14 DAY TRIAL // With less than a month to go until the New Year, now is as good a time as ever to stop for a second and look back, and appreciate 2014 for what it was, with the good and the bad. Yahoo did it and compiled the top 10 of the most searched celebrities for 2014 – and they’re all surprisingly women.
From scandals to rumors, to leaked adult videos, and hacked photos, these 10 women managed to keep us all watching and talking about them. Many of them got this kind of attention because of their personal lives, but others also because of their respective accomplishments, like Ariana Grande in music and Jennifer Lawrence in film.
With the good and the bad, they are the most popular female celebrities of the year that’s drawing to an end. So let’s get on with it.
Iggy Azalea
She is one of the hottest female rappers out there, having shot to international media attention with her Charlie XCX collaboration “Fancy.” The chart-topper threw her in the spotlight, which brought increased attention to her personal life but also her music.
In 2014, Iggy was the subject of a rumor about a leaked homemade adult tape, she became an unwilling viral star when her pop music endeavors became known, she released new music, and had memorable live performances at a series of A-list events.
She also had several high-profile collaborations (Ariana Grande and Rita Ora among them), got into highly mediated feuds with fellow rappers (Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Azealia Banks, and Nicki Minaj), and exploded at the paparazzi.
Iggy won her first award at the American Music Awards 2014 and she’s nominated at the Grammys next year. She isn’t going anywhere yet.
Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez is growing up y’all. This year saw her change her sound to a more mature one and switching up her look to match, but that wasn’t what made her one of the top 10 most searched celebrities in the world.
She kicked off 2014 with a rumored stint in rehab, though she never confirmed it. She didn’t complete treatment and she returned to the trigger for her alleged drinking and partying habits repeatedly: Justin Bieber. They broke up and reconciled more times than we can count, but the split eventually became real when Selena understood they were not made for each other.
Luckily for her fans, this translated into beautiful music: Selena’s most recent release, “The Heart Wants What It Wants,” is her most personal and touching song to date.
Kate Gosselin
For a couple of years, Kate Gosselin tried to get her reality TV career back, but no network wanted her because her reputation preceded her wherever she went. That didn’t keep her from the headlines, though: once TLC’s biggest star and most beloved celebrity mother, she had fallen from grace after her bitter divorce from Jon.
This summer, TLC put Kate back on the air, with the release of a 2-part special that was meant to help still loyal fans to catch up with her and her 8 kids. The special wasn’t a smashing hit in terms of ratings, but it confirmed to the network that which we already knew: whether they hate or love her, people love to talk about Kate Gosselin.
She’s coming back to TV next year – and production for the new series has offered even more opportunities to the media to shine the spotlight on her.
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis likes to separate her private life from her career and the promo appearances she’s contractually bound to make, but that’s not really helping the cause. She started dating Ashton Kutcher (her first kiss ever!) right after his divorce from Demi Moore a couple of years ago, and is now engaged to be married.
Mila and Ashton also welcomed their first child together in 2014, daughter Wyatt Isabelle, which, despite their attempts to keep everything under wraps, only made them more popular. The more they refused to talk about the engagement or the pregnancy, the bigger the interest in these topics.
Halle Berry
Halle Berry started the year on a very high note, with fans of the “X-Men” franchise eagerly waiting to see her again as Storm in this summer’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” From this project, Halle moved to starring in her own sci-fi show, “Extant,” which premiered to solid ratings and reviews.
However, it was Halle’s ongoing feud with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry that most captivated our attention: the two broke up in 2010 but they’re still fighting because they share custody of their daughter Nahla. In 2014, their custody battle became even more bitter than before, with Halle accusing Aubry of bleaching Nahla’s hair in an attempt to make her appear white.
Halle is also looking to have a judge cut down on the spousal support she pays Gabriel.
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston is still getting media attention for her marriage to Brad Pitt even though many years have passed since then and they both moved on: she is engaged to Justin Theroux and he is married to Angelina Jolie, with whom he’s raising 6 children.
Speculation on Aniston’s engagement, her decision to have babies, her wedding, and her supposed ongoing feud with Angelina makes headlines in the glossies and the tabs on a weekly basis. In recent weeks, she’s also been getting plenty of attention for her performance in “Cake,” which is said to make her a solid Oscar contender for the 2014 edition.
Kim Kardashian
There is nothing that Kim Kardashian does that doesn’t make headlines, be it getting married in a real Italian castle, breaking the Internet by baring her bum in all its oily glory on the cover of Paper Magazine, dyeing her hair blonde, or promoting a new diet on Twitter.
She may be vapid and superficial and the epitome of all that’s wrong with today’s world, but Kim Kardashian is insanely popular and has millions of fans who wait for updates from her breathlessly. She has fans who look to emulate her outfits and her figure, the way she speaks, and how she styles her hair and does her makeup.
Kim Kardashian is perhaps the biggest celebrity out there – so it’s quite surprising that she only made it to number 4.
Kaley Cuoco
Kaley Cuoco has had the most fantastic 2014. She kicked off the year by tying the knot on New Year’s after a whirlwind romance and became a favorite with celebrity bloggers soon afterwards – probably mostly because she got married after a few months of dating, which was deemed “too soon.”
When the rumor mill isn’t breaking her up from her husband, it’s getting her pregnant, so if becoming a tabloid fixture is indicative of a star’s popularity status, then Kaley has definitely arrived.
Add to that the fact that she renegotiated her salary on “Big Bang Theory” and became one of the highest paid actors on TV, and you can see why she’s got everyone talking about her.
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande is a tiny girl but her celebrity status is far bigger than you could imagine. She has a voice that’s often gotten her compared to Mariah Carey, and according to rumors, just as big a diva reputation.
In between releasing hit songs after hit songs, Ariana made headlines repeatedly for allegedly being a major diva – the kind who will not allow you to speak with her unless spoken to and who refuses to have her picture taken from the right side of her face or be seen without makeup.
Just like Iggy, despite all these rumors, Ariana has been doing great in 2014 – and we will definitely be hearing more from her in the years to come.
Jennifer Lawrence
A couple of years ago, when she was campaigning for her Oscar, Jennifer Lawrence came very close to falling from grace by sheer overexposure. Since then, she’s been doing her best to fly under the radar, but it’s impossible for that to happen when you’re the headliner of the biggest film franchise of our time, “The Hunger Games.”
Besides her work in film, which has attracted very positive reviews, Jennifer has also been making headlines for her personal life, which included breaking up from longtime boyfriend Nicholas Hoult and possibly hooking up with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, right after his split from Gwyneth Paltrow.
However, what really made Jennifer the top searched celebrity in 2014 was the iCloud photo hack / leak, which saw dozens of her private, very revealing photos posted online. She later called the breach a crime, saying she had nothing to be ashamed of.
