Barbara Walters rolled out her list of Most Fascinating People of 2014 last night, Dec. 14, and as usual there were some names on the list that were predictable. Of course, Taylor Swift made the cut after a bang-up year that saw her popularity rise even without a new guy on her arm. Names like Oprah Winfrey and Chelsea Handler were also fairly expected, but the name at the top of the list may not have been on the tip of many peoples's tongues. Amal Clooney, the woman who managed to change George Clooney's mind on just about every single thing he thought he wanted in his personal life, was named Walters's Most Fascinating Person of 2014.
When it came time to introduce Clooney as her top selection, even Walters was not sure what to say. Sure, she is married to a famous man who is powerful in Hollywood, but Amal Clooney is a big deal in her own right. Her work as a human right's attorney has been praised by nearly everyone who has ever had an opportunity to work with Clooney. Declaring her fascinating just because of the man she married would have been almost a slap in the face, so Walters tread carefully.
"How do I introduce her? I guess the question is, 'What does it take to fascinate one of the most fascinating men in the world?' She is known primarily through her spouse, and while we know little about her, we know a great deal about him. And he has fascinated many women — especially me. Like Clooney, she is passionately committed to human rights causes. Like Clooney, who has a father who was a journalist, she has a mother who is a journalist. And like Clooney, she is a star in her own world."
Perhaps Walters really did hit on something in her intro. We all kind of wonder what it is about this woman that made George Clooney decide that marriage and children actually are for him after decades of insisting just the opposite. It is what we do not know that makes Clooney so interesting, don't you think? But is she the most fascinating person of this year? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
