Though she’s young, Kristen Stewart is not only one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood, she’s also one of the most bankable. With an annual salary of $34.5 million, she took home more than any other actress between May 2011 and May 2012 because of roles in top-grossing films like the Twilight saga series and Snow White and the Huntsman.

When Meryl Streep decides on a role, her competition immediately stiffens: she’s that talented. The haute actress has received more nominations than any other actor in the history of the Academy Awards or Golden Globes with 17 Oscar nods and three wins and 27 Golden Globe nods and eight wins. Next up for Streep is a plumb role in the big-screen adaptation of Broadway’s August: Osage County, which is being produced by none other than George Clooney.

Twilight star Pattinson made Forbes list of the highest grossing stars of 2012 with a final tally of $793 million. Now that the five-part teen franchise finally came to an end last year, he’ll finally be able to focus on more adult fare. This year he’ll work on The Rover with Guy Pearce, Queen of the Desert with Naomi Watts and Jude Law and David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars.

If there’s a more iconic action star than Tom Cruise, we haven’t met him. That said, 2012 wasn’t Tom’s year. He separated from wife Katie Holmes and starred in the flop Rock of Ages. But we’re confident that Cruise will make his comeback in 2013: not only has his latest film, Jack Reacher, reached number 2 at the box office, but he’ll also return to fighting form in the Sci-Fi thriller, Oblivion.

Christian Bale is box office gold. As Batman in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, the British actor earned over $1 billion internationally. He is also the proud recipient of both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his role in David O. Russell’s 2010 boxing drama, The Fighter; he will shoot Russell’s next surefire, yet-to-be-titled film this year.