Katy Perry has been named the highest-paid female celebrity of the year, earning $135 million in 12 months, according to a report published in Forbes. The "Fireworks" Singer beat Taylor Swift and comes third overall in the highest-paid celebrities in the world after boxing icons Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Forbes said Perry earned $135 million over the past 12 months and $303 million over the past five years from her music and related businesses.
"I am proud of my position as a boss, as a person that runs my own company," she was quoted as saying. "I don't want to shy away from it. I actually wanted to kind of grab it by its balls."
The "Roar" singer sold 11 million albums and 81 million singles since her quiet debut as Katy Hudson in 2001. Thanks to her second album, "One Of The Boys," Katy grabbed the limelight in 2008, which was followed by two more hit albums, "Teenage Dream" and "Prism."
Perry and Swift were the only women on the top 10 list of highest-paid celebrities. Other celebrities on the list are Howard Stern, Robert Downey Jr., and One Direction.
One Direction took the No. 4 spot also for their big earnings from their music. The boyband played "74 dates over the past 12 months, averaging seven-figure grosses at every stop" and touring worldwide. The group reportedly earned more than twice as the Rolling Stones. Their high gross was attributed to "strong touring drive and profound changes in the concert business, spurred by the rise of the global middle class."
"You don't have to go back and play New York, Detroit, Chicago, over and over again," said Gary Bongiovanni, chief of touring data provider Pollstar. "There are a lot of other territories for artists to play."
The trend is said to be benefitting Hollywood as proven when "Avengers: Age of Ultron" grossed $240 million in China, whose monthly box office surpassed the U.S. for the first time this past February.
Robert Downey, Jr. who played Iron Man in that film, was at No. 8. He earned double-digit millions for playing Iron Man, getting a career-high $80 million payday. He tied with Taylor Swift, whose best-selling album "1989" moved 3.7 million units in 2014.
Meanwhile, Vin Diesel banked $47 million which landed him at top 43. His film "Furious 7" earned $1.5 billion worldwide. $400 million of that reportedly came from China, where it's the highest-grossing film of all-time.
