The 15 Most Popular Cover Models of the Decade

kimair

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this list is u.s. mags only...from jezebel.com

It wasn't easy for a starlet to get through this decade with her cover-worthy popularity intact. These women survived waning attention spans and editorial capriciousness to emerge with their newsstand cred unscathed. Number one isn't who you think it is.
Will the choice of cover subjects on fashion magazines matter as much in the next decade? Probably not, not with every other medium, new and yet-to-be-invented, competing to give readers fresh images of the stars, and with all magazines struggling to survive the death of their business model. But in a decade that arguably saw the peak of their power (at least if you measure by circulation), the covers of Vogue, Elle, InStyle, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Lucky, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and, until 2007, Jane were benchmarks of what was considered beautiful, relatable, and most of all, saleable. With the exception of top 15 runners-up Gisele Bundchen and Kate Moss, models were replaced by actresses. The key to winning this particular contest: longevity and versatility, with long-running romantic woes providing a possible alternative. Unless, of course, you're Gwyneth Paltrow or Nicole Kidman. Then your total is skewed by four to five Vogue covers.
1.Drew Barrymore (26)
The surprise queen of the decade has survived a lot more than magazine editors' fickleness. Having spent her entire life in the public eye and overcome early addiction, she emerged as both a likable actress and, increasingly, a Hollywood power to be reckoned with. Quirky, girlish appeal as well as the ability to pull off couture equals ladymag gold.

2. Angelina Jolie (24)
The evolution of Angelina Jolie's magazine covers neatly mirrors her own transformation: from revelations about blood and bisexuality to imperious queen of Hollywood. The Internet is rife with catfight-esque comparisons between Aniston and Jolie covers, and maybe Vogue was being impish photographing both of them in red dresses on the beach. In any case, in our minds, nothing has quite equaled the Vogue cover from March 2004.

3. Nicole Kidman (22) (tied with Jennifer Aniston)
Nicole Kidman never really went away, at least in the ladymag world. Her porcelain features may have lost some of their mobility, but there she was year after year, setting a record for the decade with five Vogue covers, yet pouring her heart out to Marie Claire about Keith Urban's alcoholism.

4. Jennifer Aniston (22) (tied with Nicole Kidman)
It may seem like Jennifer Aniston has been on every magazine printed this decade, but when you subtract out the tabloids close-reading her every movement, it's impressive yet not game-changing. Known to be a reliable seller in magazine circles (if not necessarily at the box office), the key for Aniston was ponying up quotables about her love life. (The out-of-context "What Angelina Did Was Very Uncool" ending up on the cover of Vogue was a low point for everyone involved.)

5. Renee Zellweger (19) (tied with Jessica Simpson)
A favorite of InStyle (four times), Vogue, W, and Harper's Bazaar (three times each), the star of the two Bridget Jones movies remained a fashionable choice despite her films' largely mass appeal.

6. Jessica Simpson (19) (tied with Renee Zellweger)
Jessica Simpson's prominence here can apparently be attributed to her inability to turn down an offer to be on a cover. Her range would be the widest — Elle several times, Jane, Lucky — except that sadly, Vogue has never come a-calling. And probably never will.

7. Sarah Jessica Parker (18)
SJP is the classic example of an actress that women like but that will never be found on the cover of a men's magazine, unlike almost every other woman on this list.

8. Gwyneth Paltrow (15)
(tied with Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz)
Coronated by Anna Wintour and a fashion darling from the start, Paltrow was rarely found on the cover of the one of the service-y women's magazines, where the emphasis is on down-to-earth relatability. That unaddressed yearning, we can posit, is what brought us Goop.

9. Cameron Diaz (15) (tied with Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow)
Diaz's ability to comfortably cover both W and Cosmopolitan three times each shows that playing both to the mass crowd and the fashion elite equals, well, lots of play.

10. Jennifer Lopez (15) (tied with Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Paltrow)
Reportedly deemed too "trashy" for Vogue at the turn of the century, Lopez finally got her shot in 2005, but had to settle for spinoffs Vogue Living and Fashion Rocks for the rest of the decade. Harper's Bazaar and InStyle were only too happy to have their chance, putting Lopez on the cover three times each this past decade.

11. Halle Berry (14)
Let us consider it some type of progress that the era of "Halle Berry, jungle girl," has apparently come to an end with the actress growing older. (Or maybe editors getting a clue?) That said, who knew it was possible to find an unflattering photo of her? Harper's Bazaar did.

12. Scarlett Johansson (13) (tied with Sandra Bullock)
Although her men's magazine covers were unfailingly titillating, women's magazines vacillated between presenting Scarlett Johansson as the girl next door or showing off her curves.

13. Sandra Bullock (13) (tied with Scarlett Johansson)
The endlessly likable Bullock isn't flashy. She transitioned better from a tomboy rep to a ballgown than to Cosmo's enforced sultriness. This was another turtle-and-hare-style, consistent player.

14. Britney Spears (12) (tied with Keira Knightley)
Spears wasn't always a women's magazine mainstay, and even less so a fashion one, but the end of the decade saw her graduating from Rolling Stone peek-a-boo to relatable features about being a mom, including two covers of her pregnant. That, plus standing up her interviewer.

15. Keira Knightley (12) (tied with Britney Spears)
Sexyface and exquisite bone-structure make a potent combination. But with the exception of Knightley's three Vogue covers in four years, women's magazines seemed to be constantly trying to find the cozier side of Knightley's clavicles.
 
Thanks for the list. I wonder same about models but I highly doubt, Kate Moss will be winner.
 
I feel like Cate Blanchett has had a lot too. I'm suprised about Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock and Jessica Simpson though. I've rarely noticed them.
 
Model-wise, I think Kate & Gisele bagged it. :smile:
 
As soon as I saw the title I thought "Kate Moss of course", but then I saw Drew´s name and I was like :buzz:. I´m really happy for her, she is definitely one of my favorite actresses.
Thanks for posting this kimair.
 
U.S. magazines have all but abandoned models this decade, I just don't think you could complete a list like this for models.
I really wish someone in the industry would learn the term "over exposed".
I like some of the actresses on this list; Sandra Bullock, Halle Berry, Keira Knightley, but honestly the more I see them on the magazines the less I want to see their movie projects and vice versa.
Just enough already.
And I know it's heard far too often here, but "thanks"for letting me say it again. :flower:
 
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I feel like Cate Blanchett has had a lot too. I'm suprised about Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock and Jessica Simpson though. I've rarely noticed them.

Well since they're counting covers for Cosmopolitan:sick:, Lucky:sick::sick:, and Glamour:sick::sick::sick:, I'm sorta glad that Cate didn't make the list:lol:
 
Lindsay Lohan?
Elle 3 times
Bazaar 3 times
Interview 3 times
W 3 times (05,06,07)
Vanity Fair 2 times
GQ 2 times
Allure 2 times
Nylon 2 times
Seventeen 2 times
Cosmo 1
Instyle 1
Jane 1
Mare Claire 1
Teen Vogue 1
Rollingstone 1
Paper 1
New York 1
LA Confidential 1

Just to name a few. What an overlook...
 
Yes, giving extra value to Vogue covers means that Lindsay gets overlooked when - love her or hate her - she's probably done a greater range of magazines than a lot of the names on that list.
 
Completely agree with Gary101 on Lindsay Lohan. I know for a fact that she has been on the biggest variety of magazines than any other female. From all the teen magazines when she was first famous, then to entertainment magazines like Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, and then to all the fashion magazines - she has been on a lot of foreign magazines like I-D, Vogue Espana, MUSE, L'Officiel - but even not counting those she still should've been on this list. Natalia Portman and Beyonce should be up there too.
 
This must be only for women's magazines. None of these women have been able to market themselves to a teen audience. Beyonce, Lindsay, and Natalie Portman have all been on Teen Vogue, Seventeen, etc.

Oh well. I don't even like them, I just like fair lists.
 
It's funny how none of them are models.

God it must really suck to be a model right now because all of the good gigs and contracts are being taken by actresses.

Some magazines go a whole year without featuring a model on their cover, just actresses. I wonder why is that?? maybe it's because models have become so generic.

And where is Lindsay Lohan?? she gets magazine covers CONSTANTLY and sells them too.
 
i don't think tabloids count.:rolleyes:

i think it should read most booked cover girls not models. none these women are models.
 
I'm kind of surprised that Halle Berry made the list. Given how famous she is, I feel like I rarely see her on the covers of these major women's magazines.

I'm not at all surprised by Jessica Simpson. I do find it pretty shameful, though! In terms of being famous for actually doing something, I think Simpson's marginally more useful than Paris Hilton. I don't like all of the women on this list, but most of them actually made movies and albums (not necessarily good ones :smile:). Simpson hasn't done anything (save get married and divorced). I don't know how editors can justify all of these covers.

Kate Hudson seems like a noticeable omission, considering the magazines listed. She's had 3 or 4 Vogue covers, maybe 2 or 3 In Style covers, and multiple covers for Cosmopolitan. I don't think I've ever seen her on Marie Claire or Glamour, though. Perhaps her covers skew more towards high fashion (with the exception of In Style and Cosmopolitan). That would explain why she's always been featured in this part of the forum!

I think it's a little weird that W Magazine wasn't included in the totals.
 
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I couldn't resist doing the math on Kate Hudson. By my count (and with the help of ebay and www.katehudson.org), here are the numbers.

Vogue 4
Elle 1 (Considering her ubiquity, this seems low. But, I could only find the one from February 2009).
InStyle 4
Marie Claire 0
Harper's Bazaar
2 (not including this month's issue)
Lucky 0
Glamour
1
Cosmopolitan 3
Jane 1

That puts Kate Hudson at 16 (which is more than enough to qualify her for the list). Speaking of omissions, I wonder where Jennifer Connelly landed on the list.

I mentioned W before; Allure seems like another magazine that should have counted in the final totals. I don't think the rankings would change all that much, but certainly those magazine covers say something about a celebrity's popularity.
 
Well since they're counting covers for Cosmopolitan:sick:, Lucky:sick::sick:, and Glamour:sick::sick::sick:, I'm sorta glad that Cate didn't make the list:lol:

:blush:For some reason as I was writing that I was only thinking of "high fashion" magazines and it didn't occur to me that they were using all those magazines. It was a late night, okay :lol::lol:
 

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