Amy Schumer is the highest paid female comedian, and the first woman ever to land on Forbes’ list of the top earners in comedy. According to Forbes’ latest rankings, Schumer is the world’s fourth highest-paid comedian, earning $17 million in 2015.
Her income came from the combination of an $8 million advance for her book “The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo,” her salary for the film “Trainwreck,” a world tour, her Peabody and Emmy-winning Comedy Central show “Inside Amy Schumer,” and a big pay day for a series of Bud Light Superbowl commercials.
As Forbes points out, a packed schedule “is par for the course for women in entertainment, who often have to work more — readily combining film and TV roles with endorsement deals and commercial work — to earn the same amount as their male counterparts.”
However, unlike other female comedians, most of Schumer’s income stems from her stand-up comedy and performances touring. Schumer became the first woman to headline a stand-up show in Madison Square Garden this past June; tickets for the event sold out in minutes.
Schumer’s success is a big deal for the comedy world, an industry still plagued by sexism — everything from the tired “women aren’t funny” nonsense to the lack of women booked for stand-up festivals. Hopefully Schumer’s rise will influence the business to try harder and get better.
