ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT Announces the 'ET Hot List' for 2004

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT Announces the 'ET Hot List' for 2004 3rd Annual List Ranks Stars of Film, Music, Television and Pop Culture LOS ANGELES, Dec. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, the #1 entertainment newsmagazine in the world, has named the top celebrities of 2004 in its third annual "ET Hot List," which was announced today by Linda Bell Blue, executive producer of ET. The "ET Hot List" is comprised of those celebrities who received the most mentions on the show over the course of the past year. "It has been a captivating year for celebrity news. We have seen it all and then some, from weddings to breakups, births and passings, scandals and arrests, and a strong celebrity turnout for Washington politics during the Presidential elections," says Bell Blue. "And now we have ranked those stars and public figures who have been at the forefront of 2004's celebrity news as reported by ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT." ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT'S HOT LIST OF THE TOP CELEBRITIES OF 2004 1. Oprah Winfrey 2. Michael Jackson 3. Jennifer Aniston 4. Jennifer Lopez 5. Paris Hilton 6. Britney Spears 7. Brad Pitt 8. Nicole Kidman 9. Tom Cruise 10. Sarah Jessica Parker 11. Leonardo DiCaprio 12. Janet Jackson 13. Bill Clinton 14. Martha Stewart 15. Ben Affleck 16. Fantasia Barrino 17. Julia Roberts 18. Jessica Simpson 19. Gwyneth Paltrow 20. Jude Law Adds Bell Blue, "The 2004 ET Hot List is remarkably different than last year's list. In the previous year, Jennifer Lopez ranked #1 beating Jennifer Aniston. This year Oprah surpassed both Jens, taking the top spot as the most mentioned celebrity. 'American Idol' winner Fantasia Barrino ranked above superstar Julia Roberts, and People's 'Sexiest Man Alive,' Jude Law, made his first appearance on the list." Here's last year's countdown (2003): 1) Jennifer Lopez, 2) Jennifer Aniston, 3) Michael Jackson, 4) Ben Affleck, 5) Nicole Kidman, 6) Catherine Zeta-Jones, 7) Brad Pitt, 8) Cameron Diaz, 9) Britney Spears, 10) Demi Moore, 11) Renee Zellweger, 12) Drew Barrymore, 13) Halle Berry, 14) Courteney Cox Arquette, 15) Ruben Studdard, 16) Clay Aiken, 17) Madonnna, 18) Michael Douglas, 19) John Ritter, 20) Evan Marriott. Launched in 1981 as a first-run syndicated series, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT is the #1 entertainment newsmagazine in the world and consists of ET WEEKEND, the #1 weekly one-hour syndicated show; ET on MTV, which ranks among the top three programs on the network's Saturday lineup; ET on VH-1; ET Radio Minute, syndicated by Westwood One to 7,700 stations nationwide; and ETonline.com. Produced and distributed by Paramount Domestic Television, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT is taped in Hollywood, California. Linda Bell Blue is executive producer. Paramount Domestic Television is a unit of Viacom Inc. Source: ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT CONTACT: Manfred Westphal of ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, +1-323-956-8266 ------- Profile: International Entertainment