When Angela Bassett renegotiated her salary for “9-1-1,” her ask made headlines. According to Vanity Fair, her $450,000 per episode salary was dubbed as “historic” because it meant that she could now be one of the highest-paid actresses of color in network television.

But, as the outlet correctly points out, Bassett’s salary bump wasn’t just for her acting chops (although to be fair, that’s reason enough to pay her that much). Rather, that salary also encompasses her duties as the executive producer of both the flagship show and its spin-off, “9-1-1: Lone Star.” When that’s factored in, it means that dollar for dollar, she’s not making anything near what she deserves. What’s more, what Angela Bassett is making pales in comparison to what some other Hollywood actresses are making.

“Higher per-episode paydays were received by Sofia Vergara, who earned a reported $500,000 an episode of ‘Modern Family’ by the end of that show’s run, and Kaley Cuoco, who reportedly received $900,000 per episode of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ during her sitcom’s final seasons,” they report.

Let’s be clear. This is not to say that one shouldn’t celebrate victories. On the contrary: any time a Black actress like Angela Bassett makes money like this, she deserves her flowers, and then some. But it is to say that we need to look at both how far we’ve come and how far we have to go in order to achieve both equity and equality. And if Bassett’s white counterparts are making more, then she should, as well.

With that in mind, we decided to compare what Angela Bassett’s top salary is, compared to the salaries of some of the top-earning television actresses in Hollywood.

Highest-Paid Actresses

Sign up for our daily Newsletter.