Highest-paid TV actresses named

Fey, the star and creator of NBC comedy 30 Rock, shares the distinction of being the highest paid woman on television with Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria. Each earned $13m in the 12 months ending in May 2011, according to a new list from financial news website Forbes.com.

Close behind at number three was another Desperate Housewives actress, Marcia Cross, who earned $10m and landed in a three-way tie with Emmy-winning actress Mariska Hargitay of cop drama Law & Order: SVU and Marg Helgenberger on crime procedure show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Not too far behind were other key actresses in Desperate Housewives. Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman shared number six with $9m each in earnings, according to Forbes.com.

Film stars earn much more

While it's hard to disparage earning that much money in one year, the female stars of TV make less than half what their counterparts in films bring home. This past July, Forbes.com said Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker were the top-paid female movie stars, earning $30m a year, each.

"Our top three TV women earned a total $36m compared to the $88m earned by the top three movie stars. But there are advantages to working in TV," said Forbes staff writer Dorothy Pomerantz.

"The parts tend to be better, especially for women. Actresses who are working moms can usually stay in LA or New York and see their kids and there's a steady pay cheque."

Fey climbed from her spot at number seven on last year's list, when it was estimated that she earned $7.5m. Longoria also climbed from her spot at number four on Forbes.com's similar list a year ago, having earned $12m.

And maybe it is a sign of the gloomy economic times that this year's number one is nowhere near last year's top earning female, Ellen DeGeneres, who took in $55m at a time she was judging the top-rated show, American Idol.