Madonna, Gwyneth Win Gossip Tally

December 23, 1999
http://mrshowbiz.go.com/news/Todays_Stories/991223/observer500_122399.html


Who were the most talked-about public figures of the year? Someone
actually went to the trouble of tallying every single celebrity mention
from 14 different news and gossip columns for the past year. Yes, it's
the New York Observer, which has done this for the past five years. In
their Dec. 27 issue, the New York mag reveals its list of the Top 500
folk who've had their names dropped the most in 1999.

No. 1 shouldn't surprise anyone. It's none other than last year's No. 1
news item, President Bill Clinton, with a whopping 731 total mentions,
followed by his wife, Hillary, with 401 references. Monica Lewinsky
dropped from No. 2 to No. 3, her name kept alive by such mentions as
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit coining — or just using — the
phrase "getting a Lewinsky."

The top non-political celeb on the list? Madonna, in sixth place with
170 mentions, most by the New York Daily News' Rush & Molloy, who
tracked down rumors that the Material Mom was looking to get married
or have another baby. Official word: No on both counts.

Next up, Madonna pal and relationship-go-round queen Gwyneth Paltrow,
who rated 130 mentions in 1999. Her "very good friend" Ben Affleck ran
a distant 88 mentions for 23rd place on the Observer list.

Thanks to his ambiguous relationship with Paltrow, Affleck placed
higher than fellow studmuffins Brad Pitt (44th place) and Matt Damon
(46th).

The Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman media saturation of Eyes Wide Shut
guaranteed they'd place 14th and 28th, respectively.

Other gossiped-about celebs include Sean (Puffy) Combs (116 mentions)
whose relationship with Jennifer Lopez helped boost him to 88th place.
Besides marriage rumors, the story that Lopez had insured her body for
$1 billion helped her crawl from a lousy 137th place to the 54th most-
gossiped-about celeb of 1999.

Marriage rumors also ensured plenty of coverage for Michael Douglas
and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the latter of whom didn't even crack the
Observer's Top 500 list the year before.

Other newcomers to the list include lauded actor Kevin Spacey, who
made news by finally addressing, and denying, those persistent gay
rumors.

Leonardo DiCaprio, who hasn't been on a movie screen since that 1998
cameo in Celebrity, watched his gossiped-about status fall from seventh
to 20th. Better luck next year, Leo.

Being dead didn't stop writers talking about Frank Sinatra, Princess
Diana, Marilyn Monroe, or John F. Kennedy Sr.