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  1. Home
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  3. The 25 most memorable reality stars

The 25 most memorable reality stars

By EW Staff Updated January 08, 2016 at 11:31 PM EST
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Reality TV's biggest stars

Reality TV's Biggest Stars
Credit: FOX; Bravo; MTV; Bravo; WireImage

It's all about making a strong impression! These are the personalities we loved — and the ones we loved to hate.

Want more? EW has detailed the best in movies, TV, music, and books from 1990 to 2015 with the Must List, and, in celebration, The Must List: Ranking the Best in 25 Years of Pop Culture is out now. This gallery is an excerpt from the book. The Must List: Ranking the Best in 25 Years of Pop Culture is available for order online.

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Bethenny Frankel, The Real Housewives of New York

Bethenny Frankel, The Real Housewives of New York
Credit: Mathieu Young/Bravo

She wasn't a housewife, but reality never needed to be real. Her terse sarcasm made her break out, but Bethenny's no-bull professionalism infused Housewives with Lean-In aspiration.

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J.R. Martinez, Dancing With the Stars

J.R. Martinez, Dancing With the Stars
Credit: Adam Taylor/ ABC

A wounded Iraq vet who became a motivational speaker, an actor, and one of the most inspiring human beings ever to grace a dance floor.

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Lisa Vanderpump, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Lisa Vanderpump, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Credit: Evans Vestal Ward/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

The glamorously British SoCal entrepreneur brings trashy class to 90210. She's even more fun on Vanderpump Rules, playing a gossipy queen to her beautiful-idiot minions.

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"Boston" Rob Mariano, Survivor

20. Survivor: All-Stars (Winner: Amber Brkich)
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS

Too charming to be a bad guy, too nefarious to be a good guy, the one-time Survivor winner is the rascal antihero we deserve.

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Charla Baklayan Faddoul, The Amazing Race

Charla Baklayan Faddoul, The Amazing Race
Credit: Tony Esparza/CBS

A lovably tough player with enough heart to dominate competitors.

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Juan Pablo Galavis, The Bachelor

16. Season 18 (Juan Pablo Galavis)
Credit: Rick Rowell/ABC via Getty Images

A sex-idiot supervillain and an emotional terrorist, Juan Pablo set a new standard for mesmerizing narcissism.

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Nicole Richie, The Simple Life

Nicole Richie, The Simple Life
Credit: Sam Jones/FOX

Paris Hilton got the headlines, but her Simple sidekick gave the rich-kids-go-country reality-sitcom its goofy, oddly endearing heart.

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Simon Cowell, American Idol and The X Factor

Simon Cowell, American Idol and The X Factor
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

They called him acerbic, mean, an elitist Brit picking on try-hard American dreamers. Reality's first great judge told the truth: brutally, hilariously.

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NeNe Leakes, The Real Housewives of Atlanta

Nene Leakes, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Credit: Bravo

The High Priestess of Telling It Like It Is, NeNe redefined sass into alpha-female heavy artillery. Watching someone argue with her is like watching an ant pick a fight with the God of Thunder.

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Kate Gosselin, Jon & Kate Plus 8

Kate Gosselin, Jon & Kate Plus 8
Credit: Laura Pedrick/TLC

She was the housewife reimagined as a battalion commander, mothering her children the way Patton marshaled his troops. There followed fame, fortune, divorce, desperation — and Dancing With the Stars.

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Jonny Fairplay, Survivor

Jonny Fairplay, Survivor
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS

Sure, Fairplay didn't really play fair. But give the devil his due: The creator of the innovative "Dead Grandmother" strategy was uniquely good at playing bad.

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Brandi Glanville, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Brandi Glanville, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Credit: Rodolfo Martinez/Bravo

Her onscreen origin was tragic, but Glanville's ensuing Housewives arc is variously infuriating and train-wreck fascinating.

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Sam Talbot, Top Chef

Sam Talbot, Top Chef
Credit: Carin Baer/ Bravo

Talented, beloved by fans, dominant in challenges: Chef Sam was the full package.

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Kim Kardashian, Keeping Up With the Kardashians

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Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Reality TV's greatest creation transformed selfie-age vanity into a boundlessly (and endlessly monetizable) resource. Kim invented a world where her personal life was the brand.

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Uncle Si Robertson, Duck Dynasty

Uncle Si Robertson, Duck Dynasty
Credit: Karolina Wojtasik/ A&E

Everyone's got that one uncle: the weirdo, the kookbat, the guy who might be just a little insane. But no way your uncle has a beard half as impressive.

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Tyra Banks, America's Next Top Model

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Credit: Massimo Campana/The CW

We knew she was a supermodel. But it took Top Model to reveal that Tyra was a maniacal space alien sent from the heavens to give young beauties their own Full Metal Jacket.

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Carla Hall, Top Chef

Carla Hall, Top Chef
Credit: Giovanni Rufino/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

Hootie hoo! In a genre that trends toward big-ego melodramatics, Carla was a rare bird: a fierce competitor with a cheerful, light attitude.

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Dr. Will Kirby, Big Brother

Dr. Will Kirby, Big Brother
Credit: Tony Esparza/CBS

An unapologetic cad with a nigh-telepathic gift for gab, Dr. Will defined Big Brother's unique strain of mustache-twirling vanity. At least he always stabs in the front.

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Pedro Zamora, The Real World

1994
Credit: MTV

American television had never seen his like: a proud gay man living bravely (and openly) with AIDS. Reality TV is still waiting for someone half as real.

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Teresa Giudice, The Real Housewives of New Jersey

Teresa Giudice, The Real Housewives of New Jersey
Credit: Heidi Gutman/Bravo

Conspicuous consumption personified (and later convicted). The docusoap genre begins and ends with Teresa's table-flip freakout.

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Lauren Conrad, The Hills

THE HILLSLauren Conrad
Credit: MTV

The Laguna Beach everygal spun off her own big-city adventure, becoming the island-of-sanity Gallant to frenemy Heidi's bad-decision Goofus.

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Richard Hatch, Survivor

Richard Hatch, Survivor
Credit: CBS via Getty Images

The Great American Reality TV Big Bad. Survivor's first survivor brought the world "alliance" into the lexicon and earned attention for his plotting — and his no-clothes policy.

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Puck, The Real World

Puck, The Real World
Credit: Steve Eichner/WireImage

The sacred requires the profane, so the season of Pedro was also the season of Puck. The snot rockets, the peanut butter: Wouldn't you evict him from your house?

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Christian Siriano, Project Runway

Christian Siriano, Project Runway
Credit: Thomas Concordia/WireImage

The youngest Runway winner — and the show's best argument for itself — Siriano's legitimate talent was matched only by his talent for catchy one-liners.

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Omarosa Manigault, The Apprentice

Omarosa Manigault, The Apprentice
Credit: Scott Duncan/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

Is Omarosa a villain? Or just the perfect capitalist? We can all agree that Omarosa set a new standard for reality amorality, invigorating the genre with a Game of Thrones mentality.

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    1 of 26 Reality TV's biggest stars
    2 of 26 Bethenny Frankel, The Real Housewives of New York
    3 of 26 J.R. Martinez, Dancing With the Stars
    4 of 26 Lisa Vanderpump, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
    5 of 26 "Boston" Rob Mariano, Survivor
    6 of 26 Charla Baklayan Faddoul, The Amazing Race
    7 of 26 Juan Pablo Galavis, The Bachelor
    8 of 26 Nicole Richie, The Simple Life
    9 of 26 Simon Cowell, American Idol and The X Factor
    10 of 26 NeNe Leakes, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
    11 of 26 Kate Gosselin, Jon & Kate Plus 8
    12 of 26 Jonny Fairplay, Survivor
    13 of 26 Brandi Glanville, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
    14 of 26 Sam Talbot, Top Chef
    15 of 26 Kim Kardashian, Keeping Up With the Kardashians
    16 of 26 Uncle Si Robertson, Duck Dynasty
    17 of 26 Tyra Banks, America's Next Top Model
    18 of 26 Carla Hall, Top Chef
    19 of 26 Dr. Will Kirby, Big Brother
    20 of 26 Pedro Zamora, The Real World
    21 of 26 Teresa Giudice, The Real Housewives of New Jersey
    22 of 26 Lauren Conrad, The Hills
    23 of 26 Richard Hatch, Survivor
    24 of 26 Puck, The Real World
    25 of 26 Christian Siriano, Project Runway
    26 of 26 Omarosa Manigault, The Apprentice

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