Entertainment
10 People Who Made Forbes' "Most Famous" List In 2004 & What They're Doing Now
My how things can change in a decade — in the celebrity world, anyway. When it came to pop culture, 2004 was a completely different ballgame. Forget Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, and all those One Direction boys — we cared about much different famous faces 10 years ago. Forbes' list of the 10 most powerful celebrities of 2004 is so 2004, and it's amazing how different this list would look today. That's not to say that these celebs are completely irrelevant — click on through to see what the most powerful celebrities of 2004 were doing a decade ago... and what they're doing today.
#10. Johnny Depp — Then
Johnny Depp had a successful (if not particularly mainstream) film career for years prior to making the list, with films like Sleepy Hollow, Blow, and Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. However, it was the 2003 role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl that really made him a household name. In 2004 he starred in Secret Window and Finding Neverland, before taking on his next iconic character — Willy Wonka — in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
#10. Johnny Depp — Now
Depp didn’t crack the top 10 in 2014, but his career hasn’t stalled — he recently starred in the big screen adaptation of The Lone Ranger as Tonto and sci-fi flick Transcendence. He will portray The Wolf in the highly anticipated musical adaptation of Into The Woods and is slated to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in 2017 with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
#9. Steven Spielberg — THEN
The hotshot director/producer made a slew of famous films prior to making the list in 2004, but it was most likely the success of his two films of 2002 — Catch Me If You Can and Minority Report — that helped get him on this list.
#9. Steven Spielberg — Now
Spielberg has his hand in everything these days, from TV series like Red Band Society, Under the Dome, and Extant to the highly-anticipated Jurassic Park 5.
#8. Bruce Springsteen — THEN
Springsteen released the album The Rising in 2002 and proceeded to go on a stadium tour throughout 2003. In 2004 Springsteen performed with the Vote For Change tour, which was designed to get people in swing states to vote.
#8. Bruce Springsteen — Now
The Boss released album High Hopes in January of 2014, which HBO later aired a documentary special about the making of. Later that year he turned his song “Outlaw Pete” into a children’s graphic novel.
#7. Michael Jordan — THEN
In 2001, a previously-retired Jordan announced his return to the NBA with the Washington Wizards. (Remember that movie, Space Jam? Basically just one long announcement.) His final NBA game was in 2003, one year prior to making this list.
#7. Michael Jordan — Now
He’s not playing basketball anymore, but the sports superstar is still raking in major bank — according to Forbes, he continued to pull in $80 million dollars in 2013. How? Good investments, which include everything from a car dealership to restaurants.
#6. J.K. Rowling — THEN
In 2004, Rowling had just released Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and the film version of the third Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, hit theaters.
#6. J.K. Rowling — Now
Rowling took a break from writing after the final Harry Potter book hit shelves in 2007, but not a very long one. She published her non-Potter novel The Casual Vacancy in 2012 and is assisting producers on her latest book-to-film adaptation, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. In October 2014, she released a new Harry Potter short story — naturally, fans freaked out.
#5. Rolling Stones — THEN
After coming off the Licks Tour, the Rolling Stones were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004.
#5. Rolling Stones — Now
The Stones began their 14 On Fire tour through the Middle East, Asia, and Australia in in February of 2014. While the band was on tour, Mick Jagger’s partner, L’Wren Scott, committed suicide in New York City. The tour was quickly rescheduled for October 2014.
#4. Tom Cruise — THEN
In 2004, Cruise was dating former Dawson’s Creek star Katie Holmes (remember when TomKat was a thing?) and had just come off the success of films like The Last Samurai and Minority Report.
#4. Tom Cruise — Now
TomKat is no more, but Cruise has regained his action star status with films like 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow and 2011’s Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol.
#3. Oprah Winfrey — THEN
Oprah surprised her studio audience with brand new cars in a 2004 episode of her talk show, which makes sense considering she was declared the first African American woman to become a billionaire that same year.
#3. Oprah Winfrey — Now
People everywhere cried over the loss of Oprah’s talk show — it ended in 2011 — but she has since gone on to create her own TV network, OWN, and recently nabbed the title of richest self-made woman in America. Oprah happens to share the same spot on Forbes’ list in 2014 that she did in 2004.
#2. Tiger Woods — THEN
The number one ranked golfer at the time released Tiger Woods PGA 2004 the year he made the Forbes list. He married his longtime girlfriend, Elin Nordegren, that same year.
#2. Tiger Woods — Now
After an infidelity scandal, Woods took a break from golf. He has since returned to the game, though his performance never matched what it was prior to his hiatus.
#1. Mel Gibson — THEN
In 2004, Gibson produced and directed The Passion of the Christ, a film about the last hours of Jesus’ life. Though the film was extremely controversial, it grossed over $600 million dollars at the box office.
#1. Mel Gibson — Now
The controversial actor had a small part in the 2013 film Machete Kills as well as role in 2014’s The Expendables 3.
