How Sarah Jessica Parker Felt Topping the Forbes List With Angelina Jolie
Sarah Jessica Parker’s role in Sex and the City and other ventures once made her one of the highest-earning actors in show business. At one point, her earnings rivaled movie star Angelina Jolie’s, which was surprising to Parker.
Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker earned the same amount of money in 2011
Jolie and Parker had two different career paths. Jolie built up her career through a variety of movies, like Girl, Interrupted and Original Sin. She also began developing a reputation as an action star. The Lara Croft films and Mr. and Mrs. Smith were just a couple of projects that demonstrated her credibility as an action hero.
Parker’s rise in stardom, however, might’ve been a bit slower. She became a successful film star in her own right with a few leading and supporting roles under her belt. Perhaps some of the more notable films she headlined at first were the likes of Hocus Pocus and Miami Rhapsody. But her star-power grew exponentially after she was cast in the iconic Sex and the City series. The show made Parker a household name, and spawned a couple of movies that further added to the actor’s wealth.
In 2011, Forbes reported that Parker earned just as much as Jolie that year thanks to her Sex and the City movie salary. When Parker heard about this, it just reminded the actor that she’d come a long way in her career.
“Where do they get these numbers? I didn’t plot a future like this, although I know some people do,” Parker once told Parade. “When Matthew and I started working, all we knew is that we wanted to be great actors. I don’t think I ever thought about money or that people would know my name. I love the work! When I was a little girl getting free lunches in Cincinnati, could I imagine being on a lost in Forbes magazine?”
Sarah Jessica Parker was still worried about going broke after making millions
Parker’s impoverished upbringing influenced how she handled her money. Parker grew up as one of eight children, and was already well-aware she wasn’t as financially secure as some of her peers at an early age.
”I knew I was different from the kids who pay for lunch or bring their lunch from home. It was a stigma thing. I was not the only person receiving a free lunch, but you are aware,” she once said in an interview with The New York Times.
Parker was determined to gain more financial stability after her childhood experiences. She achieved that with her film career and Sex and the City. In the beginning, Parker was paid between $100,000 to $150,000 an episode. According to Celebrity Net Worth, that salary skyrocketed to $3.2 million an episode.
Still, with her rising success, Parker was always concerned that she could lose her wealth at any moment.
”My friends know me so well, and they know how terrified I am of being broke, and they think it is hilarious and humorous,” she said.
This fear of hers has sometimes caused the actor to think extra carefully about her spending habits.
”That is why I have such a weird relationship with money,” she said. ”And it is why I can be profligate and super-frugal. And I think it is rather warped since it comes from this desire to save, save, save. And on the other hand, I have been working so hard for 25 years — why can’t I have another pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes or that bag that I love?”
Who has the overall higher net worth between Sarah Jessica Parker and Angelina Jolie?
Although once tied on Forbes, it seems that Parker’s overall net worth is higher than Jolie’s. Jolie reportedly has an accumulated wealth of $120 million, and much of that comes from her movie career. But Parker’s contributions towards Sex and the City earned her a $200 million net worth.
