The Popular Crowd: No. 1. . . who do you freaking think it is?

Robert Huntzinger

To celebrate the new year we are presenting you with the most Googled models from the 2013 Swimsuit Issue, as determined by some very high level analytics I slaved over through the holiday (thank you, Google Trends).

The No. 1 most popular Swimsuit model of 2013 is . . .

. . .

. . .

. . . oh, come on . . .

. . .

. . .

. . . are you really going to make me say it? . . .

. . .

. . .

a three-way tie between Ashley Richardson, Gail O'Neill and Roshumba Williams! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

Robert Huntzinger

Wait. Sorry. I always get those three mixed up with Kate Upton.

Kate "Who, Me?" Upton  ::  Getty Images for Extra

Getty Images for Extra

Same diff.

************

Put yourself in my shoes. What else can I say about Kate that hasn't already been said? Here's one: did you know that Kate's two biggest passions are tending to her alpaca farm and participating in Civil War reenactments?

It's not true. But at least it's never been said before, I think.

It's so hard to please the hardcore Kate Upton fans. No amount of content will ever be enough for you guys! I mean, this is the girl who tests the capacity of the world's broadband every time someone tags her in a post, so it's fair to assume that you've probably seen it all by now, but I'll try to do you proud. (And you'll forgive me as I attempt to capitalize on this phenomenon by using her name in place of line breaks.)

* Kate Upton * Kate Upton * Kate Upton *

Don't get me wrong, though. I get it. Even as a straight chick, I totally get it.

Derek Kettela

Derek Kettela

I get it.

************

Maybe you are aware of her cover shoot in Antarctica that kicked off another buh-nah-nuhs year for the 21-year-old. It looked like this:

***

Behind the scenes it looked like this and this, and the outtakes came out like this:

***

There was that body painting shoot in the Bahamas. That one looked like this:

Yeah, I knew you'd remember.

************

But as much as the world wanted to limit Kate to bikinis, lingerie and lad's mags, forward-thinking designers and editors saw her potential for a wider appeal, a hunch that was confirmed when Kate picked up the model of the year award at the 10th Annual Style Awards in September.

kate-style-6.jpg

Receiving the Model of the Year Award :: Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

kate-style-1.jpg

Receiving the Model of the Year Award :: Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

kate-style-7.jpg

With Christie Brinkley :: WireImage

kate-style-3.jpg

With (from left) Lily Aldridge, Christie Brinkley, Nicole Richie, Lindsay Ellingson and Caroline Winberg :: Getty Images

kate-style-5.jpg

With Christie Brinkley :: Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

************

The globe was plastered with a series of Kate's high-profile covers, including her first American Vogue cover in June.

cov-russian-cosmo.jpg

JANUARY: Cosmopolitan (Russia) by Matt Jones

cov-vf.jpg

OCTOBER: Vanity Fair (U.S.) by Annie Leibovitz

cov-si.jpg

OCTOBER: Sports Illustrated by Walter Iooss Jr.

cov-us-elle.jpg

SEPTEMBER: Elle (U.S.) by Carter Smith

cov-brazil-vogue.jpg

JULY: Vogue (Brazil) by Henrique Gendre

cov-us-vogue.jpg

JUNE: Vogue (U.S.) by Mario Testino

cov-harpers-vietnam.jpg

MAY: Harper's Bazaar (Vietnam) by Sebastian Faena

cov-thai-harpers.jpg

MAY: Harper's Bazaar (Thailand) by Sebastian Faena

cov-swimsuit.jpg

FEBRUARY: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (U.S.) by Derek Kettela

cov-french-elle.jpg

JANUARY: Elle (France) by Matt Jones

cov-uk-vogue.jpg

JANUARY: Vogue (U.K.) by Alasdair McLellan

cov-golf.jpg

DECEMBER: Golf Digest (U.S.) by Walter Iooss Jr.

***

And then there are the videos of the cover shoots:

***

***

(That's our very own Tracy Murphy doing Kate's makeup at 0:08.)

***

***

But this one was the real charmer:

No word on whether she got to witness one of these moments.

************

She underwent a "style evolution" per Perez Hilton, who also pointed out that the model took not one but TWO Chanel bags to LAX—one for each Swimsuit cover maybe? Be still my heart.

perezhilton.com

perezhilton.com

*************

As a guest at the Melbourne Cup in November Kate even looked brill in an array of fascinators.

Image placeholder title

***

Image placeholder title

***

Image placeholder title

It's called versatility, and this betch has got it.

************

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego, you ask? Well, if by any chance she dyed her hair blonde then she's right here, courtside at a Knicks game:

WireImage

WireImage

(Dare I point out that third Chanel sitting by her feet?)

*************

She was the subject of two big movie rumors: the female lead in the Entourage movie and a Bond girl in the series' next installation.

Kate Upton :: Craig Barritt/Getty Images | Roger Moore :: Terry O’Neill

***

But until the rumors are confirmed, we will watch her trailer for The Other Woman on repeat . . .

. . . until its April release.

***

Are you STILL NOT SATISFIED? Fine. Here's an eye-candy round up. But don't ask me for anything else until February.

************

2013′s POPULAR CROWD: 

No. 5 Chrissy Teigen

|

No. 4

Nina Agdal

|

No. 3

Irina Shayk |

No. 2 Katherine Webb

Published