The Most Famous TV Personalities in America

The advent of cable television and the explosion of streaming services have created many pathways to fame on television, though many of the most famous TV personalities earned their fame, or at least began to earn it, on old-fashioned broadcast TV.  

To compile a list of the most famous TV personalities in the U.S., 24/7 Tempo reviewed the results of a survey conducted by YouGov, an international market and data analytics website. The survey polled more than 1,200 Americans online. Participants were shown a picture and given the name of more than 500 men and women who have become well-known on the small screen, asked to what extent they knew and liked or disliked each one of them. We included all those who were proven famous enough to be known by more than 90% of the respondents. The fame score below reflects the percentage of people who have heard of the TV personality; the popularity score is defined by the percentage who have a positive opinion of that person. The survey is current as of the end of Q1 2023.

About a third of those on our list are comedians, and 10 have hosted either game shows or talk shows. Among them are Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Jimmy Kimmel. (Here’s a list of 38 iconic game show hosts in American history.) 

The Kardashian clan (Kim, Khloé, Kourtney, Kylie Jenner) has exploited the reality show genre to earn billions of dollars. Food and home shows have made celebrities out of Gordon Ramsey, Rachel Ray, and Martha Stewart. Primetime competition programs such as “American Idol” and “Dancing With the Stars” have boosted the name recognition of Simon Cowell and Tyra Banks, respectively.

Three people on our list who had long careers on television as news program or talk show hosts have recently passed away – Barbara Walters, Larry King, and Jerry Springer.

Fame doesn’t necessarily equal popularity. Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey share a 98 fame score, for instance, but Kardashian’s popularity tally is only half of Winfrey’s. In fact, the five people with the lowest popularity scores on our list are either Kardashians or Kardashian-adjacent. (Five Kardashians are also among the celebrities with the most fake Instagram followers.)

To compile a list of the most famous TV personalities in the U.S., 24/7 Tempo reviewed the results of a survey conducted by YouGov, an international market and data analytics website. The survey was conducted using an online interview completed by more than 1,200 American respondents, based on a master list that included more than 500 TV personalities. Participants were shown a picture and given the name of each actor and asked to what extent they knew and liked or disliked each one of them. We included all those who were known by more than 90% of the respondents. Fame is defined by the percentage of people who have heard of the TV personality; popularity is defined by the percentage of people who have a positive opinion of that person.