Oprah Winfrey tops Hollywood's highest earning women list for 2010-11

It comes as no great surprise that Oprah Winfrey takes the top spot on Forbes' just released list of Hollywood's Highest Earning Women between May 2010 and May 2011.

What does come as a surprise is that the just lead is narrowing, thanks in part to the ending of Oprah's highly successful 25 year afternoon TV show, "The Oprah Winfrey Show." But take no pity on the talk show queen. Forbes puts Winfrey's worth at $2.7 billion, making her No. 139 on the magazine list of the 400 Richest People in America.

Lady Gaga takes the No.2 spot with earnings of $90 million, $200 million less than Oprah. But Lady Gaga has proven to be a shrewd business woman and may soon close the gap. Taking the No. 3 spot is Bethany Frankel, also a smart business woman. She recently sold her calorie conscious Skinny Margarita mix to Fortune Brands for an estimated $100 million.

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen, country/pop singer Taylor Swift, TV talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres and Judge Judy Sheindlin, all with $45 million in earnings, occupy the No. 4 spot.

Of special note, Taylor Swift, at just 21, is a force to be reckoned with. Swift was recently named by Guinness World Book of Records as the female with the most simultaneous hits at once in the top 100.

The full list is available at Forbes.com

Watch out Oprah, there's a savvy pop star and an ambitious real housewife nipping at your financial heels.

Oprah Winfrey remained the entertainment world's top woman earner, but Lady Gaga and Bethenny Frankel, one of the original housewives in the "Real Housewives of New York," are moving quickly up the ranks of the rich, according to Forbes.com.

Winfrey held on to the top spot with $290 million in earnings from May 2010 to May 2011 and an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion.

But Winfrey's daytime talk show, which she wrapped up in May, was her chief money earner and her newly launched cable network, OWN, has drawn paltry ratings since its January launch.

"The network has a long way to go before advertisers start paying the kind of rates Winfrey was charging for her syndicated show," said Forbes' Dorothy Pomerantz, who compiled the list by culling information from agents, managers, lawyers and others in the know.

Lady Gaga was a distant second with $90 million in gross earnings, followed by Frankel with $55 million. Frankel, who launched her own diet and lifestyle brand, sold her Skinnygirl Margarita cocktail mix for an estimated $100 million and has been expanding her brand, which will soon include food, supplements and a possible talk show.

Four women, model Gisele Bundchen, a singer Taylor Swift, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and Judge Judy Sheindlin, each earned $45 million last year and tied for fourth place.