Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating People: A Look Back

10 of Barbara Walters' Newsiest 'Most Fascinating People' Picks

Walters began the annual televised broadcast in 1993, featuring 10 prominent figures in sports, politics and popular culture. Here are the fascinating people that fascinated us the most

Maria Yagoda

Updated on December 30, 2022 10:07PM EST

01 of 10

1993: Shaquille O'Neal

Named Most Fascinating: Hillary Clinton
Why We Love That Shaq Made the List: It was the year the pro basketball player released his first studio album, Shaq Diesel, featuring such bangers as "(I Know I Got) Skillz" and "Shoot Pass Slam."

02 of 10

1995: Jim Carrey

Named Most Fascinating: Colin Powell
Why We Love That Carrey Made the List: Two words: Ace Ventura. Oh, and two more: Batman Forever.

03 of 10

1996: Martha Stewart

Named Most Fascinating: Bill Clinton
Why We Love That Stewart Made the List: The lifestyle goddess was in her prime (as she still is) in '96: her magazine Martha Stewart Living did better than ever, and she continued to dominate television with her recipes and housekeeping tips.

04 of 10

1997: Ellen DeGeneres

Named Most Fascinating: Prince William
Why We Love That DeGeneres Made the List: This was the year the actress and talk show host came out: "I decided this was not going to be something that I was going to live the rest of my life being ashamed of," she said.

05 of 10

1999: Ricky Martin

Named Most Fascinating: Lance Armstrong
Why We Love That Martin Made the List: We don't know where we would be today without the anthem of our youth, "Livin' la Vida Loca."

06 of 10

2003: The Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Cast

2003: THE QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY HOSTS — Craig Blankenhorn/Bravo

Named Most Fascinating: Hillary Clinton
Why We Love They Made the List: Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley and Jai Rodriguez paved the way for a new generation of reality television (including a reboot!) and gay stereotypes.

07 of 10

2004: Paris Hilton

Named Most Fascinating: Karl Rove
Why We Love That Hilton Made the List: The heiress/socialite/small dog owner achieved mega fame with The Simple Life.

08 of 10

2007: David & Victoria Beckham

Named Most Fascinating: J.K. Rowling
Why We Love They Made the List: Further proof that the Sexiest Man Alive and his ever-sexy wife have always been 2 hot 2 handle.

09 of 10

2010: Betty White

Named Most Fascinating: David Petraeus
Why We Love That White Made the List: The queen of comedy splashed back on the scene that year with Hot in Cleveland, for which she received an Emmy nod (snatched away by Modern Family, per usual).

10 of 10

2013: Kanye West

Named Most Fascinating: Hillary Clinton (again!!!)
Why We Love That West Made the List: The Kanye of that era explained Kanye best: "I'm a creative genius and there's no other way to word it."