Britney Spears The Competition
Forbes Magazine has crowned pop princess Britney Spears as the world's most powerful celebrity on Thursday, dethroning movie star Tom Cruise from the No. 1 spot he held last year.
The seemingly ubiquitous 20-year-old singer from Louisiana tops Forbes' annual "Celebrity 100" list, which combines earnings with media exposure to calculate the relative status of entertainers, athletes and other famous people.
Spears, who heralded her own coming of age in the recent hit "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," actually ranked No. 25 in terms of money-making clout, earning an estimated $39.2 million during the past 12 months. "Star Wars" director George Lucas was the leading breadwinner on the list at $200 million.
But what she lacked in income Spears more than made up for in terms of magazine cover stories, television and radio appearances, Web hits and overall media coverage.
Forbes managing editor Dennis Kneale noted that Spears has graced his magazine's own cover twice in the past two years.
Cruise, who was No. 1 on the list last year and stars in Steven Spielberg's sci-fi action film "Minority Report," did not even make the cut this year.
Kneale said that was due in part to Cruise deferring his payment for the film beyond the 12-month time frame measured by the magazine for this year's list.
Cruise's ex-wife, actress Nicole Kidman, however, ranks No. 27 on this year's list. "We just totally side with Nicole," Kneale joked.
Rounding out the top 10 were golf champion Tiger Woods, director Steven Spielberg, pop superstar Madonna, Irish rock group U2, boy-band sensation 'N Sync, songstress Mariah Carey, talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, basketball star Michael Jordan and actor Tom Hanks.
Former President Clinton also figures prominently on the list, at No. 18, thanks in large part to considerable earnings on the lecture circuit. Forbes estimates Clinton grossed a whopping $25 million during the past 12 months.
"He can earn more money in a single year making speeches than he made in his eight years as president," Kneale said. "Bill Clinton just continues to amaze and fascinate the American public. ... The guy's always had superstar charisma that goes way beyond mere politics."
Fellow pastured politico, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, ranked No. 43 overall, owing chiefly to his hero status in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
All three actresses on the hit TV comedy "Friends" made the list -- Jennifer Aniston at No. 28, Lisa Kudrow at No. 59 and Courteney Cox-Arquette at No. 68 -- but Aniston's movie star husband, Brad Pitt, was a no-show this year.
In the literary corner, Stephen King remained the top-grossing author with $52.4 million (he ranked No. 8 on the earnings scale and No. 14 overall), followed by Tom Clancy, who earned $47.8 million and ranked No. 22 overall.
Best-selling novelist Mary Higgins Clark out-earned British children's author J.K. Rowling, $43.6 million to $41.8 million, but the creator of the "Harry Potter" books was higher in the celebrity standings, No. 34 vs. No. 47.
Other entries of note include heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his clan (No. 85), whose reality TV show has given MTV its biggest hit, while celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse ranked Nos. 79 and 80, respectively, despite the latter's TV flop last season.
Tennis star Venus Williams ranked higher (No. 60) and earned more ($11 million) than her sister, Serena Williams (No. 72, $8 million). And while NBC late-night star Jay Leno gets TV higher ratings, Forbes ranked his CBS rival, David Letterman, higher in overall stature (No. 23 vs. No. 41) and in money ($32 million vs. $20 million).