Hollywood men win battle of sexes

Life may begin at 40, but for Hollywood actresses that's just when their earning power starts to wane. The salaries of the leading ladies will have peaked once they pass 39, according to new research. To rub it in, their male counterparts seem to just keep on going - still earning more than that per film once in their seventies.

A new report lists the earnings for 250 of the biggest-name celebrities in Hollywood up to the last quarter of last year - and it is bound prove worrying reading for Tinsel Town actresses in their late thirties.

With a couple of exceptions - namely Whoopi Goldberg, 46, and Rosie O'Donnell, 40, both of whom still earn millions for their comedy roles - women have a shelf life, a glass ceiling on age, past which they are no longer saleable.

The report, by media group Baseline.Hollywood.com, states that Hollywood's top-earning actress is Julia Roberts, whose annual earnings have topped £35 million. The 34-year-old has made her fortune in films like Erin Brockovich - the one which made her the first woman in movies to break the $20 million-a-film mark, worth some £14 million, in 2000. It also brought her an Oscar.

In second spot, Cameron Diaz is set to bank £17 million this year. She will earn £10 million for her next film The Sweetest Thing, and will also receive £7million to perform the voice of Princess Fiona in Shrek 2 this year.

Third up is Helen Hunt, on £10million a year. After receiving £700,000 for every one of the final episodes of US sitcom Mad About You, she banked £5.5million for one of her most recent films - Pay It Forward.

For men, though, age apparently cannot wither their earning power. While the high-earning women are all under 40, the most sought-after males roll in up to 30 years their senior. Arnold Schwarzenegger will earn £21 million for Terminator 3. He secured the colossal paycheck for one obvious reason - the film could not be made without him.

Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones and Michael Douglas - all in their 50s - are members of the so-called 20/20 club, made of up actors who can command $20 million a movie and get backenders worth 20 per cent of takings. De Niro will bank £14 million for Analyse That this year, and another £13 million for Showtime. Lee Jones will earn £14 million for Men In Black 2 and £12 million for The Hunted.

Sean Connery, at 71, earned £14 million for one of his most recent films, Entrapment. Jack Nicholson, a sprightly seven years his junior, banked £11million for As Good as it Gets and £7 million for The Pledge last year. Robert Redford, 64, will earn £8 million for his latest movie The Last Castle.