Celebrity Women & Models

These are the ladies who have dominated the 2008 headlines — with more to come in the next few days.
By James Montgomery

Beyoncé


Photo: Getty Images

Who was the biggest star of 2008? Who had the most impact on the year that was, who inspired the most headlines or generated the biggest amount of buzz? It’s really tough to say … yet, for decades now, plenty of magazines have been doing just that (we’re looking at you, Time). And so, after years of sitting on the sidelines, we here at MTV News have decided to get in on the act too.

Over the next few days, we’ll be unveiling our list of the most fascinating, controversial and, well, BRITNEY!!! women of the year. These are the artists, actors and pop-culture heavyweights who dominated the headlines here at MTVNews.com (and no, Sarah Palin didn’t make the cut … we’ll leave that to the folks at Time).

Today, we present picks 10 to 6. On Tuesday, we’ll reveal numbers 5 to 2. And then, on Thursday, we’ll unveil our 2008 MTV News Woman of the Year. And, of course, we’d love to hear what you’ve got to say — we’ll even publish some of the best comments later this week — so if you agree with us (or if you don’t), let us know in the comments below.

(For our first list of picks for the Top 10 Men of the Year, click here.)

And now, let the debate begin …

10.
Beyoncé

2008 Highlights: Spent the majority of the year putting the finishing touches on her much-discussed double-album, I Am … Sasha Fierce … Played legendary blues singer Etta James in “Cadillac Records” … Married longtime beau Jay-Z … Applauded by PETA for her fur-free outfits … Released a pair of singles, “If I Were a Boy” and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” the latter of which ended up being our second-best song of 2008 … Donated $100,000 to victims of Hurricane Ike … Volunteered her services for Barack Obama’s inauguration … Snagged her third-consecutive #1 album, selling more than 482,000 copies of I Am in one week … Parodied the “Single Ladies” video to hilarious effect on “Saturday Night Live” … Landed a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song. To anyone else, this is a lifetime’s worth of résumé fodder. To B, it was just another year.

9. Hayley Williams

2008 Highlights: Penned a cryptic blog post that kicked off rumors that she and her band,
Paramore, were calling it quits … Addressed those rumors (and whispers that she was pregnant) in an equally cryptic blog post that used the phrase “My Eggo is not preggo” less than 24 hours later … Sat down with MTV News for an “everything’s fine” interview in Austin, Texas, during South by Southwest … Defended “family friend” Miley Cyrus … Played the Warped Tour … Battled her stepfather over unscrupulous eBaying … Got (then later removed) bull-ring piercing in septum … Admired by John Mayer … Performed in a virtual Whisky A Go Go during the MTV Video Music Awards … Contributed a pair of songs to the “Twilight” soundtrack … Copped to being a huge “Twilight” fan and a member of Team Jacob … Began work on new Paramore album … Is seriously, like, 4 feet tall.

8.
Rihanna

2008 Highlights: Won her first-ever Grammy in early February … Followed up on that momentum by landing an opening slot on
Kanye West’s Glow in the Dark Tour … Re-released her hugely successful Good Girl Gone Bad album with the hugely successful single “Take a Bow” … Denied reports that she and Chris Brown were an item (despite mounting evidence to the contrary) … Performed a freaky version of “Disturbia” (another one of her hugely successful singles) at the Video Music Awards … Collapsed onstage in Australia while performing a duet with Brown, sparking rumors she was pregnant … Inspired a fan revolt when none of the aforementioned “hugely successful singles” are named in James Montgomery’s Best Songs of 2008 list … Did, at some juncture during the year, get a fairly awesome neck tattoo.

7. Aubrey O’Day

2008 Highlights: Rolled into the year fresh off reports that she was leaving Danity Kane to join the Pussycat Dolls … Appeared to put all the drama behind her when DK’s Welcome to the Dollhouse debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts … Launched DK/Day26 tour in May … Landed the role of Amber Von Tussle in the Broadway version of “Hairspray,” which causes her to miss Danity Kane’s appearance on “FNMTV” … Boasted about her breasts during an interview with former WWE announcer Paul Heyman … Shot a rather eye-opening photo spread for Complex magazine … Booted from Danity Kane during live finale of MTV’s “Making the Band” due to concerns over her “image” and despite the fact she was one of only two interesting members in the group … Reportedly posed for Playboy … May have had the most turbulent 12 months of anyone not named ”
Britney Spears” or “Amy Winehouse.”

6: Sasha Fierce

2008 Highlights: Created by Beyoncé as a marketing tool/ psychological id for her I Am … Sasha Fierce album … Despite being completely fictional, may actually be more interesting than the actual Beyoncé … Starred in the “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” video, which managed to “out-crazy even ‘Ring the Alarm’ “ … Definitive proof that Beyoncé is nuts … Signified by a futuristic metallic glove worn on the left hand … Is probably steampunk … Quite possibly the most interesting alter-ego ever created by a musical superstar (sorry, Chris Gaines).

We’ll be rolling out our Top 10 Men and Women of the Year all week! Today you’ve got 10 through 6, tomorrow you’ll see 5 through 2, on Wednesday we’ll be recapping your reactions and opinions, and on Thursday the winners will be revealed! Who do you think the Man and Woman of the Year should be? Tell us now!

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A biography of Kate Middleton, Prince William’s long-time girlfriend, will be published in April 2009, according to a listing on Amazon.com.

The book, “Kate: Princess in Waiting“, is being written by Claudia Joseph. Joseph is a fashion journalist-turned-news reporter who has worked for Tatler, The Times and the Mail on Sunday.

The biography is described as “an intriguing insight into the extraordinary journey she has made from the back streets of Southall to an apartment in the royal residence Clarence House”. Exclusive interviews with some of Kate’s family and friends, as well as unpublished photographs, are set to appear in the book. However, there is no mention of an interview with Kate herself, who has so far remained tight-lipped and discreet about her royal relationship.

This is not the first book that takes a close look into the life of the special woman in Prince William’s life. Robert Jobson’s “William’s Princess: The Love Story that will Change the Royal Family Forever” was published in September 30, 2006. Almost 3 years later, will we get to know Kate a little better with Joseph’s book?

image: Amazon.com

Tags: Kate Middleton, kate middleton news, prince william girlfriend

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Prince Harry and his long-time girlfriend Chelsy Davy looked so happy in these photos taken during their outing at Twickenham last week.

The pair were watching the rugby match between England and South Africa on November 21, 2008. England lost badly to South Africa, 42-6. Good thing Prince Harry had his laughs at the start of the match. Chelsy, on the other hand, might have had given him a ribbing for the loss.

The two are obviously very much in love, exchanging giggles and sweet little glances. All’s well in the Harry-Chelsy camp.

The Daily Mail has a few more photos.

image credit: Newscom

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Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise are still supplying us with some great pictures as they are out and about in New York City. They spent the Thanksgiving holiday with the Beckhams and the Beckhams went to a performance of ‘All My Sons’ to see Katie. We also have those adorable pictures of Suri Cruise with her baby doll. Just precious!

On Saturday, November 29th, the Cruises went shopping at the M&M store in NYC. Tom and Katie are almost sporting matching hair do’s. They have the feathered wavy look going. Suri decided to stick with her straight bobbed do. Good call on her part.

They all look great and Suri seemed to enjoy munching on M&M’s.

I love this picture of TomKat waving. Very cute family picture.

More pictures of TomKat and Suri Cruise below.

Tags: katie holmes candids, katie holmes photos, suri cruise candids, suri cruise photos, tom cruise candids, tom cruise photos

The Cruises and the Beckhams spent Thanksgiving Day together at the Big Apple Circus in New York City. Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and their kids Connor, Isabella and Suri Cruise were all there. It is so good to see Connor and Isabella because it’s been awhile. They all look great and it seems like they are having a wonderful time together.There are some fabulous pictures of Tom and Katie smiling and laughing with each other. I just love it!

I think it is so great that the Tom and Katie have such a good friendship with the Beckhams. They all seem to enjoy spending time together and all of the rumors about Katie and Victoria not being friends is just ridiculous.

More pictures of the Cruises and the Beckhams Thanksgiving Day outing below.

Tags: connor cruise photos, isabella cruise photos, katie holmes candids, katie holmes photos, suri cruise candids, suri cruise photos, tom cruise candids, tom cruise photos, tomkat pictures

Not only did we get some beautiful pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on the red carpet at last night’s NOLA screening of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, we also get some great video footage of Brad and Angie too!

Thank you Sonja, for pointing these out to me! Pictures are wonderful, but I love seeing them move around and hearing them talk in video clips!

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Brad Pitt and Ann Curry sat down yesterday in New Orleans to talk about Make It Right, New Orleans, and his life with Angelina Jolie and their children.

It was taped yesterday but aired this morning on the Today show. Here’s the six-minute segment:

Do you know what struck me right off the bat? They were talking about how there are already eight families living in completed homes while work continues on the rest. Brad was saying how great it was to know that some families were finally home for the holidays after so much time since Katrina - and then when Ann asked him if he had met these families, he started talking about them by name.

It may not sound like a huge deal but Hollywood is made out to be selfish in general, but here was Brad, knowing everyone’s name, their kids’ names, which house they live in… That’s someone who isn’t just throwing money at a problem but someone who is getting as completely involved as possible in every aspect of helping out people who have been waiting for years to come home.

Brad was reluctant to talk about his family at first but he opened up a bit, saying how amazing it is to have these six kids from all parts of the world who play and laugh and fight. He admitted that no, having six kids is not easy, but you get so much out of it.

More details of the Brad Pitt interview below the cut.

He also talked about adoption and what it’s like to love a child that isn’t biologically your own and he confessed that he had wondered about the same thing, whether it would be harder but Brad said that it’s an automatic thing, you just love them.

Ann made me laugh when she said she was annoyed with him because she thinks she’s okay with a camera, and then along comes Brad with a big photo shoot of Angie and the kids in W magazine. Brad explained that his reason for doing that was because you don’t often get to see the warm, natural side of Angelina in other shoots. I agree with that!

Brad flat-out said he hates the paparazzi, differentiating between the photographers who take photos at special red-carpet events and the ones who climb over walls to scream your kids’ names to snap money shots. He said he thinks there should be laws against allowing them to follow after kids with cameras.

Ann asked the question about marriage, saying that once a reporter asked Angelina if she would ever get married to Brad and she said to ask him. He laughed about that and said that if it becomes important to the kids they’ll see.

It’s a great interview, be sure to watch it all!

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The NOLA screening of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button went on last night, and as always Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie looked amazing on the red carpet. While I’m a big fan of tuxes for super fancy events, I think Brad looks great in just a regular (though very nice!) suit. And Angelina! That dress was so beautiful and classy.

Here are some of my favorite photos of Brad and Angelina on the red carpet in New Orleans.

Seriously love the buttons up the back of her dress!

Keep reading for more Brad and Angie photos!

What do you think of Brad’s suit (sans hat!) and Angelina’s button dress?

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Not exactly celebrity love - but a love of celebrity inspired handbags…

Hayden Panettiere along with Dooney & Bourke’s Italian design team have designed the new Hayden Clutch.

The clutch is crafted of soft supple Italian calfskin and trimmed with gold leather piping. It’s 24 carat gold-plated lion head closure offers a dramatic effect. This clutch is inspired by Hayden’s astrological sign Leo. With it’s fresh style and compact size, the Hayden Clutch is the perfect accessory for a night out on the town.

Being a Dooney and Bourke fan - I’m going to add this one to my Christmas Wish List.

The clutch comes in a variety of colors vibrant colors and is available for delivery in December. Retail: $295

Image Credit: Dooney and Bourke - Source: Hayden Rocks

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In Touch Weekly seems to have a radar zeroed in on Angelina Jolies ovulation and pregnancy status. They broke the news of Jolie’s second pregnancy with twins and they are standing firm that the actress is expecting another child in the new year.

Jolie and Pitt already parent three adopted children, Maddox, Pax and Zahara and three biological children, Shiloh and infant twins Vivienne and Knox.

Recently, Jolie has given several interviews about her desire to expand their family even further. And during the launch of DVD Kung Fu Panda last week, she was quoted as saying, ‘Anything could happen. We’re open to anything, we love kids and we’re having a great time. It’s chaos in our house, but it’s so much fun. We’ll definitely have more.‘

Image source: Newscom - Source: Daily Mail UK

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