For months and months, whenever Sandra Bullock's name was mentioned, folks would tilt their heads to one side with concern, sigh heavily, and say something like, "Poor thing." Mired in ex-husband Jesse James' infidelity scandal, it seems everyone forgot for a second that the gorgeous Academy-Award winner is also the most successful actress in the world -- one who raked in an estimated $56 million last year, according to Forbes, which just released its annual listing of the highest-earning actresses in film.

As our friends at PopEater report, Bullock maintains a very healthy lead over her nearest competitors, Reese Witherspoon and Cameron Diaz, who both earned $32 million between June 2009 and June 2010. Rounding out the top five are Jennifer Aniston and Sarah Jessica Parker, with earnings of $27 million and $25 million, respectively.

Much of Bullock's stellar earning power can be chalked up to faith -- faith in her films, that is. Bullock slashed her usual upfront fee to star in "The Proposal" and "The Blind Side," opting instead to take a larger portion of each film's profits -- supposing they made any. It was a risky move, but both films turned out to be box office smashes, with "The Proposal" taking in over $317 million worldwide, and "The Blind Side" grossing over $308 million on a budget of less than $30 million. Of "The Blind Side's" massive bundle, $255 million was banked in the U.S., making the film the first ever headlined by a female movie star to top $200 at the domestic box office.

Forbes estimates an actress's earnings by talking to agents, managers, producers and lawyers to determine how much a star earned in upfront pay on movies currently shooting and back-end pay earned after a movie hits theaters. Earnings from perfume and clothing lines, as well as ad campaigns, are also figured in.

Other top earners on the Forbes list include "Eat, Pray, Love" star Julia Roberts, $20 million; Angelina Jolie, who is currently enjoying a summer hit with her new film "Salt," at $20 million; Drew Barrymore, $15 million; the legendary Meryl Streep, who took home $13 million for turning both "Julie & Julia" and "It's Complicated" into hits; and Kristen Stewart, whose $12 million came from her work on the "Twilight Saga" as well as the indie films "The Runaways" and "Welcome to the Rileys."

Check out how Bullock's style has changed over the years.

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