Who Is The Most Famous Person In America?
There are only a few individuals alive who could overshadow Patrick Mahomes at Arrowhead during a Kansas City Chiefs football game.
One of those people is Taylor Swift, who sat in a suite during his game Sunday, cheering on new maybe-boyfriend Travis Kelce.
Mahomes injured his ankle during the second quarter. Yet it wasn't his ankle that the post-game reporter, Erin Andrews, asked him about. It was Taylor Swift:
As Chiefs reporter Pete Sweeny put it, "Taylor Swift is 10 times as famous as Patrick Mahomes."
And that got us thinking: who is the most famous person in the United States today?
I asked my followers that question Monday morning, measuring fame by Q-rating, the percentage of the public that is familiar with a particular star.
We did not include politicians or political figures (like Dr. Fauci). Obviously, Trump would be atop the list, if so.
All in all, I said Taylor Swift. Others disagreed
Several of them voted for Beyoncé.
"Beyoncé is still higher than . She’s been around for much longer. Everyone young still knows her and people near 50 somewhat “grew up” listening to Beyoncé. It’s close," said Harold Potter.
Oprah Winfrey was also a commonly named candidate. As was Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
YouGov says the answer is Justin Timberlake.
A follower named Doug Keegan argued for Michael Jordan. He provided a solid argument:
"Boomers are still a massive chunk of America. If boomers don't know who you are, you can't have the highest Q-rating. With that in mind, it might be Michael Jordan. Boomers, X-ers, and most Millennials know him for his play. The remaining millennials and Z-ers? Shoes."
Keegan adds, "48.8% of the population is 40+, and 36.3% is 50+. If you don't have a high Q-rating with the older cohorts, it's very difficult to be at the top nationally. And I'd wager that Michael Jordan solidly outpaces Taylor among older Americans."
That brings me to Swift.
To have the highest Q-rating, the person needs to be known among two key groups: those under 10 and over 75.
The other age groups are mostly at least somewhat familiar with all of the names above.
Oprah is a megastar. But her fame does not transcend to the TikTok generation. Does the 5-year-old kid who only watches social media videos know who Oprah is?
Doubtful.
They also are likely unfamiliar with Elon Musk.
Taylor Swift attended the Chiefs/Bears game amid Travis Kelce dating rumors. She was filmed picking up trash in the suite. (Credit: Getty Images)
But they know Swift, whose likeness is plastered across social media, department stores, the radio, and various social settings.
Of course, young kids know Taylor Swift. As do their grandparents.
To reach the technologically challenged, a person has to be covered during national news broadcasts, or as the older generation calls it, "The News."
The News has frequently mentioned Taylor Swift over the past year as her tour approached $1 billion in gross and was large enough to impact the United States economy in 2023.
We can't say the same for any other musician or movie star. For example, rarely does Lester Holt mention Beyoncé on "NBC Nightly News."
In fact, if I were to pick someone other than Swift, I'd choose LeBron James. Unfortunately, that is.
LeBron has made enough national news headlines that the older generations are aware of his existence. And kids know him from his many commercials and highlights.
Still, if Swift is 10 times more famous than Patrick Mahomes, she is at least two times as famous as LeBron.
I would rank them:
Who would you rank as No. 1?
Let us know in the comment section or on X, @OutKick or @burackbobby_.