Who said cutthroat corridors of U.S television was a man's world? Sofia Vergara has proved that the era of the disgustingly high-paid leading man (Laurie, Sheen) may well be over, by not only topping the highest paid TV actress list for a tired consecutive , but taking the top-spot overall.

Sofia VergaraSofia Vergara is the biggest earner in TV [Getty/Mark Davis]

The actress earned $37 million last year, that's some $11 million more than the top-earning TV actor Ashton Kutcher. The Colombian-born star earns a reported $325,000 per episode for 'Modern Family' - way off the reported $1 million per episode deal that Kaley Cuoco signed on 'The Big Bang Theory' - but Vergara's earnings come from endorsements and licensing deals with Diet Pepsi, CoverGirl, Head & Shoulders, AT&T and Synthroid. As Forbes note, the actress is also the co-founder of Latin World Entertainment - a huge multi-million dollar episode.

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What's more, Vergara is also a decent actress - she recently starred in Jon Favreau's indie hit Chef, which was the only summer indie to hit $30 million at the box-office. 

Kaley CuocoKaley Cuoco could top the list next year [Getty/Christopher Polk]

Elsewhere on the list, Mariska Hargitay took second spot with estimated earnings of $13 million, mainly down to the significant syndication of Law and Order: SVU. 

Cuoco took third place with $11 million, though she will almost certainly jump a place or two next year, once those hefty cheques start rolling in. She's also set to play a version of herself in the forthcoming Kevin Hart comedy, The Wedding Ringer.

Julianna Marguiles, Ellen Pompeo, Cobie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Zooey Deschanel, Kerry Washington, Courteney Cox and Clare Danes also made this year's list. 

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