Julia Scores Top Actress Payday

Her $17 million for Runaway Bride edges Jodie Foster by $2 mil

By Marcus Errico Oct 15, 1998 6:30 PMTags
Julia Roberts has apparently leapfrogged past Jodie Foster in the highest-paid-actress derby.

According to Daily Variety, Roberts is now getting $17 million for The Runaway Bride, her upcoming big-screen reunion with Pretty Woman costar Richard Gere. That trumps by $2 mil her previously reported salary for Runaway Bride and the paycheck Foster is commanding for Anna and the King.

Still, Roberts is some $3 million short of Hollywood's exclusive $20 Million Club--a testosterone-fueled fraternity peopled by Jim Carrey, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone

And Julia's locked in a tight race to become the first female member of that boys' club. Along with the hefty-salaried Foster, other women with eight-figure paydays include Sandra Bullock, Demi Moore, Meg Ryan, Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Pfeiffer. There's Something About Mary star Cameron Diaz is also expected to crash that party soon.

As for Runaway Bride, set to begin shooting this month, Roberts stars as a woman who makes a habit of leaving fiancés at the altar. Gere is the hard-bitten newshound who exposes her. By film's end--surprise!--they fall for each.