Maxim has the "Hot 100." People has its "Most Beautiful People." But aside from sitting around a conference table arguing about celebs in bikinis, how do you actually decide who's the hottest? At Zimbio, we've found a foolproof, scientific method for rating a couple's hotness, based on four categories: Success, Attractiveness, Popularity and Staying Power.
For the first three, we've ranked each partner in a couple on a scale from one to 10, then added the two scores to come up with a final number (one to 20) in each category. We ranked Staying Power separately on a scale from one to 20 for each couple. The total of the scores in the four categories determined each couple's rank on our list. Numbers don't like, folks.
Here's more on how we break it down:
Success.
In a word: Money. Exceptionally hot celebrities are almost always exceptionally rich (and vice versa), so we've tapped into Forbes and other sources to discover their salaries and net worth. We've also considered factors like Oscar and Grammy nominations / wins, platinum albums and other honors they've received.
Attractiveness.
Our next ranking category is the most obvious in this often-superficial industry: Victoria's Secret model? Check. Ridiculously lucky God-given genes? Double check. But if someone's been on the cover of multiple glamour magazines and/or is under contract with a high-end, high-profile brand, it pushes up their numbers on our list.
Popularity.
Since looking good and making bank don't necessarily keep a couple on the public's radar, we've chosen to judge a couple's popularity by the number of times they've been Googled in the last month. Again, the numbers don't lie.
Staying Power.
This category takes into account all the factors that keep couples together: children, marriage, cohabitation and longevity. If either member of the couple has a history of short, stormy relationships, they get dinged in our point structure.
1. Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt
Success.
Before you go thinking Brangelina is a cliche choice for #1, remember: We're just dealing with the facts and stats. These two command the box office. Jolie reportedly earns around $15 million per picture, and she made three movies last year, so you do the math. As for Pitt, he rakes in around $20 million per film, and he made two in 2008. Combine those numbers with the numerous awards and nominations this couple has under their belts, and the results are staggering: Jolie's won three Golden Globes and an Oscar, while Pitt's won one Golden Globe and had two Academy Award nominations. Basically, these two are cinematic royalty. And as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency, Angelina has converted Brad to her do-gooding ways. The couple now heads the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which they donate millions of dollars to annually to aid humanitarian crises.
Popularity.
You can't open an issue of Us Weekly or People without seeing Brad and Angie staring back at you -- and that's been the case for the past four years. Last month, more than 2.25 million Google searches were performed for Jolie, and Pitt scored another 1.5 million. All these two have to do is walk down the street, and every media outlet around reports on it.
2. Beyonce & Jay-Z
Success.
Parade magazine recently reported that Beyonce earned $80 million this year, while Jay-Z earned $82 million -- a total of $162 million between them. Beyonce's also been nominated for two Golden Globes and between the two of them, they have enough Grammys to fill a Maybach. Whether you're looking at money, fame or honors, it doesn't get much more successful than this couple.
Popularity.
Beyonce blows out the competition in this category. In April, about 20 million people Googled her, making her one of the most popular celebs on our list. People are slightly less interested in Jay-Z, who scored 5 million searches. With those numbers, these two are hard to beat.
3. Victoria Beckham & David Beckham
4. Gisele Bundchen & Tom Brady
5. Faith Hill & Tim McGraw
6. Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith
Success.
Will Smith has a penchant for blockbuster movies, and they have treated him well; he reportedly earned $20 million for 2008's Hancock. He's been nominated for a few Golden Globes and Academy Awards as well, though he's never won. And Wikipedia tells us: "He is the only actor in history to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office as well as being the only actor to have eight consecutive films open at #1 on the domestic box office as a Lead Actor." Decent work. As for Jada, she has dabbled in singing, producing, writing and designing with some success, but she's primarily an actress known for movies like If These Walls Could Talk and The Matrix. From 2007 to 2008, Forbes reports that this couple earned $85 million total.
7. Jessica Biel & Justin Timberlake
8. Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale
9. Johnny Depp & Vanessa Paradis
10. Heidi Klum & Seal
11. Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi
12. David Bowie & Iman
13. Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin
14. Halle Berry & Gabriel Aubry
15. Reese Witherspoon & Jake Gyllenhaal
16. Demi Moore & Ashton Kutcher
17. Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck
18. Vanessa Hudgens & Zac Efron
19. Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony
Success.
J. Lo has many a claim to fame, including a $15 million salary per film and both Golden Globe and Grammy nominations. Still, she hasn't appeared in a film since the 2006 box office bust El Cantante, and she hasn't had a number one single since 2005. As for Anthony, he's a Grammy-winning singer who hasn't released an album since 2004. Yikes.
Popularity.
Despite their lack of singles or blockbusters in the past few years, people are still interested in these Latin lovers. In April, around 1.8 million people searched Google to learn more about J. Lo, and 823,000 searched for Marc -- helping to nudge them into the top 25 of our most popular celeb couples.
20. Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban
21. Leonardo DiCaprio & Bar Refaeli
22. Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes
23. Anna Kournikova & Enrique Iglesias
24. Catherine Zeta-Jones & Michael Douglas
Success.
Douglas reportedly made $20 million for 1998's A Perfect Murder and $10 million for Traffic in 2000. That was almost a decade ago, but he's still acting in a couple of movies a year, and he's won two Academy Awards in his career. Though he may be past his heyday, Michael's still a critic's darling and Hollywood success story. His wife Catherine Zeta-Jones is no less accomplished: She has an Oscar win under her belt thanks to 2002's Chicago, for which she earned $8 million, and she's been making movies consistently over the past few years.
Popularity.
Last month, 165,000 Internet users searched Google to find out more about Michael and about the same number searched for Catherine. Those numbers place them in the bottom half of our couples on the popularity scale.
25. Eva Longoria Parker & Tony Parker
26. Jewel & Ty Murray
27. Fergie & Josh Duhamel
28. Penelope Cruz & Javier Bardem
29. Charlize Theron & Stuart Townsend
30. Nicole Scherzinger & Lewis Hamilton
Success.
In 2008, Lewis Hamilton became the first black man ever to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. The title comes with a decent salary, too: Forbes estimates that at the end of his career, he'll be worth around $791 million (and yes, you read that correctly). He signed a new five-year contract with his team McLaren Mercedes last year, entitling him to more than $100 million. And did we mention he's only 23? Scherzinger isn't doing too badly either as the lead singer for the Pussycat Dolls. Their album PCD went double platinum, and Nicole has released her own solo album as well. Other than that, she makes a bundle from cameos and by endorsing underwear and hair care products.
Popularity.
In March, around 450,000 people searched Google for information about Nicole, while only 60,000 searched for Lewis. Those figures place them about halfway down our popularity list.
31. Marc Jacobs & Lorenzo Martone
32. Kim Kardashian & Reggie Bush
Success.
Kim got about $5 million from Vivid Entertainment for her sex tape scandal, but that was back in 2007. Since then, she's relied on bits like Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Dancing With the Stars, and Disaster Movie (for which she received a Razzie nomination). Reggie, on the other hand, won a Heisman in 2005 and is set to earn $2.6 million in 2009 from the New Orleans Saints. By 2011, he'll be raking in 11.8 million dollars a year.
Popularity.
People can't get enough of Kim Kardashian, and Reggie is usually just tagging along. She's everywhere: in the tabloids, on TV, advertisements and trickling into the fitness and fashion worlds as we speak. Last month, around 6 million people searched Google for Kim alone, and Reggie scored another 550,000 searches, winning them a spot in the top 10 most popular couples on our list.
33. Keira Knightley & Rupert Friend
34. Isla Fisher & Sacha Baron Cohen
35. Orlando Bloom & Miranda Kerr
36. Sarah Michelle Gellar & Freddie Prinze Jr.
37. Kanye West & Amber Rose
38. Amy Poehler & Will Arnett
39. Kelly Ripa & Mark Consuelos
40. Jessica Simpson & Tony Romo
41. Salma Hayek & Francois-Henri Pinault
42. Rebecca Romijn & Jerry O'Connell
43. Adriana Lima & Marko Jaric
44. Janet Jackson & Jermaine Dupri
45. Sarah Jessica Parker & Matthew Broderick
Success.
Sarah Jessica Parker can chalk up much of her success to Carrie Bradshaw. She made $15 million for last year's Sex and the City movie and likely makes somewhere in the seven-figure range for her ads with Garnier Nutrisse. Broderick isn't quite as fortunate, but he was reportedly paid around $100,000 a week to be in The Producers.
Popularity.
Last month, about 368,000 people searched Google to read more about Sarah, and 110,000 searched for Matthew. Those numbers place this couple just slightly above the halfway mark of our list of most popular couples.
46. Jim Carrey & Jenny McCarthy
47. Miley Cyrus & Justin Gaston
48. Mark Wahlberg & Rhea Durham
49. Calista Flockhart & Harrison Ford
50. Ashlee Simpson-Wentz & Pete Wentz
51. Julia Roberts & Danny Moder
52. Howard Stern & Beth Ostrosky Stern
53. Zooey Deschanel & Ben Gibbard
54. Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon
55. Jessica Alba & Cash Warren
56. Sandra Bullock & Jesse James
57. Mila Kunis & Macaulay Culkin
58. Amy Adams & Darren Le Gallo
59. Rachel Weisz & Darren Aronofsky
60. Matthew McConaughey & Camila Alves
61. Pink & Carey Hart
62. Nicole Richie & Joel Madden
Success.
Reports haven't indicated how much Nicole Richie made for costarring with Paris Hilton on The Simple Life, but as the adopted daughter of singer Lionel Richie, she doesn't really need the money. Lately Nicole has been content to put her reality TV career on hold and focus on her jewelry line, House of Harlow, instead -- which sold out online before it could even go to stores. As frontman of the band Good Charlotte, Joel has won several MTV Music Awards, and their last album Good Morning Revival debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200. Still, the sales weren't impressive enough for gold or platinum status in the US.
Popularity.
Last month, about 450,000 people were interested enough to search Google for Nicole, but only 60,000 searched for Joel, putting them about halfway down our list for popularity
63. Jennifer Hudson & David Otunga
64. Katherine Heigl & Josh Kelley
65. Camilla Belle & Joe Jonas
66. Megan Fox & Brian Austin Green
67. Michelle Williams & Spike Jonze
68. Rachel Bilson & Hayden Christensen
69. Diane Kruger & Joshua Jackson
70. Maggie Gyllenhaal & Peter Sarsgaard
71. Alyson Hannigan & Alexis Denisof
72. Mel Gibson & Oksana Grigorieva
73. Avril Lavigne & Deryck Whibley
74. Scarlett Johansson & Ryan Reynolds
75. Ice-T & Coco
76. Blake Lively & Penn Badgley
77. Mandy Moore & Ryan Adams
78. Hilary Duff & Mike Comrie
79. Bruce Willis & Emma Heming
80. Rachel McAdams & Josh Lucas
81. Charlie Sheen & Brooke Mueller
82. Paris Hilton & Doug Reinhardt
Success.
It's no secret that Paris Hilton has her hotelier family to thank for her lavish lifestyle, but she's doing her part to keep the money flowing in. Now that The Simple Life is over, she earns most of her money from public appearances and endorsements. In 2005, the New York Times reported that she's paid between $150,000 and $200,000 to attend a party for 20 minutes, and she also received around $200,000 for her autobiography, Confessions of a Heiress. Between 2006 and 2007, she earned a whopping $22 million, all in promotions. Doug has also dabbled in different career paths, abandoning his baseball plans after a knee injury. He's appeared on The Hills and founded a cell phone company called Fugen Mobile.
Popularity.
The bottom line in this category: People love Paris, but no one really cares about Reinhardt. She was the subject of some 2.75 million Google searches last month, but he only scored 12,000. Still, Hilton's score pulls them both into the top half of our most popular celeb couples.
83. Kendra Wilkinson & Hank Baskett
84. Tea Leoni & David Duchovny
85. Jennifer Love Hewitt & Jamie Kennedy
86. Kate Moss & Jamie Hince
87. Nick Lachey & Vanessa Minnillo
88. Julianne Hough & Chuck Wicks
89. Courteney Cox Arquette & David Arquette
90. Claire Danes & Hugh Dancy
91. Bijou Phillips & Danny Masterson
92. Mena Suvari & Simone Sestito
93. L'Wren Scott & Mick Jagger
94. Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt
95. Christina Ricci & Owen Benjamin
96. Nicky Hilton & David Katzenberg
Success.
Paris and Nicky's grandfather Barron Hilton is worth about $2.3 billion, but he announced a couple of years ago his plans to donate almost all of that to charity. The Hilton girls still aren't hurting for cash, but with Nicky preferring to remain more low-profile than her sis, her business ventures haven't fared quite as well. She started out with some modeling, tried designing and even opened a couple of hotels under her name, Nicky O. A year later she was sued for breach of contract, and the whole ordeal is now seen as a failure. Katzenberg is an heir in his own right, as son of DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, who's net worth is around $1 billion. Now David's a producer for shows like Survivor.
Popularity.
Since people won't shut up about Paris, they tend to forget about Nicky. Last month, only around 50,000 people searched Google for this Hilton, a number small enough to place her in the bottom third of our popularity list. David fared even worse, with only 2,400 searches. Ouch.
97. Abbie Cornish & Ryan Phillippe
98. Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott
Success.
Tori was famously shorted after her father's death, inheriting only $800,000 of her father's $500 million estate. Her career now mostly revolves around being Tori Spelling, with reality shows like So NoTORIous and Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood. Her tell-all book Stori Telling debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list, and she's making some appearances on the new 90210 now. Dean was best known for his role on the television series Due South before he married Tori, and now he's on the reality show bandwagon with her.
Popularity.
The US isn't quite up to date on all the Canadian stars -- maybe that's why Dean only scored some 15,000 Google searches in April. Even though Tori inspired 450,000 searches, the numbers are still low enough to place them in the bottom half of our couples for popularity.
99. Ronnie Wood & Ekaterina Ivanova
100. Kevin Federline & Victoria Prince
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