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  4. 21 TV Personalities With Absurdly Large Paychecks [Ranked]

21 TV Personalities With Absurdly Large Paychecks [Ranked]

21. Ann Curry: $5 million

21 TV Personalities With Absurdly Large Paychecks [Ranked]

20. Queen Latifah: $5-$10 million

20. Queen Latifah: $5-$10 million

Starting September 16, "The Queen Latifah Show" will air daily on CBS. The syndicated program comes from Will Smith's production company, Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures TV.

19. Robin Roberts: $6 million

19. Robin Roberts: $6 million

The "Good Morning America" co-host returned to the show in February after a public battle with myelodysplastic syndrome. Roberts has been a co-anchor since May 2005. She started working on the program June 1995.

18. Rachel Maddow: $7 million

18. Rachel Maddow: $7 million

"The Rachel Maddow Show" debuted on MSNBC in 2008. This past May, the show had its lowest ratings since its start.

[TIED] 17. Chelsea Handler: $8 million

[TIED] 17. Chelsea Handler: $8 million

The "Chelsea Lately" host is signed to E! through 2014. Lindsay Lohan hosted the show for an evening following her rehab stint.

[TIED] 17. Craig Ferguson: $8 million

[TIED] 17. Craig Ferguson: $8 million

The Scottish born "The Late Late Show" host has been doing CBS late-night duties since 2005. Some have speculated he may take over for Letterman once he leaves.

[TIED] 15. Anderson Cooper: $10 million

[TIED] 15. Anderson Cooper: $10 million

Cooper's daytime talk show "Anderson Live" wasn't renewed last year for a third season; however, the CNN host's "Anderson Cooper 360" is still thriving.

If he didn't already have his own show, there was a good chance he could have been in the running to co-host "Live!" with Kelly Ripa after Philbin's departure. The CNN anchor was often a fill-in.

[TIED] 15. Katie Couic: $10 million

[TIED] 15. Katie Couic: $10 million

In 2011, Couric signed a multiyear contract with ABC for daytime talk show "Katie." January, she was the first to interview Manti Te'o after he was found to be part of a fake girlfriend scandal. The show will begin its second season this fall.

[TIED] 15. Jimmy Kimmel: $10 million

[TIED] 15. Jimmy Kimmel: $10 million

Between parodies of "The Bachelor," unnecessary and an ongoing fake feud with Matt Damon, Kimmel has been a must-watch on late night.

12. Jimmy Fallon: $11 million

12. Jimmy Fallon: $11 million

Fallon may be looking at a bigger paycheck when he takes over "The Tonight Show" from Jay Leno next year. Seth Meyers will replace Fallon as NBC's "Late Night" host.

[TIED] 11. Conan O'Brien: $12 million

[TIED] 11. Conan O

Despite the Conan / Leno debacle of 2010 over "The Tonight Show," O'Brien has been flourishing on his TBS talk show "Conan."

[TIED] 11. Diane Sawyer: $12 million

[TIED] 11. Diane Sawyer: $12 million

Earlier this year, there have been rumors the ABC World News host may retire due to personal matters.

9. Brian Williams: $13 million

9. Brian Williams: $13 million

In May, Williams' show "Rock Center" was cancelled amid low ratings. According to a New York Times' article, Williams felt "insulted" by the network's decision. Williams still hosts NBC Nightly News.

8. Maury Povich: $14 million

8. Maury Povich: $14 million

Paternity tests and countless utterances of "You are not the father" transformed the tabloid show into what it is today after its "Who's the Daddy?" paternity segments gained popularity.

7. Bill O'Reilly: $17 million

7. Bill O

"The O'Reilly Factor" host announced he's releasing a third book, "Killing Jesus," due out September 24.

6. [TIE] Kelly Ripa: $20 million

6. [TIE] Kelly Ripa: $20 million

Leaving soap operas may have been the best thing for Ripa. After joining "Live!" in 2001, she took over hosting after Regis Philbin's departure from the show in 2011. Michael Strahan joined the show in September 2012 and is receiving a reported $4 million as co-host.


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