The 25 Hottest Women of 2012 (So Far)

When you're hot, you're hot. There aren't many other ways to put it. Whether it's surface-level looks or overall body of work, the hottest women of 2012 have impressed us thoroughly. This year we've been treated to everything a guy could every ask for: eye-popping GIFs, viral videos, titillating photo spreads, box office smashes, and No. 1 hits. And we're only halfway through the year.

Before we get ahead of ourselves and start looking forward to things that have yet to arrive, we'd like to point out the women who've made this year amazing already. From pop stars and actresses to rising icons, competition for the top spot is stiff, but we've narrowed it down to The 25 Hottest Women of 2012 (So Far). Enjoy.

In an industry where rappers come and go more frequently fashion trends in your local hipster neighborhood, Iggy Azalea has planted her feet—six-inch heels and all—into the fickle landscape and made quite a name for herself. Whether it's landing a spot on XXL's annual freshmen list or stripping down for a "Hot Complex" photo shoot, the 22-year-old Grand Hustle signee possess a viscous combination of skills and sex appeal.

Sky Ferreira is a mixed bag of talents. Socialite, model, musician—she's got it all going for her. By 20 years old, while other kids her age were busy worrying about their college research papers projects, she had already run the gambit of the L.A. party scene. Ferreira's modeling career has been pretty successful, too, as she nabbed the cover of of V magazine's Fall Preview 2012 issue alongside Grimes and Charli XCX.

And we haven't even mentioned her budding music career. Having recently teamed up with Terry Richardson to deliver the visuals for her lead single "Red Lips," she is poised to release her debut album, I'm Not Alright, sometime in the fall.

Aubrey Plaza has built a reputation on being this generation’s Jeneane Garofalo, i.e. hard to crack yet hilariously sardonic, especially thanks to her inscrutable character April Ludgate on the underrated NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. But this year, we witnessed a miracle: We actually got to see Plaza crack a smile in the Sundance hit Safety Not Guaranteed, in which the comedienne had her first leading role. We’ll take that as a sign that the rest of 2012 is going to be awesome for us.

If you missed our introduction to Mary Elizabeth Winstead in our June/July issue, you’d better read up now. By the end of the year, she’ll be the topic of conversation by more than just genre fans who caught her in the slept-on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Earlier this year, Winstead wowed Sundance Film Festival audiences with her harrowing portrayal of a young alcoholic struggling with her addiction with her equally inebriated husband, played by Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul. The role, Winstead’s heaviest one to date, is already generating some award buzz for the actress whose got two more talked about films coming this year, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III opposite Bill Murray and A.C.O.D. with Amy Poehler and Adam Scott.

As the past few months have shown us, when Alison Brie isn’t filming scenes with her Community co-star Donald Glover, she’s touring with her cover band, The Girls, and covering his alter-ego Childish Gambino's song “These Girls.”

But Brie didn’t just stick to the small screen and mini concert stages. She perfected her English accent and played Emily Blunt’s sister in The Five Year Engagement.

In between being incredibly charismatic and adorable during interviews, Lawrence also became a huge franchise queen this year. As Katniss Everdeen, the main protagonist of The Hunger Games, Lawrence earned the title of being the highest grossing action heroine of all time.

Off screen, she’s America’s new sweetheart who famously asked Woody Harrelson if he had a sex swing in his trailer. (For the record, it was a yoga swing.)

Typically, shows about best friends always have four types: the brainy one, the innocent one, the free spirit and the hot one. In HBO’s hit series Girls, Allison Williams is evidently the fourth. Also known for being NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams’ daughter, Williams repeatedly stuns us with her scenes—from getting so turned on by The Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone that she had to masturbate to making out with co-star Jemima Kirke.

When you're talking about the upper echelon of supermodels, Bar Rafaeli is one of a handful that must be in the conversation. Having already locked up the No. 1 spot on Maxim's "Hot 100" list, Rafaeli has conquered in the first half of 2012 what most can only dream of accomplishing. She has the rest of the year to pad the stats and add to her already-prolific modeling portfolio.

Before this year, Jessica Paré was just another actress playing another one of Don Draper’s jump-offs in Mad Men. After the first episode of the highly rated fifth season premiere, however, Paré became the most talked about (and lusted after) character on television with her rendition of “Zou Bisou Bisou” and her newly minted title as Mrs. Megan Draper. Soon, the relatively unknown Canadian actress would not only grace the inside pages of GQ, she’d land her own New York magazine cover.

From her own 3D documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me to her own Sims 3 expansion pack, The Sims 3 Showtime: Katy Perry Collector's Edition, fans of hers have been readily capitalizing on anything that can make them feel closer to the mega popstar.

And, if the demand for her endless merchandise isn’t enough proof of her power, one needs only to check out her Billboard stats. Perry’s re-released album Teenage Dream became the first to have six number-one hits off the same album, surpassing the previous record holder, Michael Jackson’s Bad.

Everyone thinks Emma Stone is awesome. That’s not up for the debate. Hell, MTV even made up an award (The Trailblazer Award) just to showcase how great she is. On top of that, they recruited everyone from Oscar winner Octavia Spencer to comedic icon Steve Carell to sing her praises in a tribute video aired during the 2012 MTV Movie Awards.

But her most recent display of greatness? Elevating The Amazing Spider-Man from being an unnecessary comic book movie just by batting an eyelash at Andrew Garfield.

When you are the daughter of Wayne Gretzky, there is definitely an unspoken expectation to uphold a certain public image, kind of like how children of high-ranking political figures must maintain a level of discretion and responsibility. Yeah, Paulina Gretzky didn't get that memo, and as a result, has built a Twitpic archive of legendary proportions—epic enough that The Great One himself ordered her to delete all the digital evidence. Don't worry, though. Not only has every single picture been preserved, but she still posts heat via Instagram occasionally.

Emilia Clarke was plucked straight from drama school in London and placed in HBO’s hit medieval fantasy series, Game of Thrones. As Daenerys Targaryen, Clarke transformed from a shy princess used as collateral by her own brother to a badass leader of the Dothraki who isn’t afraid of eating horse hearts, taming dragons, and walking through fire.

Once Rita Ora made her stateside debut with “How We Do,” the Rihanna comparisons started pouring in. Which was understandable, considering she came up under Jay-Z’s wing, has the same edgy style and lends her powerful voice to infectious pop tracks. However, the (unnaturally) blonde bombshell, whose debut album O.R.A. hits shelves this August, is currently on tour with fellow Brits Coldplay and proving to one packed stadium at a time that her voice and her style are all her own.

Since her 2005 Oscar nomination for North Country, Charlize Theron has been relatively off the radar, to the point where entertainment bloggers were questioning if she had fallen off the A-list. Six years later, she countered their doubts by earning a Golden Globe nod for starring as an alcoholic writer in Diablo Cody’s critically acclaimed dark comedy Young Adult.

After awards season, she continued her comeback streak with not one, but two starring roles in major summer blockbusters, Snow White and the Huntsman and Prometheus. And now that she’s working alongside Tom Hardy in the much anticipated Mad Max 4, there are no signs of Theron fading back into obscurity.

Everybody has an opinion of Lana Del Rey. Ours? We'll let the February/March 2012 cover story do the talking. The buzzing songstress busted on the scene last year with "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans," and despite being prematurely sacrificed to the gods of the blogoshpere, she managed to release Born to Die, one of the albums of the year thus far. Lest we forget about her most recent video for "National Anthem" featuring A$AP Rocky. Live, love, Lana.

In one of the biggest movies in history, The Avengers, Scarlett Johansson played her superhero equivalent: Black Widow, a sexy espionage expert who can make men fall to their knees with her powers of seduction. Considering her character's traits, it's believable that she did all her own scenes without a CGI stunt double.

Beyoncé kicked off 2012 by giving birth to her first daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. While most celebrities couples would trade their fame for a more private existence, Hov took the Throne overseas, while Bey dropped her baby weight for her triumphant return to the stage. A little less than a decade after pronouncing it on "Public Service Announcement," Jay still has the hottest chick in the game wearing his chain.

We’ve been talking about Sofia Vergara for years, but we can never exhaust the topic. Even though the star is pushing 40, her sex appeal alone can make even the worst movies (e.g. New Year’s Eve and this year’s The Three Stooges) watchable and can turn family-friendly entertainment (e.g. Modern Family) into a creepily pleasurable experience.

The fact that “Call Me Maybe” is playing in your head after just reading her name is a testament to Carly Rae Jepsen’s ubiquity. Touted as Justin Bieber’s protegé, the 26-year-old Canadian singer’s single isn’t just a radio hit, it’s an Internet sensation that has spawned countless memes, YouTube parodies and a viral video starring Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Ashley Tisdale, among others.

Hopefully by the end of the year, however, Carly Rae Jepsen will come out with another smash hit that’ll quell the doubts of naysayers already calling her a one-hit wonder.

While rumors of a possible romance with Ashton Kutcher persisted, Mila Kunis smashed the box office in her most recent blockbuster release Ted. The 28-year-old former Complex cover girl has been a hot streak for years now and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. From the big screen to the computer screen, there's no escaping the Mila Kunis media blitz. Expect more of the same to close out 2012.

Just when you thought she would fall back and let the rest of her family enjoy the spotlight after her laughable 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries, Kim Kardashian made headlines with her budding romance with Kanye West. After weeks of speculation, the couple finally took their relationship public and have made some grandiose gestures to show their appreciation for one another. Between Keeping Up With the Kardashians, stunting in a two-seat Lambo, and her unrelenting schedule of public appearances, Kim Kardashian somehow managed to not only maintain, but boost her celebrity status in 2012.

We already know the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Nicki Minaj. Shit, it's hard not to, but all of that aside, Onika has had a monster year so far. From preforming in front of an estimated 11.3 million people during the Superbowl XLVI halftime show to gracing the cover of Complex's 10th Anniversary Issue and her chart-topping album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, Nicki Minaj is hotter than ever.

Amidst Obamacare news and the Presidential election, not a week has gone by this year without an update on this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl. Whether she’s doing body rolls in a bikini, soaking her white T-shirt for GQ or pissing off the Catholic church in The Three Stooges, the well-endowed 20-year-old’s every move sends the Internet into a frenzy. So of course, for the second year in a row, Upton incontestably tops this list. Honestly, did anyone else even stand a chance?

Rihanna can do no wrong. She’s lauded for her uncensored tweets, she can inadvertently start nightclub fights and every single she puts out is tidal wave on the Billboard charts, especially the panty-dropping hit “We Found Love.” Oh, and she can get lap dances from strippers and become exponentially cooler for it. Put another person’s name on everything she’s done (besides the hits) and we can almost guarantee that they’d be shunned from mainstream society.