Forbes' list of the 10 most influential celebrities of 2013, released Thursday, provides few surprises, particularly when it comes to the No. 1 pick: Oprah Winfrey.
An Oprah protege (Dr. Mehmet Oz) and ally (Suze Orman) also made the list, as did a few notable directors and a handful of older stars who seem to be contractually obligated to appear on rankings such as these.
The median age for these influential figures is 64 years old, prompting the question of why the youngest celebrities on the list are 52 (Oz and singer Bono). At 83, Barbara Walters clocks in as the oldest.
Each celebrity receives an "influential rating," which indicates the percentage of voters who found that particular star to be worthy of the list.
This year's honors are largely a replica of the 2011 and 2012 lists, with Winfrey expectedly positioned at No. 1 once more. But last year's No. 2, Michael J. Fox, is nowhere to be found, as is the case with Stephen Hawking and Bill Cosby. In 2011, Rush Limbaugh made the list, as did Lakers coach Phil Jackson, CNN personality Sanjay Gupta and conservative commentator Glenn Beck.
Forbes is famous for its annual rankings, all of which attract a bevy of attention, particularly lists regarding the rich. Bill Gates is, as expected, the richest American, with a net worth of $66 billion. On last year's roundup of the most powerful couples, in which Bill and Hillary Clinton topped the list, celebrity couples included were Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller, Shakira and Gerard Pique, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady.
Check out Forbes' selections, and let us know who you were surprised to see omitted.
Forbes' Most Influential Celebrities 2013
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