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Some stars are famous, but these celebs became truly beloved. Join us as we count down the exact moments that made us fall head over heels for our favorite celebrities! From iconic movie scenes to viral internet memes, heartfelt speeches to unforgettable TV moments, these are the instances that turned stars into icons. Which moment won your heart?
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the time celebs cemented themselves as universally beloved
00:07icons.
00:08People, my dream was always to make as many people happy as I could in this life.
00:13Number 20. Big Mistake. Huge. Julia Roberts.
00:17Julia Roberts had already earned critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Steel Magnolias,
00:23but Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman turned her into a full-blown movie star.
00:27With those big curls, expressive face, and unmistakable laugh, Roberts made Vivian instantly warm, funny, and impossible not to root
00:36for.
00:40Then came the shopping scene.
00:42After snobby boutique clerks humiliate her for her appearance,
00:45Vivian returns with bags of expensive purchases and gleefully throws their prejudice back at them.
00:51No, thank you. Hi. Hello. Do you remember me?
00:54No, I'm sorry. I was in here yesterday. You wouldn't wait on me?
00:58The delivery is perfect, especially that gloriously emphasized huge.
01:02It became instant pop culture shorthand for getting the last laugh.
01:06And honestly, few movie moments have ever made revenge shopping look this satisfying.
01:11You work on commission, right?
01:13Yes. Big mistake. Big. Huge.
01:17I have to go shopping now.
01:19Number 19. The Venice Film Festival's six-minute standing ovation.
01:23Brendan Fraser.
01:24By the 2010s, Brendan Fraser's career had slowed considerably, but fans had certainly noticed his absence.
01:31Does it feel like a renaissance to you?
01:33Every time I hear that, I want to look at the ceiling.
01:37Oh, look. There's Rick O'Connell.
01:38Oh, look. There's George of the Jungle.
01:42Foreshortening.
01:44I'm just, you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you're calling.
01:47So when he returned to the spotlight with the whale, audiences were ready to welcome him back.
01:52At the film's Venice premiere, Fraser received a six-minute standing ovation,
01:57and the actor was visibly emotional while taking in the love from the room.
02:01And you got, what, a six-minute standing ovation or something there?
02:04I think it depends on who's holding the stopwatch to tell you the truth.
02:07Because there's some Italians going, it's an eight-minute standing ovation!
02:11It's a ten-minute standing ovation!
02:14It became one of those moments where the audience seemed to be celebrating the person as much as the performance.
02:19Fans had rallied around a beloved 90s star who had stepped away amid industry mistreatment and personal hardships.
02:26Watching that reception unfold, it was hard not to feel it.
02:30Welcome back, Brendan.
02:31It was quite overwhelming for me.
02:32Right, sure.
02:33I hadn't seen the film with an audience before.
02:36Okay.
02:37And this was a film festival audience, and they were very Venetian and quite vocal.
02:43Uh-huh.
02:43And so happy to be there.
02:45Number 18.
02:46Under his umbrella, Ella, Ella, Ella.
02:49Tom Holland.
02:50For many fans, Spider-Man catapulted Tom Holland to stardom.
02:54For others, his inability to keep MCU secrets made him instantly lovable.
02:59But the moment the world seemed to decide Holland was a national treasure came during the lip-sync battle opposite
03:04Zendaya.
03:10Holland recreated Rihanna's umbrella video in full costume, wig, choreography, and all, bringing the house down.
03:18It was also the moment many viewers realized just how good a dancer Spider-Man is.
03:28The performance was cool, hilarious, and wildly unexpected.
03:32It showed that Holland didn't take himself too seriously, and that when it came to entertaining a crowd, he really
03:38knows how to swing into action.
03:48Number 17.
03:49The 2015 Oscars red carpet, Zendaya.
03:53Zendaya had already won over audiences through Disney Channel, but the 2015 Academy Awards gave the world a much bigger
04:00reason to take notice.
04:01We can make the change, it's our generation.
04:06At just 18, she walked the red carpet in a white Vivian Westwood gown, with her hair styled in striking,
04:13cascading dreadlocks.
04:14Then, Julianna Rancic made a racially charged joke about her appearance on Fashion Police.
04:20Zendaya responded with a statement that was poised, intelligent, and completely unafraid to call out the stereotype.
04:26My wearing my hair in locks on Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind
04:31people of color that our hair is good enough.
04:34Many fans immediately backed her, while Mattel later immortalized the look with a Barbie.
04:39In that moment, Zendaya showed a maturity and confidence that propelled her into a new era.
04:44Sometimes you gotta stand up for what you believe is right.
04:46I always say that, and you can't be afraid of that, you know, so I wrote everything I had to
04:51say in that, you know, and that's just what it was.
04:54And I just hope that it made a positive impact at the end of the day.
04:59White was a household name long before the Golden Girls, having built a career stretching back to the 40s and
05:0650s.
05:07But Rose Nyland gave audiences another reason to adore her.
05:10White took Rose's sweet, innocent personality and paired it with impeccable comic timing,
05:15delivering wholesome misunderstandings alongside totally unhinged punchlines.
05:20But they shot him into a tree!
05:25After that, no other herring would do it.
05:27The show also gave her room to show a more vulnerable side when the story called for it.
05:32Sit around the house for the next 72 hours, scared to death he's gonna tell me I have something that's
05:38gonna kill me.
05:39How am I gonna do that, Blanche?
05:41How am I gonna get through the next three days?
05:43For seven seasons, White helped anchor the series and won over viewers across generations.
05:49Her ability to make innocence hilarious, then turn around and break our hearts, made Rose unforgettable.
05:56Generations of fans really can thank her for being a friend.
06:04If your heart can take seeing even more celebs instantly become your favorite person, we've got you covered.
06:10Scan the QR code on screen to join us on the 24-7 Ms. Mojo livestream for non-stop pop
06:15culture fun.
06:16Oh, really? Gee, it sounds like fun.
06:20Oh, I'm glad you think so.
06:21Number 15. The Internet's Daddy, Pedro Pascal.
06:24Pedro Pascal's Internet Daddy status took off in January 2023,
06:29when TikTok edits of his Kingsman character, Agent Whiskey, went viral,
06:33and collided with his playful embrace of the nickname during the Last of Us tour.
06:37What are you? Are you the Daddy of the Internet? What's Internet Daddy?
06:41Me.
06:41The Mandalorian and Game of Thrones had already made him a familiar face, but this was different.
06:47The meme followed him everywhere.
06:49And when he hosted Saturday Night Live, Pascal happily leaned into the whole thing.
06:54You have made thousands of fan cams of me, and I'm not sure what they mean, but I know it
07:00has to stop.
07:01But we make them because you're our beloved and you have us in a childhood.
07:06Rather than fighting the Internet's affectionate obsession, he played along and made it more fun.
07:11He summed up the title in the most Pedro Pascal way possible, calling it a state of mind.
07:17Fans ate it up. No crumbs left.
07:19Daddy is a state of mind, you know what I'm saying? I'm your daddy.
07:24Number 14. The Boy Who Outsmarted the Paparazzi, Daniel Radcliffe.
07:28Being the boy who lived was only the beginning for Radcliffe,
07:32who has since built a wonderfully diverse repertoire of roles.
07:35All grown up, Radcliffe conjured himself back into our hearts with a hilarious confession
07:40about having a bit of fun with paparazzi who lurked outside the theater while he was starring in Equus.
07:45I was doing a play in London, and every night there was paparazzi outside,
07:50and I suddenly realized after I had just been lazy and not changed my clothes for a few days,
07:55that they were not there.
07:56The plan was beautifully simple.
07:58If he always wore the same thing, the paps couldn't make money off of him.
08:02Oh, it's probably because I'm wearing the same thing, so it all looks like photos from the same day.
08:07So then I was just like, I'll just continue wearing this, and they never came back.
08:11Radcliffe later expressed immense joy over just how frustrated it made the photographers,
08:16effectively turning their own persistence against them by rendering their work completely obsolete.
08:20You might say he knew how to rein in the paparazzi.
08:24It's not foolproof. They're, you know, they're still, you know, it didn't solve everything.
08:28But it was any, I feel like, you know, the small victories of Ernst Paparazzi
08:32is always the ones you have to, like, celebrate.
08:34Number 13, VMA's fiasco, Taylor Swift.
08:38Back in 2009, Taylor Swift took the stage to accept an award at the MTV Video Music Awards.
08:44She never expected Kanye West to grab the microphone.
08:48I'm really happy for you. I'm gonna let you finish.
08:50But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.
08:53Resulting in serious backlash for the rapper, Swift took the moment in stride.
08:57Even President Obama weighed in on the topic.
09:00But initially, the media narrative basically sided with the Love Story vocalist.
09:04She took all of that energy and poured it back into her music.
09:15Already on top of the world, the artist entered the next decade with more success and decided to shake it
09:21off.
09:21Fans rallied around the singer and continued to make her one of the most beloved musicians of the century.
09:26Best believe I'm still bejeweled when I walk in the room.
09:30I can still make the whole place shimmer.
09:33Number 12, T'Challa plays Black Jeopardy!
09:36Chadwick Boseman.
09:37Boseman became a global star as T'Challa,
09:40bringing dignity, warmth, and unmistakable presence to the role of Black Panther.
09:45Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows.
09:48We cannot.
09:50We must not.
09:52We will work to be an example of how we as brothers and sisters on this earth should treat each
09:59other.
09:59But one of the moments that made audiences fall even harder for him happened far away from Wakanda.
10:04While hosting SNL, Boseman appeared as T'Challa on Black Jeopardy!
10:08Keeping the character's complete earnestness while navigating unfamiliar cultural territory.
10:13The contrast was comedy gold.
10:16What is...
10:17Not only do I tell this man what I know, but I also assist him in tracking down the offender.
10:23After all, our ministers of law enforcement are only here to protect us.
10:28Is this correct?
10:29T'Challa confidently tried to find common ground with the contestants,
10:32even as the answers kept reminding him that Wakandans and Black Americans seem to have significantly different experiences.
10:39Still, turns out, nothing bridges the cultural divide faster than a bowl of unseasoned potato salad nobody asked for.
10:46So, something tells me that I should say.
10:49Say it!
10:50Oh, hell nah, Karen.
10:52Keep your brand-ass potato salad to yourself.
10:55Number 11. Paying off debts.
10:58John Oliver.
10:58In 2016, the Last Week Tonight host exposed the predatory debt-buying industry
11:03by spending just $50 to legally purchase nearly $15 million in distressed medical debt through a shell company called Karp.
11:11And with little more to go on than that website,
11:14we were soon offered a portfolio of nearly $15 million of out-of-statute medical debt from Texas
11:21at a cost of less than half a cent on the dollar.
11:23Instead of hiring collectors, Oliver announced that Karp would forgive all of it, unconditionally.
11:29With one push of a button, nearly $15 million in debt disappeared,
11:34with no strings attached for the roughly 9,000 people affected.
11:37In the meantime, it seems the least we can do with this debt that I cannot f***ing believe we are
11:43allowed to own
11:44is to give it away.
11:46So are you ready to do this?
11:47The moment endeared Oliver to millions because it combined biting satire with tangible, life-changing philanthropy.
11:54To top it off, it turned out that his actions had inadvertently beaten a world record
11:58previously held by Oprah Winfrey and her famous car giveaway.
12:02That giveaway was worth nearly $8 million.
12:05But we bought nearly twice that in medical debt.
12:09So instead of having the file sent to Karp,
12:11we had the seller send it directly to a non-profit organization
12:14which specializes in forgiving medical debt with no tax consequences for the debtor.
12:19Number 10.
12:20I am Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr.
12:23After overcoming his own personal problems and serving time,
12:26Robert Downey Jr. emerged a new man in the 2000s.
12:30His screen work gradually increased until he hit the role of a lifetime.
12:33You've been called the Da Vinci of our time.
12:36What do you say to that?
12:37Absolutely ridiculous. I don't paint.
12:38And what do you say to your other nickname, the Merchant of Death?
12:41That's not bad.
12:42Bringing his own sarcastic wit to the project,
12:45the actor shined as Tony Stark in the massive blockbuster Iron Man.
12:49The star's final line in the movie capped off an incredible comeback for Downey Jr.
12:54Truth is...
13:01I am Iron Man.
13:03From that point on, he was forever known as Stark.
13:07With all of his self-assured energy and coolness,
13:10he then spent roughly a decade in the part,
13:12building on his success from 2008,
13:15and eventually revisited the line in extremely dramatic fashion.
13:19Untold, millions of Marvel fans have embraced him as an iconic figure.
13:23Everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to.
13:31I love you 3,000.
13:34Number 9. Oscar Speech, Olivia Colman.
13:37Fans who love British television already knew this actress's work before her turn in the favorite.
13:42Nominated for Best Actress,
13:44Olivia Colman delivered a fantastic performance as Queen Anne.
13:47How was my speech?
13:49You were brilliant.
13:50Did I lisp?
13:51You didn't lisp.
13:52I know that was what was so troubling about it, though, the thought that I suddenly did.
13:54Her win surprised some people, but delighted everyone following her speech.
13:59She was unapologetically herself throughout the humorous appearance.
14:02But it must have been a bonkers night.
14:04I actually can't remember it.
14:05I mean, we were saying backstage, we met, can't remember it.
14:07She was in a daze after she won.
14:09Both acknowledging her family and fellow nominees,
14:12she offered up lots of love during this monologue.
14:14There are also many moments for quick jokes and asides that make this wonderfully chaotic.
14:19As a result, more people know her,
14:21and she's developed a larger fan base for her critically acclaimed career.
14:25It is fun to be Queen sometimes.
14:27One can only imagine.
14:29Number 8. Ellen Interview, Dakota Johnson.
14:31Nobody could have expected that a typical interview between these two
14:35would have created so much buzz.
14:37Actress Dakota Johnson joined Ellen DeGeneres on the latter's show.
14:41The things derailed after the topic of birthday parties came up.
14:44You turned 30.
14:45I did.
14:46And how was the party? I wasn't invited.
14:48Johnson revealed that DeGeneres was invited to her party
14:51despite a denial from the TV personality.
14:54The Fifty Shade star doesn't play around as she lays it all out for the audience.
14:59This time you invited me?
15:00Yeah.
15:00Are you sure?
15:01Yeah.
15:01How do you know? I don't think so.
15:03Ask everybody.
15:07Ask Jonathan, your producer.
15:09Who said he were?
15:10Many people came to love the performer for her brutal honesty,
15:13not allowing her counterpart to get away with sweeping the revelation under the rug.
15:18No matter how you look at it,
15:19Johnson earned some internet credibility for her actions.
15:22Why? I didn't even know you liked me.
15:25Of course I like you. You knew I liked you.
15:29Number 7. Defending Britney Spears.
15:31Craig Ferguson.
15:32During a difficult time in the life of Britney Spears,
15:35the paparazzi and some in the media took advantage of the singer's personal troubles.
15:40Late night host Craig Ferguson decided to tackle the subject with a much different spin.
15:44It should be about us attacking the powerful people, attacking the politicians and the Trumps and the blowhards.
15:52Go after them.
15:54We shouldn't be attacking the vulnerable people.
15:56Using his own journey to sobriety as a foundation,
15:59the presenter chooses to offer up a personalized look at Spears' problem.
16:03He even sneaks in some jokes while talking about a serious topic.
16:06I'm trying to be honest with you.
16:08I'm not an expert on alcoholism or anything else, but I am an expert on my own story.
16:13I was there when it happened.
16:14Well, I was present.
16:18The tape recorder wasn't running until February the 18th, 1992.
16:23With the courage to deliver a poignant monologue,
16:26Ferguson received positive feedback for this compassionate speech.
16:30His late, late show wasn't the most watched show on television,
16:33but it did garner a cult following due to his honesty and unique humor.
16:37For me, only for me, and I only speak for myself, so I've got to stress this to you,
16:41I have found that the only way I could deal with it is find other people
16:45who had similar experiences and talk to them.
16:49Number 6. Sad Keanu Meme. Keanu Reeves.
16:53Starring in many different action movies and comedies,
16:56Keanu Reeves has been a mainstay in Hollywood for decades.
16:59His image became so famous that it even entered into internet folklore with a viral photograph.
17:05We all are familiar. We're all familiar with sad.
17:08I'm just eating a sandwich, man.
17:10Sad Keanu. The sad Keanu meme right there.
17:11Seeing Reeves sitting alone, fans turned a picture into the sad Keanu meme in 2010.
17:16It took on a whole other meaning as more stories came out about the actor's acts of kindness and overall
17:22generosity.
17:23He's so kind and humble and collaborative and welcoming.
17:27I mean, everything, all the good things you hear about Keanu, they're true!
17:30They're actually true!
17:31His lovable and poignant picture might not literally show him as being unhappy,
17:35but it has helped endear him to new generations of audiences.
17:38His legend has only grown over the years,
17:41as co-stars and many fans continue to support the notion that he's more saintly than ordinary celebrities.
17:47Now I know what it feels like to be completely starstruck.
17:51The only stars that matter are the ones you look at when you dream.
17:59Number 5. 1994. Jim Carrey.
18:03Many performers would be jealous of the success of just one Jim Carrey release,
18:07but a trio of his finest comedies came out all in one year.
18:11By the time 1994 was over,
18:13the comedian was arguably the premier comedy star in Hollywood.
18:17Boom! Somebody stop me!
18:21Ace Ventura and The Mask revealed his wild side,
18:24full of wild physicality and scene-stealing vocal deliveries.
18:27Dumb and Dumber showcased his ability to share the screen with other talents like Jeff Daniels,
18:32along with creating some memorable comic set pieces.
18:35Who needs a radio? Ready, Harry?
18:42Mockingbird!
18:51Few people have had such a life-changing year,
18:54sharing so much of their innate talents in a treasure trove of classics.
18:58Still regarded as one of his peak cultural moments,
19:01this year completely changed Carrey's life for the better.
19:05You don't have to tell me.
19:06I was there!
19:08Number 4. Winning his second Oscar, Tom Hanks.
19:12I could use a little talent around me.
19:14I was pretty sure it was gonna be you, Buffy.
19:19Don't call me that.
19:20From his time on TV to his hit comedies,
19:23Tom Hanks was an incredibly likable star by the end of the 80s.
19:26And then his venture into more dramatic acting garnered him an Oscar for Philadelphia,
19:31followed by another Best Actor win for Forrest Gump.
19:33The latter film arguably solidified his presence as the ultimate American everyman.
19:38Do you have a dream for this?
19:41About who you're gonna be?
19:45Who I'm gonna be?
19:46Yeah.
19:47Aren't I going to be me?
19:48Starring in these beloved movies helped to enshrine Hanks' place on Hollywood's A-list,
19:52and he accumulated enough goodwill to spend the next several decades doing all kinds of different projects.
19:58Even with all of his performances since then,
20:01the star still stands as one of the country's favorite actors because of this success in the early 90s.
20:06If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it.
20:09The hard is what makes it great.
20:11Number 3.
20:12Charitable Causes.
20:13Paul Newman.
20:14Boy, it's a real great feeling.
20:17When you're right, then you know you're right.
20:19Both a massively popular star and an acclaimed actor,
20:23Paul Newman had decades of stellar work on the silver screen.
20:26He eventually decided to add charity to his already busy schedule.
20:30This included launching the Newman's Own Brand,
20:32which began in the 1980s by selling salad dressing,
20:35with profits going to charities like the Serious Fun Children's Network.
20:39In a way, we're very effective recyclers.
20:42We take the money and we give it back.
20:43Newman's philanthropy only added to his legend.
20:46Before his death, the performer earned an Academy Award for Best Actor
20:50and the Gene Herschel's Humanitarian Award for his steadfast work to help those in need.
20:55Many people now remember him as much for his philanthropy as his iconic roles.
20:59What could be better than to hold your hand out to people who are less fortunate than you are?
21:07That's simply the way I look at it.
21:09Number 2.
21:10Late Night Mess.
21:11Conan O'Brien.
21:12Ladies and gentlemen, we have exactly one hour to steal every single item in this studio.
21:18The host of NBC's Late Night,
21:19Conan O'Brien eventually took over the network's flagship The Tonight Show in 2009.
21:24The network originally offered former Tonight Show host Jay Leno a lead-in show
21:28in front of O'Brien's new hosting gig,
21:31but soon tried to move Leno's show to the main slot at 11.35 p.m.
21:35and bump O'Brien's show a half hour later.
21:38When it started to get toxic and I started to feel that I'm not sure these people even really want
21:47me here,
21:47let's just, let's just, I can't do it.
21:52Feeling that O'Brien was being unfairly treated by NBC,
21:55audiences rallied around the lovable host.
21:57The presenter ultimately felt that the executives were making a mistake and decided to go his own way.
22:03Developing even more of a cult following,
22:05the funny man became a symbol of integrity and level-headedness in the face of corporate shenanigans.
22:10Just have one last request, and this is for HBO.
22:14HBO, when you make the movie about this whole NBC late-night fiasco,
22:19I would like to be played by Academy Award-winning actress Tilda Swinton.
22:24If that's...
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22:52Number 1.
22:53Being Real.
22:54Dolly Parton.
22:55Dolly has given us countless reasons to love her,
22:58from music to philanthropy.
22:59In the beginning, my hope was simply to inspire the children in my home county.
23:03But here we are today with a worldwide program
23:06that gives a book a month to over a million children.
23:09But one of her most enduring qualities
23:10is how completely comfortable she was being herself.
23:14During an interview with Barbara Walters,
23:16Parton was asked about her appearance in a particularly tactless way.
23:19Her response was endearing, gracious,
23:22and completely unashamed of the hyper-feminine image she had created for herself.
23:26I'm very real where it counts, and that's inside,
23:29and as far as my outlook on life and the way I care about people
23:33and the way I care about myself and the things that I care about.
23:36In one exchange, she made it clear that looking glamorous
23:39had never meant she lacked intelligence or substance.
23:43I can afford to piddle around and do-diddle around
23:46with makeups and clothes and stuff because I am secure with myself.
23:51That ability to smile, stay kind,
23:53and still stand firmly in her own identity
23:56proved she truly deserved to wear the icon crown.
23:58Oh, Dolly, we will always love you.
24:08What's the exact moment your most beloved celeb took hold of your heart?
24:12Let us know in the comments.