As in any business, stars can experience highs and lows.
While one celebrity may struggle to make ends meet one year, the next they could be at the pinnacle of their career. Likewise, someone at the top of their game could easily lose everything.
Fox News Digital takes a look at celebrities who dominated 2024, as well as those who experienced major lows.
“Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan has had a banner year in 2024 as the beloved Western series made a triumphant comeback after a long break.
The show returned in November with six new episodes, the second half of its fifth season, which had last aired in January 2023. Although the show’s star, Kevin Costner, bowed out early, his character not appearing in the new episodes, fans tuned in in record-breaking numbers. The finale, which aired on Dec. 15, was the most-watched episode in the show’s history, per Variety.
Aside from “Yellowstone,” Sheridan also continued to expand his TV empire with his new show, “Landman,” starring Billy Bob Thornton. His shows “Lioness,” “Tulsa King” and “Mayor of Kingstown” continued this year as well, and another spin-off of his beloved western series called “The Madison” was announced.
Taylor Swift continued her reign as one of the world’s biggest pop stars this year, taking her massively popular “Eras” tour overseas before returning to North America. In December, she played her last show of the tour in Vancouver.
TAYLOR SWIFT ‘ERAS TOUR’ ENDS: 8 MOMENTS THAT LEFT FANS SHOCKED
Following the conclusion of the tour, she authorized the release of the financial numbers, with the New York Times reporting that she raked in over $2 billion – double the amount of any other gross ticket sales of a concert tour.
In addition to the “Eras” tour, Swift released a new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which broke a number of sales and streaming records. On a more personal note, her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce appears to be going stronger than ever, with many fans urging him to propose.
2024 wasn’t just a good year for mega-stars like Swift: Women in pop music continually dominated the charts.
Chappell Roan has been making music for years, but it wasn’t until this summer that she became a full-fledged pop star. After a notable appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk and the release of her single “Good Luck Babe!” she was invited to perform at Coachella in April. Her performance went viral.
A song that she released last year, “HOT TO GO!” also started receiving massive radio play, and her concerts began bringing in bigger and bigger crowds.
Roan won her first MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in September, and in December she won a Billboard Music Award for Top New Artist. She’s nominated for six Grammy Awards, including record of the year.
Former Disney star Sabrina Carpenter made herself a household name as well with platinum hits like “Espresso,” “Please Please Please” and “Taste.” Like Roan, she’s also nominated for six Grammy Awards.
Billie Eilish soared to the top of the charts with the release of her April album “Hit Me Hard and Soft.” She won her second Academy Award for best original song with “What Was I Made For?” the song she wrote for “Barbie,” and in November, she embarked on a world tour.
While historically, young ingénues have thrived in Hollywood, this year has seen a number of movies featuring more seasoned actresses in roles with sex appeal.
Nicole Kidman, 57, notably starred in the recently released “Babygirl,” an erotic thriller that sees Kidman’s character having a steamy affair with a decades-younger man.
‘THE SUBSTANCE’ STAR DEMI MOORE SAYS ‘INSECURITIES ABOUT MY BODY’ LED HER TO TAKE ON RACY ROLES
Meanwhile, Demi Moore, 62, took on a daring role in the body horror flick “The Substance.” In the movie, which premiered in September, she appears nude, with a particular shot showing off her behind at a less-than-flattering angle – something that she confessed to Elle “bugs the s— out of” her to see. Still, she chose not to ask for the shot to be altered because “I knew it was in service of something that was more important than me.”
She added, “There was an incredibly liberating aspect to stepping into this really vulnerable, exposed place emotionally and physically.”
In December, Pamela Anderson made a remarkable achievement in earning her first-ever Golden Globe nomination for her work in “The Last Showgirl.” For the actress, who rose to fame for starring as blonde bombshell C.J. Parker in “Baywatch,” it was a dream come true.
“It is never too late to dream, to start again, to stay open to possibilities — we are not all so lucky,” she shared in a statement after being nominated for best performance by a female actor in a motion picture.
Jelly Roll was already a country star at the beginning of the year, but for the past 12 months, his career has only gotten hotter.
He followed up his wildly successful “Whitsitt Chapel” album with October’s “Beautifully Broken,” his first No. 1 album in the U.S. He also performed as the musical guest for the season premiere of the historic 50th season of “Saturday Night Live.”
But it wasn’t just the music that made 2024 a notable year for Jelly Roll – he’s also made big strides with his weight loss, sharing in November that he’d officially lost 100 pounds in his weight-loss journey.
While these stars dominated 2024, others faced very public struggles.
In September, after a number of civil suits were filed against him, Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in New York by federal agents on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
While Combs has maintained his innocence, he’s remained in jail as he awaits his trial, which is set to begin on May 5, 2025. He and his legal team have requested bail multiple times, and each time it’s been denied, with judges expressing concern that he’d potentially tamper with witnesses if released.
Combs is facing 15 years to life in prison if convicted of his charges.
SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS TOPPED CELEBRITY SCANDALS OF 2024
In the months after the initial arrest, more allegations have been made against the rapper. Most recently, he was hit with a $15 million lawsuit in December by a woman named LaTroya Grayson, who attended a “Black Party” hosted by Combs in 2006. Grayson claimed that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her at the party, while his lawyer calls those claims “pure fiction.”
In one lawsuit against Combs, an anonymous accuser claimed that Combs raped her at an MTV VMAs after-party in 2000, when she was 13 years old. She also claimed that an unnamed male celebrity raped her as well, and that an unnamed female celebrity was present during the alleged assaults. The suit was re-filed in December, with Jay-Z named as the male celebrity. The female celebrity has not been named.
Jay-Z has strongly denied the accusation, and his legal team has gone on the offensive, filing to dismiss the lawsuit and also requesting that the accuser’s name be made public.
New York Judge Analisa Torres ruled against Jay-Z last week, saying in part that his lawyer’s “relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks is inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client.”
BEYONCÉ JAY-Z SOLIDARITY AMID DIDDY LAWSUIT NO SURPRISE AFTER CHEATING RUMORS, FAMILY ELEVATOR FIGHT
While Jay-Z faces legal woes, Beyoncé, his wife of 16 years, has seen some controversy of her own in 2024.
In March, she released “Cowboy Carter,” her first country album, to mixed reviews. While some praised her for her take on the genre, others criticized the album, with some even suggesting that it’s a mockery of country music.
She also made waves for her performance at the halftime show of the Christmas Day football game between the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens. At one point during the show, she made a finger-gun gesture – something that’s been banned by the NFL.
BEYONCÉ’S FINGER-GUN GESTURE DURING NFL HALFTIME SHOW SPARKS JOKES AMONG FANS
Players have been given fines for making the gesture, and some fans wondered if Beyoncé would be given the same treatment.
This month, Blake Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights department, alleging that Justin Baldoni, her co-star and director in “It Ends with Us,” sexually harassed her.
The complaint, a precursor to a lawsuit, accused Baldoni of harassing her during the filming of the movie and included notes on a meeting held to discuss the “hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production.” During the meeting, Lively allegedly requested that Baldoni stop adding sex scenes that were not originally in the script, that he stop talking about his genitals, stop showing nude videos and photographs to her and more.
Additionally, Lively named Baldoni’s publicists in the complaint, claiming that they created and implemented a smear campaign to destroy her reputation with the intent of harming her credibility if she ever went public with the allegations.
In a statement given to the New York Times, Lively said, “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni, told the outlet, “These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”
Freedman recently told People magazine he plans to “expose” the “false” narrative created by Lively’s legal complaint against Baldoni.
The actor’s lawyer told the outlet the impending lawsuit “is not a response or countersuit – it’s a deliberate pursuit of truth.”
In November, country star Zach Bryan was accused by his ex-girlfriend, Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia, of emotional abuse.
LaPaglia, an internet personality, spoke about her relationship with Bryan on the “BFFs” podcast, which she co-hosts with Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards. She said in part, “The last year of my life has been the hardest year of my life, dealing with the abuse from this dude. I’m still scared right now because I’m scared of him still, my brain’s rewired. I’m scared to make him mad.”
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In addition to the claims of abuse, she alleged that Bryan had offered her a $12 million nondisclosure agreement to keep her from discussing details of their relationship. On refusing the NDA, she said, “I don’t want in two years to buy a f—ing house and think, ‘Oh, this is the money from the dude that literally f—ing destroyed me and broke me for a year?’ F— that, f— you, I don’t want your money.”
Bryan hasn’t commented on the accusations. In a later episode of her podcast, LaPaglia said his silence is “deafening.”
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Following his rise to fame as the drummer for Nirvana, Dave Grohl has spent decades in the spotlight. Going on to lead his own highly successful band, the Foo Fighters, Grohl has cultivated a charming, relatable persona.
Because of that, it was especially shocking to many fans when, in September, he shared a statement admitting to fathering a child with someone other than his wife.
“I’ve recently become the father of a new baby daughter, born outside of my marriage,” a statement posted to his social media read. “I plan to be a loving and supportive parent to her. I love my wife and children, and I am doing everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness.”
He finished, “We are grateful for your consideration toward all the children involved, as we move forward together.”
Grohl and his wife, Jordyn Blum, have been married since 2003. They share three daughters: Violet, 18, Harper, 15, and Ophelia, 10.
