Atsuko Okatsuka
comedian
Drop It Like It’s Hot: What started as a quirky comedian trying to make his grandmother laugh turned into Atsuko Okatsuka’s viral drop challenge. When the beat drops on Beyoncé’s “Partition,” participants who are just going about their daily routines suddenly feel depressed. Shortly thereafter, HBO came calling to air a stand-up special that The New York Times named the best debut of 2022.
Takeoff: In 2025, the Japanese American comic with the signature bowl haircut (she’s regained her “art gallery owner” vibe) releases her second comedy special, Father, and begins her Big Bowl tour. In April, he appeared in Apple TV+’s dark comedy Outcome alongside Keanu Reeves and Jonah Hill.
bad bunny
Rapper, actor, singer-songwriter, producer
End of photo: The Puerto Rican superstar had a great 2025 and is on his way to an even better 2026. His seventh album, Devi Tilal Mas Fotos, is a love letter to his island home, winning six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. He spent a 31-day stay in Puerto Rico (the first nine days open only to local residents) helping to boost the country’s economy during its notoriously difficult hurricane season.
History Maker: He had a memorable role in Happy Gilmore 2 and toured the world, but it was his history-making Super Bowl I halftime show that really expanded Benito’s audience. There, he became the first Latin and Spanish-speaking artist to headline as a solo act.
Connor Story & Hudson Williams
Actor, heated rivalry
Let’s hear it for the boys. The stars of Heat Rivalry were thrust into the spotlight thanks to the low-budget Canadian series that made headlines around the world. Story and Williams’ model beauty and shocking chemistry made men and women fall in love with each other like hockey players Elijah and Shane.
The talk of the town: The show, based on Rachel Reid’s book series, catapulted young people to superstardom and gave HBO Max its highest-performing non-animated debut. Since then, the pair have been spotted on runways, at award ceremonies, and even carrying the Olympic torch (and are set to return for Season 2 of Rivals next year).
Identical ink: To commemorate their wild year, they each got matching “Sex Sells” tattoos.
Ije, Audrey Nuna, Ray Ami
singer
Going up, up, up: Life was “golden” for the three singers of fictional girl group Huntr/x in 2025’s KPop Demon Hunters, the most-watched movie in Netflix history.
GIVING THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT: Incredibly, the singers had never been together in the same place until the film premiered last summer. They each recorded their own vocals separately. But once the song took off, the desire for the group became insatiable. They spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (the first K-pop girl group to reach the top) and won historic Grammy and Academy Awards in 2026. And yes, a sequel is in the works.
Holiday heroines: The stylish trio also inspired a whole new generation of girl-power Halloween costumes.
Kareem Rahma & Andrew Kuo
Creator & Producer
Just my two cents: Dishes are getting in the way of your blessings. Nature is boring. If you cover your ears when the siren goes off, you’re a big baby. These are just a few of the (unfettered) opinions that Rama and Kuo solicited in their “SubwayTakes” series on Instagram. The series asks commuters to share their most controversial opinions while riding the New York City subway (or the London subway, or Chicago’s L line).
Famous Fans: Since launching the show in 2023, they’ve grown their Instagram following to nearly 2 million people and brought in celebrities like Cate Blanchett (not a fan of leaf blowers) and Hasan Minhaj (who hates singing “Happy Birthday” to adults in restaurants).
Longer Takes: A longer version, SubwayTakes Uncut, was released on YouTube in February.
cutlet eye
pop singer
BRINGING CHAOS: This global girl group, made up of members from South Korea, Switzerland, the Philippines, and the United States, hit the big time in 2025 with their first single “Gnarly” from their second EP “Beautiful Chaos.”
About the brand: They created bath bombs with Lush, vinyl exclusive to Urban Outfitters, bags with Fendi, and helped usher in the Y2K resurgence. Their “Better in Denim” campaign for Gap served as a rebuttal to Sidney Sweeney’s collaboration with American Eagle, and won praise for its inclusive and empowering tone.
Next up: After their standout performance at this year’s Coachella, the group has announced their third EP, “Wild,” scheduled for release in August. This will be the first performance without Swiss member Manon Bannerman, who announced in February that she would be taking a hiatus due to health reasons.
marcello hernandez
comedian, actor, writer
Late Night Laughter: Saturday Night Live’s first Gen Z cast member made headlines last year for his role as fellow comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, with many praising the young talent’s passionate and physical presence as “amazing.” This sendup has taken on a life of its own and even evoked a Harry Styles impression in a March episode.
His big year: Hernandez’s first stand-up special, “American Boy,” premiered on Netflix in January and quickly shot into the top 10. Like fellow Creative 100 winner Bad Bunny, Hernandez appeared alongside Adam Sandler in last year’s Happy Gilmore 2. In 2025, she was named to Time’s Latina Leaders and the Hollywood Reporter’s Latin Power List.
Mickey Gordon (Mickey Cash Flow)
creator
I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s the Mickeyverse and we’re all just living in it. Mickey Gordon told Cosmopolitan that as a child, people labeled her personality as “annoying” and “too much.” She’s amassed over 1 million TikTok followers with her authentic and hilarious content, and it’s safe to say she’s officially found her people.
Beauty Queen: The actress who took over InStyle’s mockumentary The Intern and “organized” the magazine’s beauty closet is the series’ best performer to date, even surpassing celebrity episodes from Drew Barrymore and Nick Jonas.
Cashflow: She parlayed her fame into a Super Bowl ad for beauty brand Byoma and a dichotomous partnership with Applebee’s, giving the chain 7.5 million views in a single video.
Hollandria Carsen
Fashion sense maker and TV personality
Claim to fame: Love Island fan favorite and one half of the power couple with fellow contestant Nick Vansteenberg, Nico Randria has gone from the beach to the catwalk in just a few months. Shortly after finishing the reality show as runner-up, Kazen appeared on the runways at three of the “big four” international fashion weeks: New York, Paris, and Milan.
Role models: First-generation college students are graduates of Tuskegee University and champions of higher education, especially historically black colleges and universities. She has lectured at Harvard University and Texas A&M, and has partnered with Microsoft Copilot on campaigns about academic success. It’s very different from her past life, when she was selling elevators less than a year ago.
olivia dean
singer
Highlights: Signed in 2019, the British songstress is no stranger to the industry. But it was her second album, released in 2025, that made her a household name. “The Art of Loving” was released in September, and its catchy anthem “Man I Need” quickly caught fire. Her musical performance on Saturday Night Live made her famous throughout the United States, and she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in February.
Going Vocalist: Dean uses his voice for more than just singing. She spoke out against unfair ticket prices after Ticketmaster and AXS capped the resale price of her tour and began issuing refunds. And during her Grammy acceptance speech, she proudly told the crowd, “I’m here as the granddaughter of immigrants.”
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