Hollywood's highest-paid actress is Twilight star Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart has beaten some of the biggest names in Hollywood to top the Forbes list of top-earning actresses.

Stewart earned a massive £21.9million ($34.5m) between May 2011 and May 2012, but the majority of that figure didn't come from new films like 'Snow White and the Huntsman' and 'On The Road'.

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Forbes reports that most of that money came from ‘Twilight’, for which she earns £7.9million ($12.5m) per movie, plus a cut of the earnings, which have kept on rolling in.

At 22 years old, Stewart is also the youngest actress on the list, which is mostly made up of well-established female stars.

Forbes Los Angeles bureau chief Dorothy Pomerantz said: "Kristen Stewart is an up-and-coming star.

"She is earning a lot of money from one of the most successful franchises of all time. This is who you would expect to see right now.

"This year you are seeing somebody young and at the brink of potentially great stardom sitting on the top of the list."

Cameron Diaz comes in second thanks to the surprise success of ‘Bad Teacher’, with Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie, and Stewart's 'Snow White' co-star Charlize Theron rounding out the top 5.

Jolie topped the list last year.

Julia Roberts, Sarah Jessica Parker, Meryl Streep and Kristen Wiig make up the rest of the top ten.

The top 10 actresses made $200 million between them according to Forbes.com, a lot less than the $361 million made by the 10 highest-earning male stars.

Are you surprised by Stewart's placing? Let us know.