BRAVOIt looks like housewives are becoming the bread winners.
Forbes has released its Entertainment's Highest-Earning Women list, which estimates which female hot shots were bringing in the big bucks from May 2010 to May 2011. For the most part, they were names that we figured would be on the list.
Oprah Winfrey ($290 million) and Lady Gaga ($90 million) took the top two spots, but when it came to No. 3, we were surprised to see a Real Housewives star make the cut.
Can you take a stab at who's makin' seriously big bucks?
Bethenny Frankel managed to parlay her way in under Gaga with $55 million, topping A-listers like Gisele Bundchen, Ellen DeGeneres, Taylor Swift, who were all in a four-way tie (along with Judge Judy Sheindlin) with $45 million.
So, what exactly got the former RHONY star in this mix of moneymakers?
According to Forbes' article, Frankel recently sold her Skinnygirl Margarita mix to Fortune Brands for an estimated $100 million. (The margarita mix has also been named in a class-action lawsuit.) And she's expanding the brand into food, nutritional supplements and maybe even a talk show. (But not Whole Foods.)
Not too shabby. We're sure some of her fellow former reality stars are taking notes.