2012 titles of distinction
Who was named the most powerful person in the world this year? Who was the Sexiest Man Alive? Find out in this gallery of 2012's titles of distinction.
Person of the Year: President Barack Obama (TIME)
Person of the Year: President Barack Obama (TIME)
Most Powerful Person: President Barack Obama (Forbes magazine)
Most Powerful Celebrity: Jennifer Lopez (Forbes magazine)
Most Powerful Woman: Angela Merkel (Forbes magazine)
Sexiest Man Alive: Channing Tatum (People magazine)
Sexiest Woman Alive: Mila Kunis (Esquire magazine)
Most Beautiful Woman: Beyonce (People magazine)
Top-Earning Dead Celebrity: Elizabeth Taylor (Forbes magazine)
Highest-Paid Actor: Tom Cruise (Forbes magazine)
Highest-Paid Actress: Kristen Stewart (Forbes magazine)
Most Overpaid Actor: Eddie Murphy (Forbes magazine)
Top Star of 2012: Tom Hardy (IMDb)
World's Richest Person: Carlos Slim Helu (Forbes magazine)
America's Richest Person: Bill Gates (Forbes magazine)
Most Fascinating Person: Gen. David Petraeus (Barbara Walters)
Sportsman of the Year: LeBron James (Sports Illustrated)
Heisman Trophy: Johnny Manziel
Nobel Peace Prize: European Union
Most-Searched Term: Election (Yahoo)
Top Search Trend: Whitney Houston. Houston was No. 1 in the United States and across the world. (Google)
Houston also topped the list -- again in the U.S. and worldwide -- for trending people. (Google)
Truck of the Year: Ram 1500 (Motor Trend magazine). The magazine also named the Tesla Model S the Car of the Year and the Mercedes-Benz GL won SUV of the Year honors.
Word of the Year: GIF (Oxford American Dictionary)
At Merriam-Webster, there was a tie. One Word of the Year was socialism.
The second Word of the Year was capitalism.
Lie of the Year: Mitt Romney's campaign ad on Jeeps made in China (PolitiFact)
Some titles for 2013 have already been awarded.
Most Desirable Woman of 2013: Jennifer Lawrence. Sofia Vergara topped the 2012 list. (AskMen.com.)
Color of 2013: Emerald. Tangerine Tango was the color of 2012. (Pantone)
