Roberts joins industry elite

Julia Roberts is the third most powerful woman in the entertainment industry

Notting Hill star Julia Roberts has become the first actress to make the Hollywood Reporter's annual list of the most influential women in the entertainment industry.

The actress is ranked number three on the trade paper's Power 50, two months after she was named Hollywood's most bankable star.

She is said to earn up to $20m (£13m) per film and is able to get any film she wants put into production.

British writer JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of books, is at number 50 in the chart.

Paramount Pictures executive Sherry Lansing heads the lists for the second year running.

Roberts' last five films grossed more than $100m (£69m) each in the US and she was reportedly the first woman to gain admission to the so-called $20m (£13m) club of Hollywood's highest-paid stars.

'Power'

"Julia Roberts is really the only actress in Hollywood who has the ability to have any project she's interested in made," said Christy Grosz, managing editor of special issues at the Hollywood Reporter.

She added: "She's the only one who can command that kind of power."

The top ten is dominated by senior executives at large media corporations such as Warner Brothers and Columbia Pictures.

"Female executives are running nearly half of the major film studios as well as the entertainment divisions of many of the major broadcast and cable television networks," said Paula Parisi, Hollywood Reporter editorial director of special issues.

Oprah Winfrey, who runs her own production company, Harpo, rose from 19th spot to 15th in the chart.