The 50 Hottest Women of 2012, in GIFs
A look back at the year's scorching starlets.
Image via Complex Original
If there was one word we could use to sum up this year's women in entertainment, it would be: hot. Not to be lazy or trite, we don't mean it in the girl-looks-good-in-a-bikini sense; rather that the starlets of the past 12 months churned out some of the most memorable moments in pop culture history, moments that we're guaranteed to be nostalgic for a decade from now. From the Canadian singer who produced that enduringly infectious, meme-inspiring pop song to the all-American soccer star whose ball-handling skills (pause) led her team to Olympic gold, these beauties each gave us something spectacular to remember 2012 by.
Need we say more? No. That's why we're letting the images of their accomplishments speak for themselves. Here are the 50 hottest women of 2012, in GIFs.
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50. Carly Rae Jepsen
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Sang the mega-hit song, "Call Me Maybe"
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49. Paulina Gretzky
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Heated up the gossip blogs with her sexy Twitpics
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48. Melissa Gorga
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Entertained us as the sexiest cast member of The Real Housewives of New Jersey
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47. Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Earned an Independent Spirit Award nod for her turn as alcoholic wife in the critically-acclaimed indie film, Smashed
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46. Mindy Kaling
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Produced and starred in her own sitcom, The Mindy Project
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45. Sky Ferreira
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Released the hit song "Everything is Embarrassing"
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44. Sarah Hyland
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred as the boy-crazy Haley Dunphy in the award-winning sitcom, Modern Family
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43. Lena Dunham
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Produced and starred in the most talked-about show of the year, Girls
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42. Azealia Banks
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Released the 1991 EP and Fantasea mixtape
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41. Lauren Cohan
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Became part of the main cast of the AMC hit, The Walking Dead, as the walker-slaying Maggie Greene
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40. Blake Lively
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Ended her iconic run as Serena Van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl
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39. Iggy Azalea
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Released her mixtapes Glory and TrapGold
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38. Jessica Chastain
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Took top-billing in the critically-acclaimed, potential Best Picture winner, Zero Dark Thirty
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37. Rita Ora
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Released her debut album, Ora
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36. Emilia Clarke
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred as the dragon-loving Daenarys Targaryen in the HBO drama, Game of Thrones
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35. Olga Kurylenko
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred as the intriguing hotelier Vera Evans in the Starz original series, Magic City
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34. Arianny Celeste
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Continued her reign as the hottest MMA ring girl
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33. Alicia Keys
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Released her fifth studio album, Girl on Fire
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32. Selena Gomez
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred in her most provocative film to date, Spring Breakers
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31. Kristen Stewart
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Ended her run as Bella Swan in the mega movie franchise, The Twilight Saga
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30. Charlize Theron
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Made a comeback by starring in the movies Prometheus and Snow White and the Huntsman
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29. Olivia Munn
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred as the feisty and intelligent reporter Sloan Sabbith in Aaron Sorkin's anticipated HBO drama, The Newsroom
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28. Yvonne Strahovski
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Joined the cast of Dexter as the titular protagonist's new love-interest Hannah McKay
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27. Hayden Panettiere
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred as fictional pop diva Juliette Barnes in our guilty pleasure of the year, Nashville
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26. Emma Stone
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred as Peter Parker's sweet girlfriend Gwen Stacy in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man
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25. Kim Kardashian
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Continued her reign as the queen of reality TV with Keeping Up With the Kardashians
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24. Morena Baccarin
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred as Nick Brody's scorned wife Jessica in the Emmy-winning hit Homeland
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23. Scarlett Johansson
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Kicked ass as Black Widow in the blockbuster movie, The Avengers
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22. Nicki Minaj
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Released her second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
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21. Karlie Kloss
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Hosted the reboot of MTV's House of Style
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20. Taylor Swift
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Released her fourth album, Red, at No. 1
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19. Kerry Washington
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred as Broomhilda Von Shaft in Quentin Tarantino's highly anticipated movie, Django Unchained
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18. Megan Fox
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Earned a supporting role as the uber-sexy Desi in Judd Apatow's This Is 40
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17. Lana Del Rey
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Released her multi-platinum debut album, Born To Die
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16. Beyoncé
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Performed at the United Nations for World Humanitarian Day
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15. Mila Kunis
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Nabbed the lead female role, Lori Collins, in one of the top-grossing comedies of all time, Ted
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14. Alison Brie
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Took on the hilarious supporting role of Susie Barnes in the underrated comedy, The Five Year Engagement
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13. Candice Swanepoel
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Became Victoria's Secret's most popular Angel
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12. Allison Williams
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Debuted as one of the sexiest women on TV with her role as Marnie Michaels in the HBO series, Girls
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11. Jessica Paré
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred as Don's new wife Megan Draper in AMC's award-winning drama, Mad Men
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10. Aubrey Plaza
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Broke out of the TV mold with the lead role in the movie, Safety Not Guaranteed
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9. Anne Hathaway
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Gained critical acclaim for roles in two of the biggest movies of the year, The Dark Knight and Les Miserables
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8. Katy Perry
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Topped the charts with her songs "Part of Me" and "Wide Awake"
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7. Sofia Vergara
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred as everyone's favorite MILF, Gloria Pritchett, in ABC's hit sitcom, Modern Family
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6. Rashida Jones
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Wrote and starred in the indie hit Celeste & Jesse Forever
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5. Jennifer Lawrence
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Starred as the heroine, Katniss Everdeen, in the blockbuster, The Hunger Games
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4. Joan Smalls
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Was named by Models.com as the No. 1 model in the world
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3. Alex Morgan
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Won gold with the U.S. Women's Soccer Team at the 2012 London Olympics
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2. Rihanna
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Released the No. 1 album, Unapologetic
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1. Kate Upton
Most Notable Accomplishment of 2012: Featured as the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl
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