No Joke! Comedy Pays on Forbes' Highest-Paid TV Actresses List

Laughter is the best medicine and also apparently pays well. Forbes has released its list of TV's highest-paid actresses, and the ladies of sitcom dominate the top 15.

Unsurprisingly, Modern Family's Sofia Vergara and The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting tie for the No. 1 spot, each earning $28. 5 million. However, you won't find either of Cuoco-Sweeting's female co-stars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch on this list. And even though Vergara's on-screen daughter-in-law lands the third-place slot, it's with about $16.5 million less in earnings. Julie Bowen earned $12 million in 2015.

The Big Bang Theory men are TV's highest paid actors

Fellow funny women Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Patricia Heaton and Tina Fey also make the cut, along with sisters Emily and Zooey Deschanel, earning $6.5 and $5 million respectively.

Despite the women's success, the gender pay gap still looms over the list, as the cut-off for this year's highest-paid men was $9.5 million to the women's $4.5 million. Also, there is a noticeable lack of diversity with Vergara, Kaling and Kerry Washington as the list's only minority actresses.

1. Sofia Vergara: $28.5 million

1. Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting: $28. 5 million

3. Julie Bowen: $12 million

4. Ellen Pompeo: $11.5 million

5. Mariska Hargitay: $11 million

6. Julianna Margulies: $10.5 million

6. Amy Poehler: $10.5 million

8. Mindy Kaling: $9 million

9. Patricia Heaton: $7 million

9. Kerry Washington: $7 million

11. Tina Fey: $6.5 million

11. Emily Deschanel: $6.5 million

13. Pauley Perrette: $6 million

14. Robin Wright: $5.5 million

15. Zooey Deschanel: $5 million

Video: Forbes reveals the highest paid actresses of 2015