethenny Frankel. She makes her entry into the list this year with a bang as she is ranked as the 3rd richest female celebrity as per Forbes with a pay of $55 M in the last year. She might not as big as Oprah or Lady Gaga or even Gisele in terms of overall popularity but nonetheless she has manages her money rank is comparable to many top celebrities. She is on the rise both in terms of popularity as well as earning and in April 2011, Frankel sold her Skinnygirl cocktail line to Fortune Brands' Beam Global for an estimated $120 million. On June 10, 2010, her series "Bethenny Ever After..." became the highest rated series premiere in the Bravo network's history.

4. Gisele Bündchen: Gisele Bündchen is the fourth highest paid female celebrity and it is not at all surprising as she has been the highest-paid model in the world since 2004. According to Forbes, the 30 year old Brazilian supermodel earned $45 million in the last year though modeling and product endorsements.Her earnings climbed $20 million over the previous year and according to an April 2011 report Proctor & Gamble's Pantene shampoo sales exploded 40% in Latin America after Bündchen started endorsing it.

5. Ellen DeGeneres: American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress Ellen DeGeneres is the fourth highest paid female celebrity as per Forbes. The 53 year old talk show host is best known for "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and has also earned $45 million in the last year as per Forbes. She has also hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys and was a judge on American Idol for one year too.
It might be a big surprising that none of the top Hollywood actresses make it to the top 5 highest paid female celebrity list. It is quite notable that most of female celebrities in the above list have built a sort of brand around themselves resulting in more earnings and popularity compared to Hollywood actresses who are lagging behind in that field.

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