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Forbes magazine says

Cruise named 'most powerful celebrity'

Tom Cruise
Long considered one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood, Tom Cruise topped Forbes' Celebrity 100 list for the first time this year  

(CNN) -- His pending divorce notwithstanding, Tom Cruise had a very good year, according to Forbes magazine.

The business biweekly named Cruise the "most powerful celebrity on the planet" with the Thursday release of its third annual Celebrity 100 list, which ranks celebrities, media figures and sports stars. The list appears in Forbes' March 19 issue.

Cruise topped the list, jumping from the No. 20 spot last year. Golfer Tiger Woods came in second, and the Beatles -- broken up for more than 30 years now -- ranked third.

  ALSO
 
  THE TOP TEN:

1 Tom Cruise
2 Tiger Woods
3 Beatles
4 Britney Spears
5 Bruce Willis
6 Michael Jordan
7 Backstreet Boys
8 'N Sync
9 Oprah Winfrey
10 Mel Gibson

 

Rounding out the top 10 are pop star Britney Spears, movie star Bruce Willis, basketball legend Michael Jordan, boy bands the Backstreet Boys followed by 'N Sync, talk show maven Oprah Winfrey and movie star Mel Gibson.

Forbes most powerful celebrity on last year's list, Julia Roberts, slipped to No. 16 this year, despite starring in "Erin Brockovich," a performance that earned her a third Oscar nomination and is also up for a best picture Academy Award.

The magazine says it combines several "metrics of fame," including earnings for the past year, media presence and Web hits. Cruise was ranked 13th in earnings, raking in $43.2 million. But the media wave created by the release of his summer blockbuster, "Mission: Impossible II," pushed him to the top.

Cruise appeared on the covers of 11 major magazines and on 136 television/radio programs.

This is the first time Cruise has topped the list, but he has long been considered one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood with movie hits like "Risky Business" (1983), "Top Gun" (1986), "Rain Man" (1988), "A Few Good Men" (1992), "Jerry Maguire" (1996) and the "Mission: Impossible" series.

Cruise's personal life -- not his work -- has been in the news recently, following the February 5 announcement that he and actress Nicole Kidman are divorcing after 10 years of marriage. Tabloids have taken to speculating how the couple will divvy up their fortune and the custody of their two adopted children.

His next film, "Vanilla Sky," is slated for an October release.

The list, while taken with a grain of salt, contains some eyebrow-raising entries.

Richard Hatch, the winner of the first edition of the CBS smash-hit reality game show "Survivor," is ranked 77. Darva Conger, the bride-turned-divorcee celebrity of Fox's "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire," comes in at 86 on the list. "The Whassup Guys" of Budweiser fame are ranked 95.

Other Celebrity 100 factoids:

  • Mike Tyson, the troubled former heavyweight champ, is ranked 11, above "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, who's at 12.

  • Jennifer Lopez, who recently broke up with rap mogul-accused felon Sean "Puffy" Combs, debuts on the list as an actress at 34. Her work as a pop singer probably didn't hurt her cause.

  • A total of 27 sports personalities are ranked on the list. Tennis star/sex symbol Anna Kournikova is ranked 54, despite the fact that she's never won a tournament. Wimbledon and U.S. Open champ Venus Williams comes in three spots behind Kournikova.

    Forbes also took time to create a list of the top-earning dead celebrities.

    Elvis Presley is the king of this list at No. 1. "Peanuts" creator Charles Schultz, slain Beatle John Lennon, Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, rock icon Jimi Hendrix, reggae legend Bob Marley, artist Andy Warhol, "Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien, entertainer Frank Sinatra and Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia round out the rich-but-dead top 10.



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