Sofia Vergara is the highest paid TV actress for a fifth year.

Sofia Vergara

Sofia Vergara

The Colombian-American beauty - who plays Gloria in HBO's 'Modern Family' - has topped Forbes list of the biggest earners on television, again, after she raked in a whopping $43 million (£32.6m) in the last 12 months.

The actress' eye-watering pay packet was bumped up this year by a string of lucrative product endorsements that included a campaign for dandruff shampoo and a line of nurse's scrubs.

Meanwhile, her 'Modern Family' co-star Julie Bowen - who stars as Claire Dunphy - came bottom of the list in 10th place and scooped a not-so-scanty $10 million.

What's more, 44-year-old Sofia left the rest of her competitors trailing far behind and beat second-in-line Kaley Cuoco, who scooped a fairly impressive $24.5 million thanks to her role in The Big Bang Theory, for which she earns £1 million per episode.

The Mindy Project's Mindy Kaling came in third place, having earned $15 million in the past year, but the newest contender on the list is Indian actress Priyankra Chopra.

The brunette beauty - who stars in 'Quantico' - stood in eighth position and could climb even higher next year as she's bagged a role in the movie remake of 'Baywatch'.

'Scandal' star Kerry Washington, Stana Katic from Castle and The Good Wife's Julianna Marguliesalso featured in this year's top 10.

Forbes said of the top ten earners: "In all, the 15 highest-paid female stars of the small screen made a combined $208.5 million between June 2015 and June 2016 - $43.5 million more than last year's combined total of $165 million."

Television's highest-paid actresses

1. Sofia Vergara - $43m (£32.6m)

2. Kaley Cuoco - $24.5m (£18.6m)

3. Mindy Kaling - $15m (£11.4m)

4. Mariska Hargitay - $14.5m (£11m)

5. Ellen Pompeo - $14.5m (£11m)

6. Kerry Washington - $13.5m (£10.3m)

7. Stana Katic - $12m (£9.1m)

8. Priyanka Chopra - $11m (£8.4m)

9. Julianna Margulies - $10.5 (£7.9m)

10. Julie Bowen - $10m (£7.6m)