Hollywood's Top-Earning Couples

Dorothy Pomerantz,


These Tinseltown twosomes have fame, love and money. Lots and lots of money.


LOS ANGELES -- The indisputable king and queen of the hip-hop prom are Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles.


The couple, who quietly married in 2008, not only produce and sing some of the biggest hits on the charts (including "Single Ladies" and "Empire State of Mind") but they oversee clothing lines, perform around the world and endorse products from companies like American Express and Budweiser.


All that hard work has paid off. Between June 2008 and June 2009 the couple earned a combined $122 million putting them squarely at the top of our annual Top-Earning Couples list.



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Our list includes actors, musicians and professional athletes.


We talked to agents, managers, producers and lawyers to determine what celebrities earned from staring in movies, touring, selling albums, playing professional sports, creating lines of clothing and perfumes and appearing in ads.


Jay-Z and Beyonce both contribute significantly to their joint earnings. Last year Beyonce out-earned Jay-Z, bringing in $87 million to his $35 million. (The couple also topped last year’s list with $162 million. About half of that came from each star.)


For the couple in second place on our list, it’s more about his big payday. Harrison Ford and his girlfriend, Calista Flockhart, earned a combined $69 million, $53 million less than Jay-Z and Beyonce.


Post a CommentAlmost all of that came from Ford’s work in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.


Ford and producers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas made a unique deal with Paramount on the movie that gave them a significant portion of the film’s earnings after the studio broke even.


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As a result Ford eared a jaw-dropping $65 million for putting back on Indy’s trademark fedora. Flockhart earns for her work on the TV show Brothers & Sisters.


In third place: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The power couple earned a total of $55 million split about evenly between them both. Pitt had one of the biggest hits of his career last year with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Jolie has embraced her inner action hero with 2008’s Wanted and the upcoming film Salt.


Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, rank fourth with $48 million. Smith is perhaps the last of the great movie stars. Even in recessionary times he still can demand a $20 million paycheck.


Pinkett Smith has a burgeoning career of her own. She voices Gloria the hippo in the popular Madagascar films and last year produced The Secret Life of Bees.


The Smiths would earn even more if we were including whole families. Their daughter, Willow, appeared in I Am Legend with her dad and did voice work with her mom on Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Jaden Smith costarred with his father in The Pursuit of Happyness and will star in the upcoming remake of The Karate Kid.


Rounding out the top five are David and Victoria Beckham.


The pair earned $46 million between June 2008 and June 2009.


The vast majority of that comes from David Beckham, who plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy. He is also playing for A.C. Milan and could appear in his fourth World Cup this summer.

Rania Farid Shawki Dyes Her Hair before Getting Into the Police Station

A complete new look is how Rania Farid Shawki will be appearing next Ramadan through the TV series “Mamafel Qesm” (Mom at the Police Station) staring Samira Ahmed, written by Youssef Ma’aty, and directed by Rabab Hussein.
Rania has cut her hair and dyed it dark blonde in order to suit her character as Farida, Fawzeya’s (Samira Ahmed) daughter who’s married to a businessman and works as TV show host.
Rania declared that she had to change her looks in order to appear very differently than her last roles especially that of a TV presenter on the TV series “Domou’a Al-Qamar” (Tears of the Moon) two years ago saying that her character this time is of a TV show host who takes very good care and pampers herself while getting into feuds with her mother who goes frequently to the police station in order to file reports against those she finds going against the law.

On another level, Rania will finish in the upcoming days her scenes in the TV series “Al-Saif Al-Mady” (Last Summer) directed by Abdel Hakim Al-Tounsy and written by Maha Al-Ghannam. The TV series talks about the misconceptions about females and the embarrassment of breeding them.

Hend Sabry Won’t Star in “Barra Eddounia”

Hend Sabry refrained from starring in the TV series “Barra Eddounia” (Outside Life) currently being prepared for shooting in the next coming weeks in order to be ready for Ramadan.


The young diva justified her decision by saying that she wants to participate in just one TV series only next Ramadan which is “Ayza Atgawaz” (I Want to Get Married) under preparations now and produced by Dar Al-Shorouq Enterprise which published a novel by the same title that happens to be what the series is based upon. This will be the enterprise’s first TV production.


“Barra Eddounia” is directed by Magdy Abu Emeira, and it stars Cherif Mounir, Yasser Galal, Nesrine Imam, and Ahmed Zaher and his 2 daughters Laila and Malak

Oedipus complex

Britney Spears has given her Calabasas mansion in California a luxurious makeover. The bill of almost 700,000 dollars covered a new bathroom, installation of a deluxe hi-fi, repairs to the walls, new furniture and the acquisition of several works of art.

Although the price seems steep for mere mortals, it's a trifle for a star like Britney. However, the singer has been placed under the guardianship of her father James Spears since February 2008 and is only allowed the modest sum of 2000 dollars per week. Such an allowance clearly does not enable her to make such outlandish expenditures. It seems her old dad cut her some slack on grounds of good behaviour!

The ordeals began for the former Mickey Mouse Club presenter when she began regularly taking sleeping pills for her insomnia. Her ex-manager Sam Lufti, who advised her to take the tablets, used to give them to her himself. The content of the pills is not public knowledge, but we are all well aware that they began to affect her mental health.

On 3rd January 2008, the starlet had an argument with her ex-husband Kevin Federline, because she did not want to hand over their two children, despite the fact that he has custody. The police were called and went to her house, where they found her under the influence of an unknown substance, according to "TMZ". Britney was taken to hospital and given a psychological examination. Due to her feverish condition, she remained under observation for two days.
Then, on 31st January of the same year, the "Womanizer" singer had another encounter with the medical services. According to The Los Angeles Times, the young woman's psychiatrist contacted the police, telling them that she represented a potential threat to herself. The star was barely sleeping at all, causing further hindrance to her already fragile mental wellbeing. The pop icon's depression was thus laid bare to the world.

The courts took charge of the case and she lost custody of her children. Furthermore, the Los Angeles court ordered all of her property to be placed under temporary guardianship. Aged 25 at the time, it was tough for the young adult to suddenly lose her independence.
At the same time, Sam Lufti was found to have been the initial cause of her problems and was forbidden from going within 100 metres of his former protégé.

Since then, James Spears has been supervising his daughter, particularly by screening the company she keeps. Following her recent good behaviour, Britney gained her father's endorsement for the work on her villa. What a good daughter - she certainly is acting her age now that she has reached 28!

A Love Story between Nicole Saba and Youssef Al-Khal

The Lebanese diva Nicole Saba has admitted she’s having a love relationship with Lebanese artist Youssef Al-Khal that’s been going on for quite some time now despite her long stays in Egypt due to her artistic engagements.

Nicole’s declaration came as a confirmation for rumors spread lately about her being in a relationship with Al-Khal after being spotted several times together along with this latter’s sister actress Ward Al-Khal.

On the other hand, Nicole is meeting with a group of lyricists and composers for her new album due next summer, and she has finished recording 2 songs in Lebanese dialect to be included in the album and that will also feature in her TV series “Al-Hob Mamnou’a” (Love Is Forbidden) that will show on LBC channel.

AP – Labourers work to build Moses Mahiba Stadium in preparation for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in Durban, …
. Slideshow:World Cup Soccer .
By DONNA BRYSON, Associated Press Writer Donna Bryson, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 20 mins ago
JOHANNESBURG – With 100 days to go before the World Cup, jackhammers shuddered and bulldozers rumbled Tuesday as workers wearing "Proud to be building Soccer City for 2010" buttons readied South Africa's main stadium.

Inside, the grass was smooth and inviting. But not far away stacks of pavement tiles waited to be laid, and parking lots and access roads were still to be tarred.

The site could well be a metaphor for the June 11-July 11 tournament: While most of the big pieces are in place, all the details haven't been worked out.

Over the years, World Cup organizers have been repeatedly and sometimes sharply questioned about whether South Africa, a country with high rates of poverty and crime, was capable of hosting one of the planet's biggest sporting events.

Now talk has gone from whether South Africa is equipped to host the World Cup to what kind of host it will be.

Visitors may have to make do with half-finished hotels at exorbitant rates — not to mention college dorms or even campground tents. There are worries of traffic jams, as fans who can't get hotel rooms in host cities head out after games to accommodation farther afield. South Africa's public transit system is erratic at best.

And will those fans be safe?

Despite the uncertainties, the mood was celebratory and determined Tuesday at 100-days ceremonies across the country. South Africans performed a dance based on soccer moves and sang the national anthem, stressing that hosting the tournament requires enthusiasm and national unity.

"As South Africans we have encountered a lot of skepticism but today, as we celebrate this milestone, we can confidently say to the world that we will be ready," Danny Jordaan, head of the South African organizing committee, said in Durban, where the South African national team was to play Namibia at the new stadium there Wednesday.

Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, said soccer's global governing body has never questioned South Africa's ability to organize the tournament.

"Everything is on track and ready," said Blatter, who joined Jordaan in Durban, one of nine host cities. "The African continent will host the World Cup. So why don't certain groups in the world want to believe it? It is so easy to just trust and have confidence."

Half of the 10 stadiums where World Cup matches will be played are new, and Soccer City in Johannesburg underwent an overhaul so thorough it might as well be new. Other preparations included major roadwork across the country. Seven airports were renovated and an eighth was built.

Journalists on a tour of Soccer City last week found stadium seats in place, their orange plastic contrasting with the glistening grass. Goals were up and sprinklers were running.

Outside, however, workers were still laying pipe deep under what will eventually be roads. Stacks of bricks lay scattered about and wires dangled from unfinished light fixtures.

The United States will make its sixth consecutive World Cup appearance in South Africa, and Americans have been the most aggressive foreigners when it comes to ticket sales, purchasing more than 84,000 as of November, according to FIFA. Another sign of U.S. interest: ESPN and ABC will have crews on site for all 64 games, a change from 2006 in Germany. ESPN2 will go all-soccer for a 24-hour countdown before the opener and ABC expects a huge rating for the U.S.-England game on June 12.

Still, the worldwide economic downturn — along with those nagging concerns about security, adequate transportation and hotels — is diminishing expectations for a tourism bonanza. FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke said last month that South Africa wouldn't get 450,000 visitors as it had predicted and turnout could be as low as 350,000.

"People don't like to come halfway across the world for what they perceive to be an adventure," Jaime Byrom, executive chairman of the FIFA partner in charge of organizing accommodation during World Cups, told reporters recently.

The government has ordered investigations into price-gouging accusations.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Jordaan said transportation was among the "things we have to fine tune."

Under apartheid, little was done to meet the transportation needs of the black majority, and the government has struggled to catch up since democracy was ushered in, back in 1994.

The World Cup lent urgency to plans for government-run rapid bus transit systems to supplement the erratic, often dangerous private minibus services on which commuters in South Africa's cities rely. But construction delays have slowed the new service, which was violently resisted by private operators and met objections from residents of wealthy, mostly white neighborhoods through which proposed bus routes have been drawn.

The Gautrain, a new light-rail service linking Johannesburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg's international airport, will not be fully operational in time for the World Cup.

Chris Hlekane, general manager of Johannesburg's airport, said Tuesday he was worried about passengers crowding airports because they had no way to get to their hotels. He said city officials have been approached about temporarily doubling to about 200 the number of taxi drivers licensed to operate at Johannesburg airport.

The University of Cape Town has stepped in with some solutions. Schools will be closed during the tournament, and the university plans to rent out its dorm rooms and put buses usually used to shuttle students to World Cup use.

"It will be congested, slow and difficult," said Gillian Saunders, a strategist who has tracked South Africa's preparations. "But we will get through it."

Saunders said South Africa has seen a 25 percent increase in hotel rooms over the last three years, but some World Cup visitors will still end up in tents and dorms because building enough permanent hotel rooms for one mega-event would not have made good business sense.

Safety is a particular concern in a country known for high rates of violent crime.

South African police have recruited 55,000 new officers and bought $88 million worth of equipment, including six helicopters, 10 mobile command vehicles, body armor and water cannons for the World Cup.

National Commissioner Bheki Cele noted foreigners have been safe at a string of international events in South Africa, ranging from the 1995 Rugby World Cup to a U.N. summit on poverty in 2002.