GOSSIP GIRL HOTTIES
Leighton Meester and Ed Westwick
Who knew a non-romance between sworn non-daters would be the sexiest thing to nearly overheat our televisions this year? With their relentless flirty games, Gossip Girl's Blair (Meester, 22) and Chuck (Westwick, 21) twisted their high school soap into a delectable hour of romantic torture. Indeed, who could blame Blair after months of not quite admitting that the two were in love for taking matters into, um, her own hands? ''You can't put a finger on what makes two characters connect,'' says Westwick. ''It's just chemistry. We have it. We feel it.'' We do too. Jessica Shaw
Image Credit: GIOVANNI RUFINO/THE CW
They were steamy, serious, and sensational -- Beyonce, Heath Ledger, the women of ''Mad Men,'' and others who created the most celebrated work of the year