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!

Related Videos

• MTV News' Women And Men Of The Year

Related Photos

• MTV News' 2008 Men And Women Of The Year

Related Artists

• Britney Spears
• Beyoncé

Tags: amy winehouse, barack, Britney Spears, chris brown, drama, fiction, hurricane, john mayer, Love, married, miley cyrus, Music, music awards, obama, photos, pregnant, Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, sarah palin

Hayden Panettiere recently told press that she’s no longer going to pursue a college degree, even though it’s something she’s always wanted to do. Hayden says her Heroes-based fame “scuppered” her plans to attend college, as she now feels she wouldn’t be able to just go there and learn, and instead, would be the center of attention, which would in turn, lead to academic distraction.

Hayden says, “College is something that I was really passionate about for a long time and I always wanted to go but everything has changed so much. I have to be so careful when I go out now.”

She continues, “Look what happened to Miley Cyrus. Personal pictures of her came out and caused so much trouble for her - but they were personal pictures of her that were either from a really long time ago or just from goofing around. You keep them really private but they end up being all over the place.”

Hayden then goes on to say, “I would want to be a normal person if I went to college because I would want to fit in and go to parties but I can’t all the time I’m in the public eye. I just have to sacrifice my dream of going to college for now.”

Now, I think that’s totally ridiculous. Tons of famous people go to college, and just because you’ve become a celebrity over time, doesn’t mean you have to quash your dreams due to your newfound popularity…and then blame it on us for liking you! As if that’s not what your ultimate goal was in Hollywood in the first place, to be famous. Come on, now, Hayden.

Image used with permission from splashnewsonline.com.

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Hilary Duff will be attending the Power of Youth event on Saturday October 4th in LA, sponsored by Variety and Target. The event will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.

"Target Presents Variety’s Power of Youth campaign is a powerful one which has the opportunity to generate millions of dollars and create a bedrock of social awareness within the next generation of entertainment," said Brian Gott, Variety associate publisher.

According to Variety, Hilary Duff will join stars such as the Jonas Brothers, Mrianda Cosgrove, Miley Cyrus, Dakota and Elle Fanning, Demi Lovato, Corbin Bleu, Eliza Dushku, Olivia Thirlby, Ashley Tisdale and Emma Roberts. Patients from St. Jude and their families will attend live performances, play games and activities, and eat together. A limited number of tickets will go to the public.

Power of Youth has raised more than $600,000 to date for St. Jude and encourages young individuals to take action in their communities. Something Hilary does a lot of with her charity work.

image: variety Tags: hilary duff, hilary duff events, power of youth, variety, target, charity

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Extra had a quick clip of Demi Lovato chatting about Camp Rock, her support of Miley Cyrus, and how the Jonas Brothers are role models!

Tags: demi lovato, Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus

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Tags: dj, Jonas Brothers, miley cyrus

Last year, Fergie won a Teen Choice Award and she’s back again, but this time she has several nominations so far.

Fans ages 13-19 can vote once each day for their favorite TEEN CHOICE 2008 nominees at www.TeenChoiceAwards.com.

Following is the list of categories and nominees for Fergie for TEEN CHOICE 2008:

MUSIC

Choice Hook-Up:

• Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain - Low
• Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown - No Air
• Lil Mama featuring Chris Brown & T-Pain - Shawty Get Loose
• Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes
• Nelly featuring Fergie - Party People

Choice Music: Female Artist

• Britney Spears
• Fergie
• Mariah Carey
• Miley Cyrus
• Rihanna

Choice Music: Rap/Hip-Hop Track

• Homecoming - Kanye West featuring Chris Martin
• Party People - Nelly featuring Fergie
• The Anthem - Pitbull featuring Lil Jon
• Shawty Get Loose - Lil Mama featuring Chris Brown and T-Pain
• Superstar - Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos

You can place your vote using this widget:

Fergie, Fergie Ferg, Stacy Ferguson, black-eyed peas, black eyed peas, black-eyed-peas, hip hop, fergalicious, the duchess, glamorous, Clumsy, Finally

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Tags: Britney Spears, chris brown, Fergie, justin timberlake, madonna, miley cyrus, Music, nominee, rap, Rihanna

How noble of him!

The former object of teenage girls’ affection, including my own, is speaking out on his own understanding of the plight of today’s stars, including Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Miley Cyrus.

Having been a child star himself, Kirk, now 37, says the pressure and trappings of fame are definitely hard to deal with under the spotlight. What’s worse is being a money-making “product” of media conglomerates.

Kirk has written a book that details having to fire his mother as his personal manager - having to work with the FBI to trap a pedophile who was seeking him out and much more.

I can’t imagine wanting to put my kids in harms way as a childhood star and I don’t think there’s any amount of money that could persuade me to.  I guess that’s the difference between those who parent for real and those who would rather give birth to their job.

(image: newscom)

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Tags: Britney Spears, dj, jamie lynn spears, Lindsay Lohan, miley cyrus, rap, style

Wow, this came out of nowhere. All of a sudden everyone’s claiming that Miley Cyrus is dating her 22-year-old backup dancer, Marshall!! The girl flirts on camera, kisses him on the cheek, and all of a sudden they are a couple. Weird.

I don’t buy it. I mean, we’ve seen pics of Miley in bed with a guy. I don’t think she can be considered dating Marshall just because they flirted a bit. Thoughts?

Image used with permission from Newscom

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When I saw Miley Cyrus gyrating all over the American Idol stage for the big Idol Gives Back show, I turned to my hubby and said, “That girl is gonna be trouble.” And God love her - she is!

Now, for the record, I think that whole Vanity Fair photo scandal was ridonculous. She didn’t look sexy - she looked cold and pastey! If you wanna see Miley looking sexy (and since she’s only 15 years old, you really shouldn’t, ya big perv) look no further than her latest half-naked self-portraits. (Yes, they’re more of her signature shirt-lifting, no pants, “please Disney - let me out of my contract” -look… )

I frickin’ love this kid!! But seriously, why does she keep doing that??

Image used with permission from newscom.com 

Tags: disney, hannah-montana, miley-cyrus, pics, Scandal, Sexy

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Miley Cyrus and her bro, Braison, bang on some instruments in this short clip. This was at the DC Games, shortly after the photo scandal. Miley looks kind of glum.

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