Barbara Walters Names JK Rowling the Most Fascinating Person of the Year

I can't argue with Babs -- JK Rowling is quite a woman.

Yes, Rowling was named the Most Fascinating Person of the Year on Barbara Walters' annual special. The Harry Potter author, who was at one point a welfare mother, is basically single-handedly responsible for making reading relevant to the internet generation. It's not often something becomes the kind of phenomenon Harry Potter is. While I never got into the series, everyone I know who is claims the final installment was the best ending imaginable. The movies are huge. Yeah, I'd say she's pretty fascinating.

I can't really knock Barbara's choices for the rest of the Top 10 either. I'll give it up to Bill Clinton, 'cause he rocks, and Hugo Chavez, 'cause, well, he's the president of Venezuela. Posh and David Beckham was an understandable choice (and any chance to get a peek at David's gorgeous face is okay by me), and you won't hear me complain about the inclusion of either Jennifer Hudson (could she be any more charming?) or Justin Timberlake (love him). Don Imus had quite the controversial year, and myspace really has changed the social networking landscape, so their inclusions also have merit.

I was originally skeptical about Katherine Heigl's spot on the list. Don't get me wrong, I love her on Grey's Anatomy and I thought she was fantastic in Knocked Up. And I think it's adorable how close she and TR Knight are, and how she stood up for him. And I also love that she doesn't bite her tongue, recently giving a very candid interview where she called Gizzie (the coupling of her and Knight's characters) a ratings ploy and Knocked Up mysogynistic. Yeah, when I thought about it, I realized that I guess I do find her pretty fascinating.

So, good job Babs. The only person missing was your old friend Rosie O'Donnell. We won't hold it against you.

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