Rotten Tomatoes score: 51%

Critics and fans agree that the most recent (for now) "Star Wars" film is also the worst in the decadeslong franchise. In attempting to wrap up a story that's been going since the '70s and please fans who hated the previous installment (more on that one later), the powers that be had an unenviable task.

Unfortunately, they did not prove to be up to the challenge. "Rise of Skywalker," in the six years since its release, has become shorthand for a disappointing finale — just look at the first responses to the new "Mission: Impossible" movie.

If you don't remember, "The Rise of Skywalker" made the questionable decision to make Rey the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine, dragging this new trilogy back to an enemy fans thought they'd finally left in the past. It also killed off Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, failed to kill off Chewbacca in an insulting fake out, and added a bunch of new, useless characters instead of focusing on existing ones that audiences had grown fond of over the last two films.

"J.J. Abrams's mechanical, nonsensical 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' contains so many resurrections it's a wonder Disney and Lucasfilm didn't push back the release date from Christmas to Easter," wrote Michael Sragow for Film Comment Magazine.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 54%

"The Phantom Menace" came to theaters in 1999, 16 years after we had last spent time in a galaxy far, far away. Needless to say, expectations were extremely high.

This movie, which certainly has its defenders, is, to put it plainly, boring. Even if its plot about a trade war has new significance today, that doesn't mean we wanted a "Star Wars" movie to focus on the economy of the galaxy.

It was also an unfortunate choice to introduce Anakin Skywalker, the future Darth Vader, as a 10-year-old kid, especially when his future wife, Padmé, was played by 18-year-old Natalie Portman.

"Sure, there's a great NASCAR-like pod race and a cool, horn-studded professional wrestler type... But the only person who gets body-slammed here is the viewer looking for a trace of the magic that carried us away in the original trilogy," wrote Rick Holter for the Dallas Morning News.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 61%

Ruled a slight improvement upon its predecessor, "Attack of the Clones" continues the story of Anakin Skywalker, now played by a 21-year-old Hayden Christensen. It follows him as he falls in love with Padmé (a big no-no for a Jedi), while the rest of the Jedi try to uncover a conspiracy regarding a secret army and the return of their ancient enemies, the Sith.

"'Attack of the Clones' wasn't as outrightly horrid as 'Phantom Menace,' but it offended in a different way: it was boring," wrote Collider's Allison Keene.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 66%

Boba Fett, as a character, was one of the coolest and most mysterious people in the Star Wars universe. He was introduced as a faceless assassin with a sick jetpack in "The Empire Strikes Back," and he captivated fans for decades after.

It's a tough ask to create a story worthy of someone that cool — and "Book of Boba Fett" proved that we probably should know less about Boba, not more.

It follows the assassin after his escape from the Sarlacc Pit in "Return of the Jedi," when he became part of the Tusken Raiders, through to his takeover of Tatooine's underworld. If none of that meant anything to you, it's best you skip this one.

The most damning thing about "Boba Fett" though, is that the best episode of the season was the one that was more like a bridge between the second and third seasons of "The Mandalorian."

"'The Book of Boba Fett' was a series of compounding mistakes. Its best feature was to deliver a 'Mandalorian' sequel that could have been a self-contained film," wrote Craig Mathieson for The Age.

Rotten Tomatoes: 69%

It was never going to be easy to fill the gargantuan shoes of Harrison Ford as Han Solo, perhaps the coolest and most beloved character in movie history? (There's a case to be made.)

So, we can't really lay the blame on Alden Ehrenreich for the failure of this movie, an origin story for pre-"A New Hope" Han. It was just never going to work. There's also the nonsensical plot, unimportant fan service — did we really need to know how Han got his dice or his last name? — and a lackluster villain.

"'Solo' is at its best when it's uncoupled from all that heavy lifting, just crammed in a cockpit with its likeable cast and shooting for the stars," wrote Time Out's Philip de Semlyen.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 78%

There's a lot to love about "The Acolyte," chief among them: Manny Jacinto's performance as The Stranger, one of the creepiest villains a "Star Wars" property has ever given us.

This show, which took place in a heretofore unexplored era of the "Star Wars" universe (roughly 100 years before "The Phantom Menace"), also had an interesting question at its center: Are the Jedi actually good?

Alas, we'll never know what happens to twins Ash and Mae, and the Stranger, because Disney canceled the show after one season.

"Set hundreds of years before the events of the Star Wars saga we know best, this show gets to tell its own story — making it better than most of the series Disney+ has pumped out," wrote Dylan Roth for Observer.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%

Don't underestimate the power of the prequels, even if, on average, they have the lowest scores of the three film trilogies. When "Revenge of the Sith" returned to theaters for a weeklong stint to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year, it was the No. 2 movie at the box office, only behind "Sinners."

"Revenge of the Sith" is easily the best prequel film. It has the very real stakes of Anakin slowly descending into evil and becoming the most iconic movie villain of all time, Darth Vader. It also depicts the Jedi finally realizing that they've been blind to the hatred and fascism festering right under their noses, and Obi-Wan's decision to dedicate his life to protecting his best friend-turned-enemy's son, Luke.

It puts all the pieces into place for anyone who chooses to watch the "Star Wars" films in chronological order without missing a beat.

"The saddest and sincerest of all the 'Star Wars' epics, the mad work of a man desperately trying to understand his own creation," wrote Vulture's Bilge Ebiri.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%

For many years, fans theorized about what, exactly, Obi-Wan was doing in the Tatooine desert during the 20 or so years between "Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope."

This miniseries answered that question, for at least a few weeks. It turns out Obi-Wan met a young Princess Leia, saved her from the Empire, battled with Darth Vader multiple times, and reconnected with the Force. It was a productive time!

The high point of this series was Obi-Wan and Vader's final fight, where Obi-Wan heartbreakingly glimpsed Anakin for a few moments, underneath all the hatred, before giving up on his old friend.

"The latest 'Star Wars' spin-off from Disney+ sees the Scot [Ewan McGregor] put in his best performance as the legendary Jedi in a John Wick-esque caper with marvelous action sequences," wrote Stuart Heritage for The Guardian.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 83%

It's hard to end a series in a satisfying way, and back in 1983, George Lucas and Co. didn't know for sure that another six movies would be released. This could've been the last people saw of Luke, Han, Leia, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO.

Even though, of course, we know it wasn't, "Return of the Jedi" does a pretty good job of tying up loose ends. Luke fulfills his destiny to bring balance to the Force, Han and Leia declare their love, Anakin finds the light once again, and Ewoks are there. What else could you want?

"One may carp, gripe, quibble with 'Jedi,' but Lucasfilm's special effects subsidiary, Industrial Light and Magic, is in a class by itself as creator of screen magic. And when it is good, 'Jedi' is peerless escapist fantasy," wrote Joseph Gelmis for Newsday.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%

George Lucas has repeatedly reiterated that "Star Wars" is meant for kids. Rogue One, a prequel story that goes right up to the seconds before "A New Hope" starts, puts that statement to the test.

It's easily the darkest and most morally gray film in the "Star Wars" canon and shows Darth Vader at his most terrifying, finally pushing beyond what was technologically possible during the original trilogy.

Based on a throwaway line in the opening crawl of "A New Hope," "Rogue One" proved that a "Star Wars" movie about something other than Luke Skywalker and the Force could be successful.

Chris Klimek of NPR called the film a "tense, well-made spacefaring war movie about a desperate and demoralized band of insurgents standing up against a rising authoritarian regime."

Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%

This is the time when we have to discuss the animated properties in the "Star Wars" universe. If you skipped out on "The Clone Wars" or "Rebels," you most likely don't even know who Ahsoka is.

A quick crash course: In between the events of "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith," the Clone Wars ravage the galaxy, and Anakin is promoted from padawan (or apprentice) to Jedi master. In turn, he takes a padawan himself: Ahsoka. Don't worry about why she's never mentioned in the movies; it's (somewhat) convincingly retconned in "Clone Wars."

She's one of the most beloved characters in the animated "Star Wars" canon, and her live-action debut was highly anticipated.

So, when it was announced that Rosario Dawson would play Ahsoka first in "The Mandalorian," and then in her own series, people were hyped.

And, for the most part, the series lived up to expectations. The one issue is that this show barely makes any sense if you don't have, at the very least, basic knowledge of the characters from "Rebels," including Sabine, Hera, Ezra, and Thrawn.

"No lightsabers can match the fierce glow of Rosario Dawson as the ex-Jedi with the funky headgear who leads her sisterhood — glory to Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Natasha Liu Bordizzo — against the Empire's fading patriarchy. Now that's worth celebrating," wrote Peter Travers of ABC News.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

Two words: Baby Yoda.

The first-ever "Star Wars" live-action TV show started on a high note, thanks to the cutest puppet of all time (who would later be named Grogu, but started out as simply "Baby Yoda").

Besides this unbelievably adorable baby, "The Mandalorian" has another thing going for it: Pedro Pascal's vocal performance as Din Djarin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter just trying to find his way in the universe. When he meets (and then refuses to kill) Grogu in the first episode, it starts him on a quest that's still going now — get ready for "The Mandalorian & Grogu" coming to theaters in 2026.

As "The Mandalorian" has progressed, it's become a bit bogged down in connecting to the larger "Star Wars" canon, but we'll always have that perfect first season.

"For all its sci-fi stiltedness, 'The Mandalorian' founded a compelling myth, a world of paranoia, ethical dilemmas and, aah, tiny space kitten things. Just don't take it too seriously," wrote The Times' Victoria Segal.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

"The Last Jedi" is the most divisive "Star Wars" movie of the bunch. Those who love it, love it, and those who don't? Well, just look at the 41% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

We're of the opinion that it rocks. It has breathtaking cinematography, intense fights, and a genuinely beautiful message: That anyone, even if their last name isn't Skywalker, can stand up to evil in the universe, whether they're a small boy with a broom, a former Stormtrooper, or a young woman from a junk planet in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't matter where you came from, just where you intend to go.

"[Director Rian] Johnson is easily the most skilled filmmaker to helm one of these (it's not even close) and it's not just that the film has a surface beauty of its own. He's aware of what we expect narratively from a 'Star Wars' movie, and delights in subverting it," wrote Jason Bailey for Flavorwire.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

"Skeleton Crew" is best described as "The Goonies" in space. It follows a group of ragtag kids who accidentally get trapped on an old spaceship and get lost in space. They must work together, along with a new friend Jod (played by the always-charming Jude Law), to get home to their planet, which is more important and mysterious than these kids ever could have guessed.

It's fun — something that "Star Wars" has been sorely lacking recently — and definitely worth the watch.

"For anyone who says the House That [George] Lucas Built is out of ideas and has been picked clean, 'Skeleton Crew' proves there's still meat left on those bones," wrote The San Francisco Chronicle's Zaki Hasan.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

"The Empire Strikes Back" has one of the most iconic plot twists in movie history. Do the words "No, I am your father" mean anything to you?

It's also widely considered one of the best sequels of all time, and has been used as a shorthand to describe any sequel that some could call better than the original, and it's certainly darker than its predecessor.

"The Empire Strikes Back," for all its fun (and there is fun!), ends on a huge downer. Han has been captured and frozen in carbonite in front of the woman he loves and has been betrayed by an old friend; Luke has found out his nemesis is actually his dad; and the Empire is stronger than ever. Woof.

"The appeal of visiting Oz is that it is a magical place over the rainbow. The appeal of 'Star Wars' and, now, 'The Empire Strikes Back' is that it also takes us to a magical place — the childhood of our mind," wrote Gene Siskel for the Chicago Tribune.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

It had been 32 years since Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher had graced our screens as Luke, Han, and Leia (and for Hamill, at least, it'd be another couple of years until we saw him again).

Audiences had three decades to become attached to these original characters, but when "The Force Awakens" introduces us to Finn (John Boyega), a disillusioned stormtrooper, Poe (Oscar Isaac), a brash Resistance pilot, Rey (Daisy Ridley), a junk trader desperate for something more, and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), our new terrifying villain, audiences knew they were in good hands.

And then, after all that, we got to see (almost) all of our old friends together again, too.

"As a nostalgia trip that knows exactly what die-hard 'Star Wars' fans want and then layers in some memorable new characters, 'The Force Awakens' is exactly what it needs to be: an old-school Saturday afternoon sci-fi matinee writ big," wrote The Austin Chronicle's Marc Savlov.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

Originally titled "Star Wars," this is the film that started it all.

There's a reason we're still watching "Star Wars" movies and shows five decades later. The world that George Lucas introduced us to in "Star Wars" is filled with lovable characters, a villain that continues to scare audiences, a magical Force that connects all living things, and a brand-new alien to catch your attention whichever way you look. In many ways, it's the closest thing we have to American mythology.

It also affected Hollywood forever. The special effects company created for this film, Industrial Light and Magic, completely changed the game for special effects and is still working today. It's the fourth-highest-grossing film ever, adjusted for inflation. It was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including best picture, and won six, including a special achievement award for its sound designer, Ben Burtt.

Critics knew it then; fans still know it now. To put it simply: "A New Hope" is great.

"George Lucas' 'Star Wars' is not a film that readily lends itself to comparisons, so it may as well begin with the superlatives. This captivating science fantasy is the finest pure entertainment to reach the screen in ages," wrote Desmond Ryan for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

"Andor," according to critics, is the best live-action "Star Wars" property, and it's hard to argue with them.

The series, which ran for two seasons before its finale aired Tuesday, follows the beginning seeds of the Rebellion, which, by the time we see it in "A New Hope," is a high-functioning operation. Of course, it didn't start out that way.

Even though we know how this story ends, with Cassian Andor and many of his friends sacrificing their lives in "Rogue One" and beyond, the stakes are high, and the series can be unbearably tense.

Another high point: The writing. Many have clowned on George Lucas' stilted dialogue in the prequels. There's none of that to be found in creator Tony Gilroy's prose, which has provided some of the most beautiful lines in "Star Wars" history. It will be missed.

"The show deserves to be seen as great TV, in the same league as shows like 'The Wire' and 'The Sopranos,'" wrote David Klion for The New Republic.

Kuentzel, who took the season 10 title in 2010 after a consistent performance throughout the series, returned to her legal roots after the show.

She was the general counsel and director of advocacy for the San Francisco SPCA from 2012 to 2022, where she oversaw all legal affairs and advocacy campaigns, according to her LinkedIn profile.

In January 2023, she cofounded and was named CEO of a veterinary start-up called Ease Pet Vet. The company connects pet owners with online veterinarians who can help with animal behavioral issues. According to the site, the company "specializes in common issues," which include "challenges such as reactivity, house soiling, generalized anxiety, noise fears, and separation anxiety."

She's a successful lawyer and businesswoman, but is the least well-known "Apprentice" winner since she has stayed out of the public eye.

After winning season six in 2007, Schaeffer, now 50, pivoted away from the business world to become a TV and YouTube host.

She was a correspondent for the TV Guide Channel and, as a former lawyer, hosted a 2008 web series called "Know Your Rights" to help people better understand the legal system.

An avid golfer, she often plays in celebrity golf tournaments and has both guest-hosted and offered commentary on The Golf Channel.

She's also involved with charities that advocate for autism awareness, cancer research, and children's issues, and hosted the YouTube show "The Future Is Bright" presented by the Autism Society of America in 2015.

Pinkett, who won in 2005, had co-founded the consulting firm BCT Partners in 2001. His website calls BCT "a multimillion-dollar research, consulting, training, technology and analytics firm." He also holds five academic degrees and is a published author.

After his appearance on "The Apprentice," he remained somewhat in the public eye, returning to the show as a boardroom advisor.

In 2016, alongside other "Apprentice" candidates, he publicly opposed Trump's first presidential run, per NBC.

"We acknowledge Donald's success as a businessman, and genuinely appreciate the opportunity 'The Apprentice' afforded all of us," Pinkett, now 53, said at a press conference before the New York primary in 2016. "We, however, strongly condemn Donald's campaign of sexism, xenophobia, racism, violence, and hate."

Pinkett maintained this position during the 2024 campaign, when he and five other "Apprentice" alumni endorsed Kamala Harris in an open letter published by Politico. They called him a "divisive, self-interested, and erratic leader with a fragile ego."

Trump did not publicly respond to their letter at the time.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

After winning season two in 2004, Perdew founded a hedge fund and a consulting firm, and he gives speeches about leadership.

Perdew's fund, Moonshots Capital, invests in technology startups and companies started by veterans. His creative consulting agency, DuMont Project, works with direct-to-consumer brands.

A former military intelligence officer, Perdew, 58, was appointed to President George W. Bush's Council on Service and Civic Participation in 2006 and re-appointed in 2008.

He has also served on several company boards, including Pandora and LinkedIn, and frequently gives public speeches on leadership, technology, and career development.

Yazbeck won season five of "The Apprentice" in 2006.

After overseeing the construction of the Trump SoHo condominium in New York City, he started his own telecommunications company called Wavsys, which was named an Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Company in America in 2014.

Yazbeck, 52, who grew up in London, was also awarded the British Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2014.

He returned to "The Apprentice" as a guest board member and dabbled in voice acting with a small part in the 2006 animated film "Over the Hedge."

Per his LinkedIn, he's also co-founded other companies such as Scopeworker, a supply chain company, and Admazing, which connects businesses that are looking to advertise with mobile games.

Some "Apprentice" winners become successful businesspeople, and some become television personalities, but Kendra Todd's career balances both.

Todd, 47, won "The Apprentice" in 2005, the same year that Realtor Magazine named her one of their Top 30 Under 30 brokers.

After her time on the show, she released the bestseller "Risk & Grow Rich: How to Make Millions in Real Estate," then combined her real estate expertise and TV experience as the host of HGTV's "My House Is Worth What?" from 2006 to 2008.

Todd founded her own real estate firm, the Kendra Todd Group, in 2009, where she continues to work today, per her LinkedIn. She has also made appearances on "Fox and Friends" as a real estate contributor.

In response to the letter that some "Apprentice" alums signed endorsing Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, Todd spearheaded a response from 10 other former contestants to support Trump's campaign, Fox News reported in October 2024.

"It is disappointing and shameful that these contestants would use the platform that Donald Trump gave them to attack him in this manner," they wrote. "Is this the thanks he gets for literally changing the trajectory of our lives?"

Rancic, who won the very first season in 2004, capitalized on his "Apprentice" success as a motivational speaker and bestselling author in addition to his business ventures.

As a motivational speaker, Rancic, 53, teaches audiences about productivity and his successful business methods. He has hosted and appeared on several TV shows talking about entrepreneurship and has written four books, including a New York Times bestseller called "You're Hired."

Rancic married E! News co-anchor Giuliana Rancic (née DePandi) in 2007, and the couple went on to star in their own reality show "Giuliana and Bill" from 2009 to 2014. They own six restaurants together and support several philanthropic causes related to cancer and infertility after Giuliana's breast cancer diagnosis in 2011.

With several burgeoning businesses and star power, he's the only "Apprentice" winner who has remained a household name years after the show aired, hence earning the accolade of most successful "Apprentice" winner.

Net worth: $1.5 billion

Age: 78

Source of wealth: As the founder and CEO of Great Southern Wood Preserving, Rane helped popularize the lumber business by appearing in commercials as a cowboy known as "the Yella Fella."

Residence: Abbeville

Net worth: $400 million, each

Age: Rubini is 70; Hyde is 68.

Source of wealth: Rubini serves as the CEO and chairman of commercial real-estate developer JL Properties, while Hyde serves as its president. Each of them owns 50% of the business, which also includes properties in Florida and Utah, Forbes reported.

Residence: Anchorage

Net worth: $17.3 billion

Age: 67

Source of wealth: Ernest Garcia II owns the used car retailer DriveTime Automotive, the fourth-largest used car retailer in the US. He is also the largest shareholder of Carvana, an online used car dealer founded by his son, Ernest Garcia III, in 2012.

Residence: Tempe

Net worth: $113 billion

Age: 80

Source of wealth: Rob Walton and his siblings inherited their wealth from their father, Sam Walton, who opened the first Walmart store in 1962 and founded the discount warehouse Sam's Club in 1983. Rob Walton, the eldest of the Walton siblings, is also one of the principal owners of the Denver Broncos.

Residence: Bentonville

Net worth: $189 billion

Age: 40

Source of wealth: As a student at Harvard, Zuckerberg cofounded a social network known as "The Facebook" in 2004. He went on to become CEO of Meta, the parent company for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.

Residence: Palo Alto

Net worth: $16.9 billion

Age: 85

Source of wealth: Anschutz initially amassed his fortune through the discovery of an oil field on the Wyoming-Utah border in 1979 and subsequent investments in railroad companies. He founded Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in 1994, which owns major sports teams and performance venues such as the Crypto.com Arena. AEG is also the parent company of the Coachella music festival.

Residence: Denver

Net worth: $21.3 billion

Age: 68

Source of wealth: Cohen founded two hedge funds, SAC Capital and Point72. Until SAC Capital was shut down after pleading guilty to insider trading charges in 2013, it was one of the most successful hedge funds in the world (Cohen himself was never charged). Point72 currently manages over $35 billion, Forbes reported. He also holds a 95% ownership stake in the New York Mets.

A fun fact about Cohen: He loosely inspired Damien Lewis' "Billions" character, Bobby Axelrod.

Residence: Greenwich

Net worth: $800 million

Age: 77

Source of wealth: Snyder's parents founded WL Gore & Associates, a manufacturing company that holds over 7,000 patents, in 1958. Gore-Tex, a waterproof fabric used in outdoor apparel and shoes, remains its most profitable invention. Snyder owns around 5.5% of the company, Forbes reported.

Residence: Wilmington

Net worth: $206 billion

Age: 61

Source of wealth: Bezos founded e-commerce titan Amazon in 1994 and still owns around 9% of the company. As of May 2025, he was the third-richest person in the US behind Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. He's also the third-richest person in the world, just ahead of Larry Ellison.

Residence: Miami

Net worth: $10.7 billion

Age: 71 (Bubba), 72 (Dan), and 69 (Trudy)

Source of wealth: The Cathys are heirs to the Chick-fil-A family fortune. Founded by their father, S. Truett Cathy, in the 1960s, the fried-chicken fast-food chain now has over 3,200 restaurant locations worldwide. Dan Cathy's son, Andrew Cathy, took over as CEO in 2021. Dan Cathy's brother, Bubba Cathy, is still the executive vice president.

Residence: Atlanta (Bubba and Don), Hampton (Trudy)

Net worth: $10 billion

Age: 57

Source of wealth: Omidyar founded eBay in 1995 and became a billionaire when the e-commerce company went public during the dot-com bubble in 1998. eBay also acquired PayPal in 2002 for $1.5 billion.

Residence: Honolulu

Net worth: $3.2 billion

Age: 76

Source of wealth: VanderSloot is the founder and former chief executive of Melaleuca, Inc., which sells nutritional and wellness products online. Forbes reported that the company now has over one million customers each month.

Residence: Idaho Falls

Net worth: $39 billion

Age: 38

Source of wealth: Lukas Walton is the billionaire heir to the Walmart fortune and the grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Lukas Walton inherited his vast wealth after his father, John T. Walton, died in a plane crash in 2005 at the age of 58.

He founded Builders Vision, an impact investing group, in 2021, and also chairs the Walton Family Foundation's environment program committee.

Residence: Chicago

Net worth: $9.9 billion

Age: 62

Source of wealth: Cook has served as CEO of Cook Group, a medical-device manufacturing company founded by his parents, since his father's death in 2011. Forbes reported the company made $2.4 billion in revenue in 2024.

Residence: Bloomington

Net worth: $10.2 billion

Age: 83

Source of wealth: Stine is an agricultural pioneer and the founder and owner of Stine Seed, a corn and soybean seed company based in Adel, Iowa.

According to the company's website, Stine Seed and its affiliates own around 800 patents related to soybean and corn genetic technology. Major licensing deals have helped it become one of the world's largest private seed companies.

Residence: Adel

Net worth: $67.5 billion

Age: 89

Source of wealth: Koch amassed his billions from serving as co-CEO of Koch, Inc., which produces around $125 billion in revenue each year, Forbes reported.

Founded in 1940 by his father, Fred Koch, Koch Industries — later shortened to Koch — is involved in various businesses, from oil pipelines to paper goods, and is the second-largest private company in the US.

Residence: Wichita

Net worth: $8.1 billion

Age: 63

Source of wealth: Gustavson made her billions as the heiress to the Public Storage empire and as a prize-winning horse breeder. Her father, B. Wayne Hughes, cofounded Public Storage, a self-storage company that now owns and operates thousands of locations across the US and Europe, in 1972.

Forbes reported that Gustavson owns about 10% of the company.

Residence: Lexington

Net worth: $17.2 billion

Age: 53

Source of wealth: Graves, the founder and CEO of the chicken-tender restaurant chain Raising Cane's, opened his first restaurant in 1996. The company now has nearly 900 restaurants in the US and made $5.1 billion in annual sales in 2024, Forbes reported.

Residence: Baton Rouge

Net worth: $3.7 billion

Age: 79

Source of wealth: Alfond's father, Harold Alfond, made a fortune as the founder of the Dexter Shoe Company, once one of the largest shoe manufacturers in the US. Forbes reported that he sold the company to Warren Buffett in 1993 for $420 million in Berkshire Hathaway stock.

Harold Alfond died in 2007, leaving his fortune to Susan Alfond and her three siblings.

Residence: Scarborough

Net worth: $5.5 billion

Age: 95

Source of wealth: Lerner's fortune grew after she loaned $250 to her husband, Ted Lerner, to establish a firm that sold homes to real-estate developers, Forbes reported.

Founded in 1952, it grew to become one of the most successful real-estate companies in the DC area. The Lerners also made their money as owners of the Washington Nationals baseball team.

Residence: Chevy Chase

Net worth: $31.5 billion

Age: 63

Source of wealth: Johnson is the chair and CEO of Fidelity Investments — which her grandfather founded — and holds an estimated 28.5% ownership in the company. The Financial Times called her the "quiet queen of American finance" for the way she grew her father's and grandfather's business while staying incredibly private.

Residence: Milton

Net worth: $23.7 billion

Age: 63

Source of wealth: Gilbert is the founder and chairman of Rocket Companies, formerly known as Quicken Loans. From 2013 to 2018, under Gilbert's leadership, the company closed nearly half a trillion in home loans, according to the Gilbert Family Foundation. He also owns the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.

Residence: Franklin

Net worth: $2.9 billion

Age: 84

Source of wealth: Taylor purchased Carlson Letter Service, a wedding stationery business that he worked for while attending college, in 1975, according to the company's website. It became the Taylor Corporation, a print services and communications company. A former state senator, he's also owned several sports teams.

Residence: Mankato

Net worth: $3 billion

Age: 68 and 64

Source of wealth: The Duff brothers' wealth originates from their family business: tires. Their father, Ernest, founded Southern Tire Mart in the '70s and sold it in 1998. James and Thomas bought it back in 2003 and then cofounded Duff Capital Investors, a holding company, in 2007. Forbes reported it now brings in $5 billion in revenue across over 20 businesses.

Residence: Hattiesburg

Net worth: $11.4 billion

Age: 73

Source of wealth: In 1990, David Steward cofounded IT provider World Wide Technology, which Forbes valued at $20 billion in sales. Citi, Verizon, and the federal government are a few of the company's clients. An avid fan of car racing, Steward has pushed for more diversity in NASCAR, according to his company bio. In 2018, WWT began sponsoring Bubba Wallace, one of the few Black drivers in the racing organization's history.

Residence: St. Louis

Net worth: $7.4 billion

Age: 90

Source of wealth: Washington owns a business group called Washington Companies, which is involved in mining, rail and marine transportation, and construction. He's also invested in his son Kyle's ship business, Seaspan ULC.

Residence: Missoula

Net worth: $165 billion

Age: 94

Source of wealth: Buffett is one of the best-known and most successful investors of all time. He's made his fortune via Berkshire Hathaway, which owns brands such as Geico, Dairy Queen, and Duracell. Despite his immense wealth, he's also known for his modest spending habits. Recently, he announced he'll retire at the end of 2025.

Residence: Omaha

Net worth: $28.6 billion

Age: 79

Source of wealth: Miriam Adelson is on the list after the 2021 death of her husband, casino magnate and major Republican donor Sheldon Adelson. Now, she and her family own over 50% of Las Vegas Sands, a casino company worth over $39 billion. In 2023, she became a majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, a title formerly held by Mark Cuban. She's also been a major donor to Donald Trump.

Residence: Las Vegas

Net worth: $11.5 billion

Age: 72

Source of wealth: Most of Cohen's familial wealth comes from Symbotic, a warehouse automation company that has partnered with Walmart. Cohen is the chairman and CEO. In addition, Cohen also owns the US' largest grocery wholesaler, C&S Wholesale Grocers, which brings in $33 billion annually, Forbes reported. In 2024, his net worth plunged by $9 billion due to his family's stake in Symbotic, when the company's stocks tanked.

Residence: Keene

Net worth: $7.4 billion

Age: 55

Source of wealth: Two Sigma, a $60 billion hedge fund, which Overdeck cofounded, is the source of his wealth. He and David Siegel stepped down as co-CEOs last year, amid a long-term dispute over managing the firm. In high school, he won a silver medal in the International Mathematics Olympiad, and now he serves as chair for the National Museum of Mathematics.

Residence: Millburn

Net worth: $1.7 billion

Age: 63

Source of wealth: Corio's billionaire status — the first in New Mexico — stems from Array Technologies, a solar tracking systems business. He is the founder and former CEO, resigning in 2020 before its IPO.

Residence: Albuquerque

Net worth: $105 billion

Age: 83

Source of wealth: What hasn't Bloomberg done? Besides his 12-year stint as the mayor of New York City and an unsuccessful presidential campaign, Bloomberg cofounded Bloomberg LP in 1981. Bloomberg is a media company and a financial firm with revenues of $13.3 billion, as reported by Forbes.

Residence: New York

Net worth: $9.8 billion

Age: 82

Source of wealth: Goodnight and his colleague John Sall (also a billionaire) cofounded a private school, Cary Academy, and also co-own a hotel and country club. But their biggest business venture together is the software company SAS, founded in 1976. It made over $3 billion in sales in 2024, according to the company's 2024 annual report.

Residence: Cary

Net worth: $1.2 billion

Age: 79

Source of wealth: Tharaldson, the only billionaire in North Dakota, got his start in 1982 when Tharaldson Hospitality purchased a Super 8 Motel. It then became a huge hospitality group and one of America's largest developers of new hotels.

Residence: Fargo

Net worth: $7.8 billion

Age: 87

Source of wealth: Wexner opened The Limited in Ohio in the 1960s. He then founded a retail empire that, at one point, owned brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, The Limited Too, Express, and Victoria's Secret. Now Wexner's company has been renamed Bath & Body Works Inc., and solely owns the chain of the same name.

Residence: New Albany

Net worth: $18.5 billion

Age: 79

Source of wealth: Hamm founded the Shelly Dean Oil Company, now known as Continental Resources, in 1967 when he was only 21. It's now one of the largest oil companies in the US, thanks in part to Hamm's decision to use horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Bakken region of North Dakota in the '90s. The company went public in 2007, but in 2022, Hamm and his five children took the company private again in a deal worth $27 billion.

Residence: Oklahoma City

Net worth: $29 billion

Age: 87

Source of wealth: One word: Nike. Knight cofounded the iconic brand in 1964 alongside Bill Bowerman. Although Knight retired in 2016, he and his family still own 20% of the company, which, in 2024, earned $51 billion in fiscal revenue, per Forbes.

Residence: Hillsboro

Net worth: $59 billion

Age: 66

Source of wealth: After spending time as a pro gambler and trader on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Yass cofounded Susquehanna International Group in 1987. The successful Wall Street trading firm has a 15% stake in ByteDance, TikTok's parent company. NBC reported in 2024 that Yass also has a personal share (7%) of ByteDance.

Residence: Haverford

Net worth: $3.4 billion

Age: 68

Source of wealth: In 1989, Nelson founded and led the private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. He was CEO until January 2021 and is now its executive chairman. The firm has invested in over 180 companies, including Hulu, Warner Media Group, and Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES).

Residence: Providence

Net worth: $5 billion

Age: 61

Source of wealth: Robert "Bob" Faith founded Greystar, a global real estate firm, in 1993 and continues to serve as chairman and CEO. Throughout his career, Faith grew Greystar from 9,000 units in the US to more than a million units across five continents, worth more than $315 billion, the company reported in a March press release. The company also has an investment management platform with $36 billion in assets under development.

Residence: Charleston

Net worth: $2.1 billion

Age: 89

Source of wealth: The University of Minnesota alum made his fortune as the owner of First Premier Bank. Despite having just 17 branches across South Dakota, the bank is one of the largest issuers of Mastercards, in part because it specializes in offering credit cards to those with low credit scores. Often, the cards have low limits and high interest rates.

Residence: Sioux Falls

Net worth: $26.8 billion

Age: 86

Source of wealth: Frist Jr. cofounded Hospital Corp. of America with his father in 1968. According to its website, the for-profit healthcare company is responsible for 186 hospitals and over 2,400 care sites (like urgent care centers, surgery clinics, and physician clinics) across the US and UK. He and his family own over 20% of the company, and his sons, Thomas Frist III and William Frist, are board members.

Residence: Nashville

Net worth: $388 billion

Age: 53

Source of wealth: Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are in a continuous battle for the title of richest person in the US. Musk is CEO of Tesla, CEO and founder of SpaceX, and the founder of neurotechnology startup Neuralink and tunneling company The Boring Company. He also helped found OpenAI, but he left in 2018 and announced his own AI endeavor, xAI, in 2023, which he owns an estimated 54% of, according to Forbes. He also owns an estimated 74% of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Residence: Austin

Net worth: $4.4 billion

Age: 81

Source of wealth: Miller owns the Larry H. Miller Company, which she founded with her husband, Larry H. Miller, in 1979 after purchasing their first Toyota dealership. The LHM Company's car dealership business became the eighth-largest in the US, and she sold it for $3.2 billion in 2021, Forbes reported. (Larry H. Miller died in 2009.) LHM's portfolio also includes companies in real estate, entertainment, sports, and insurance, among others. In 2020, after more than 30 years of owning the Utah Jazz, Miller sold the team and their home arena for $1.66 billion.

Residence: Salt Lake City

Net worth: $2 billion

Age: 88

Source of wealth: In 1979, Abele cofounded Boston Scientific, a medical device manufacturer, alongside Peter Nicholas. Boston Scientific focuses on developing more accessible medical technologies, and its products include pacemakers, defibrillators, and stents.

Residence: Shelburne

Net worth: $39 billion

Age: 85

Source of wealth: As the granddaughter of Mars Incorporated founder Frank C. Mars, Jacqueline owns an estimated one-third of the legendary candy, food, and pet-care company responsible for treats like Snickers, Juicy Fruit, and Milky Way. (Her brother owns another third and is the richest person in Wyoming, per Forbes.) She served on the board of directors until 2016, having spent nearly 20 years with the company.

Residence: The Plains

Net worth: $118 billion

Age: 69

Source of wealth: Bill Gates hired Ballmer as Microsoft's 30th employee in 1980. Ballmer went on to serve as the CEO of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. After retiring, he bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion and donated millions to the University of Oregon.

Residence: Hunts Point

Net worth: $900 million

Age: 61

Source of wealth: During Smith's time as CEO and then executive chairman of the finance and business software company Intuit, the company's revenue almost doubled, Forbes reported. The success came after Intuit revamped its desktop software into a digital cloud-based platform. Now the president of Marshall University, he also chairs Nordstrom's board of directors and sits on the boards of Amazon and JPMorgan Chase.

Residence: Huntington

Net worth: $21.9 billion

Age: 78

Source of wealth: Hendricks earned her billionaire status as the cofounder of ABC Supply, the largest roofing wholesaler in the US, with her late husband Ken Hendricks. Founded in 1982, ABC Supply acquired the building materials distributors Bradco in 2010 and L&W Supply in 2016 with Hendricks at the helm.

Residence: Afton

Net worth: $39 billion

Age: 89

Source of wealth: Mars — whose sister is Jacqueline Mars, Virginia's richest person — is another heir of the Mars family fortune amassed from candy products such as Snickers, Mars Bars, and M&M's, as well as Pedigree pet food and Uncle Ben's rice. He owns a third of the $45 billion business.

Residence: Jackson

Harper Lee, the author of the seminal "To Kill a Mockingbird," was born and raised in Monroeville, the inspiration for her classic novel's fictional town of Maycomb. The Monroe County Courthouse, where Lee watched her father practice law as a child, now operates as a museum.

The University of Alabama alum lived in Monroeville until her death in 2016, just a short drive from the Mockingbird Grill and Radley's Fountain Grille, named after the character Boo Radley.

Velma Wallis is a native Alaskan. Born in a remote village near Fort Yukon, she dropped out of school at age 13 to help raise her 12 siblings after their father's death. Wallis later earned her GED and moved to a cabin, where she practiced her hunting and trapping skills for over a decade.

She wrote and published her first book, "Two Old Women," in 1993, and it became a word-of-mouth bestseller. Based on an Athabascan legend passed down from Wallis' mother, the book has sold over 1.5 million copies.

Since then, Wallis has written other books, like "Bird Girl and the Man Who Followed the Sun" and "Raising Ourselves," for which she won an American Book Award in 2003. 

Jeannette Walls' 2005 memoir "The Glass Castle" examines her struggle as a child and young adult to overcome poverty and become self-sufficient. Her dysfunctional family were nomads of the Southwest, but the first place she remembers living is a small trailer park in Arizona.

Her memoir was turned into a film in 2017 starring Brie Larson.

Walls' most recent book, "Hang the Moon," was published in 2023 and focuses on young women living in Virginia during Prohibition.

John Grisham has written dozens of books across his career, beginning with 1989's "A Time to Kill," which was later turned into a film starring Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, and Matthew McConaughey in 1996.

While he grew up in Mississippi and even served in the Mississippi House of Representatives, this lawyer turned master of the legal thriller genre was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

He branched out by writing "A Painted House" in 2001, a coming-of-age story inspired by his upbringing on a farm in Arkansas.

Other books by Grisham you may be familiar with are "The Firm," "The Pelican Brief," "The Client," and "Skipping Christmas" (which was adapted into the film "Christmas with the Kranks").

Even though he's 70, Grisham has shown no signs of slowing down. His next novel is expected in October 2025 and is called "The Widow." It's a departure from his usual fare — instead of a legal thriller, it's his first-ever mystery novel.

A California native, Joan Didion was a legendary novelist and essayist. She died in 2021.

She began her career writing for Vogue in New York City in the 1950s, but soon returned to her home state of California.

She authored five novels and 11 books of nonfiction throughout her decadeslong career. Many of her books — like 1968's "Slouching Towards Bethlehem." 1970's "Play It As It Lays," and 2003's "Where I Was From" — depict California life and culture at the time they were written. 

Didion won the National Book Award for her 2005 memoir, "The Year of Magical Thinking," which she wrote following the death of her husband. 

Considered a founding father of 1960s counterculture, Ken Kesey was born in La Junta, Colorado, the son of dairy farmers. His work promoted drug use as a path to individual liberation.

Two of his best-known novels — "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which was adapted into a film of the same name and won five Academy Awards, and "Sometimes a Great Notion" — were both set in Oregon, where he was raised.

Kesey died in 2001.

The eminent abolitionist writer Harriet Beecher Stowe, born in 1811, grew up in Litchfield, Connecticut — and in 1896, she died in Hartford, just 32 miles away.

In her later years, she returned to Hartford, where she wrote some of her best-known works other than 1852's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" — "The American Woman's Home" and "Poganuc People" — and helped establish the Hartford Art School, which later became the University of Hartford.

Born in Delaware, Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first Black woman to obtain a medical degree in the United States, according to the Office of Research on Women's Health.

Though little is known about her personal life, Dr. Crumpler authored a book of medical advice for women and children in 1883, "A Book of Medical Discourses," based on her field notes.

In the historic book, Dr. Crumpler recounts: "It may be well to state here that, having been reared by a kind aunt in Pennsylvania, whose usefulness with the sick was continually sought, I early conceived a liking for, and sought every opportunity to relieve the sufferings of others."

She died in 1895 at the age of 64.

Chabon was born in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, and began writing his first novel right after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, finishing it before getting his MFA from UC Irvine.

Since then, he's published multiple novels, most famously 2000's "The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," which won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction.

He's also been involved in TV shows — he was the co-creator of the 2019 Netflix miniseries "Unbelievable" and the Paramount+ series "Star Trek: Picard."

Sunshine State-grown Carl Hiaasen is a New York Times best-selling author and a master of the mystery thriller and children's genres.

He graduated from the University of Florida in 1974 and started writing for The Miami Herald when he was 23 years old. He wrote a column for the newspaper until 2021.

His most popular books, including "Hoot," "Flush," "Tourist Season," "Skin Tight," "Strip Tease," and "Skinny Dip," take place in Florida. Most recently, his 2013 book "Bad Monkey"  (also set in Florida) was adapted into an AppleTV+ series starring Vince Vaughn. It's also been renewed for a season two.

Novelist, essayist, and poet Alice Walker was born in Putnam County, Georgia, in 1944 and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College.

Her third novel, "The Color Purple," depicted the life and relationship of two sisters in rural Georgia and was released to instant, universal acclaim. It was later made into a film directed by Steven Spielberg in 1985, a stage musical in 2005, and then a musical film in 2023.

In 1983, Walker became the first Black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction, winning for "The Color Purple."

Since then, she has published many other books, essays, and poems, including "The Third Life of Grange Copeland" and "Meridian."

Kaui Hart Hemmings was born and raised on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu and still lives there. Her debut novel, 2007's "The Descendants," tells the story of a dysfunctional family living in Hawaii dealing with the impending death of its matriarch after a jet skiing crash.

The book was adapted into a 2011 film of the same name starring George Clooney.

A child of the frontier, this Annis, Idaho, native is best known for the book "Children of God." He also wrote a guide to Idaho and the 12-part "Testament of Man" series in a cabin that he built overlooking the Thousand Springs area.

Fisher's gritty account of trappers in the fur trade era, "Mountain Men," was made into a 1972 movie starring Robert Redford, titled "Jeremiah Johnson" — though, sadly, he didn't live to see it. He died in 1968.

Ernest Hemingway, best known for his 1952 novel "The Old Man and the Sea," found his passion for writing in the upscale Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, where he was born. In high school, he wrote for the school's newspaper and yearbook. After graduating in 1917, he left Illinois to report for The Kansas City Star.

His other most well-known works are 1926's "The Sun Also Rises," 1929's "A Farewell to Arms," and 1940's "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

He died in 1961.

The Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park operates a museum in his childhood home.

Many of Kurt Vonnegut's works — though not his signature 1969 novel "Slaughterhouse-Five" — use his birthplace of Indianapolis as a symbol of American values, or contain at least one character from Indy.

In 1986, during a visit to North Central High School, he said, "All my jokes are Indianapolis. All my attitudes are Indianapolis. My adenoids are Indianapolis. If I ever severed myself from Indianapolis, I would be out of business. What people like about me is Indianapolis," per Indiana History.

Vonnegut died in 2007.

Before travel and history writer Bill Bryson shot to fame in the UK, where he now lives, he was Des Moines' hometown boy. He attended Drake University for two years and wrote about his 1950s Middle America upbringing in his 2006 memoir "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid."

Fellow Hoosier and former President Herbert Hoover features prominently in Bryson's 2013 book, "One Summer: America, 1927."

Bryson is also known for his 2003 book "A Short History of Nearly Everything" and his 1997 book "A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail," which was adapted into the 2015 film of the same name starring Robert Redford as Bryson.

In 2020, Bryson told Times Radio that he was retiring from writing, according to The Guardian, though he released an audiobook in 2022 called "The Secret History of Christmas."

Perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning screenplay for the 1961 film "Splendor in the Grass," Inge channeled his Kansas pride into his two novels: 1970's "Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff" and 1971's "My Son Is a Splendid Driver," both of which take place in the fictional town of Freedom, Kansas.

His hometown of Independence fostered his creativity. As a boy, Inge cherished the tight-knit community and enjoyed seeing top artists perform as they passed through on their way to Kansas City. He also attended the University of Kansas at Lawrence, which now has a black box theater named after him.

When creating this list, Kansas was a tough call, like most of the Midwest states, as the pool of notable authors was small. We went with Inge — a playwright by trade — because of his staunch state pride.

Inge died in 1973.

Hunter S. Thompson, a Louisville native, wrote almost a dozen books and is credited as the founder of gonzo journalism, a style of first-person reporting that is devoid of objectivity.

He catapulted into fame with the seminal sports article "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved," originally published in June 1970. Thompson pitched the Louisville-based story to Scanlan's Monthly just 72 hours before the race, and quickly found himself submerged in the spectators' lewd celebrations, according to Grantland.

After the article, Thompson went on to write his best-known book, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," in 1971.

Thompson died in 2005.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Anne Rice brought the city to life in her Gothic fiction. The French Quarter provides a setting for "Interview with the Vampire," and her house in the Garden District served as the fictional home of her characters in the "Lives of the Mayfair Witches" series.

By the end of 2025, there will be three adaptations of Rice's work airing on TV: "Interview with the Vampire," which premiered in 2022, "Mayfair Witches," which premiered in 2023, and "Talamasca: The Secret Order," which will premiere in fall 2025. It's all part of the interconnected "Anne Rice's Immortal Universe." A fourth series, an adaptation of her novel "The Queen of the Damned," has also been greenlit.

Rice died in 2021, and her mausoleum is open to the public at a cemetery in New Orleans, per Atlas Obscura.

Stephen King is the quintessential Maine author. He was born in Portland, graduated from the University of Maine at Orono, and lived in Bangor for decades. He now lives in Florida.

King's fictional Maine topography provides a backdrop for almost all of his novels, including "Carrie," "It," "The Dead Zone," "Insomnia," "'Salem's Lot," and others — though not his most famous work, "The Shining."

King's 66th book, "Never Flinch," is set to be published in May 2025.

Tom Clancy, who was born and raised in Baltimore, wrote 19 novels throughout his career. They mostly focused on the fictional super-CIA analyst Jack Ryan. His 1989 book "Clear and Present Danger" was the best-selling book of the year it was released, The Washington Post reported.

His books have been adapted into multiple movies and TV shows, and Ryan has been played by stars such as Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, Chris Pine, John Krasinski, and Alec Baldwin.

Clancy always had pride in his hometown and was even a minority owner of the Baltimore Orioles. After his death in 2013, the team wore memorial patches the entire season.

Silver Spring native and romance novelist Nora Roberts was also in contention for this spot.

Born William Edward Burghardt Du Bois in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in 1868, W.E.B. Du Bois was a preeminent sociologist, essayist, civil rights activist, and cofounder of the NAACP.

According to the History Channel, Du Bois was an early proponent of using data to solve social issues in the Black community.

After graduating from Harvard University, Du Bois published his groundbreaking book, "The Souls of Black Folk," in 1903.

A collection of sociological essays detailing the Black American experience, "The Souls of Black Folk" also introduced the theory of "double consciousness" and has become required reading in many courses around the US.

Du Bois died in August 1963, the day before the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

This bestselling author found inspiration in the economic turmoil of Detroit for his first novel, "The Virgin Suicides."

The Motor City native told NPR in 2009, "That whole feeling of growing up in Detroit, in a city losing population, and in perpetual crisis really was the mood that made me write 'The Virgin Suicides' in the first place."

His 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "Middlesex" is also mainly set in Michigan.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born and raised on a tree-lined street in St. Paul's Ramsey Hill neighborhood. In his writing, Fitzgerald painted himself as coming from nothing when, in reality, the family lived in an upscale luxury apartment, per Minnesota Public Radio.

Fitzgerald's first writing to appear in print was a detective story in St. Paul Academy's newspaper when he was 13 years old.

In his most famous work, "The Great Gatsby," the main character, Nick Carraway, was based primarily on Fitzgerald himself — both were from Minnesota, attended Ivy League colleges, and then moved to New York to find themselves.

Fitzgerald died in 1940 under the impression that his work would soon be forgotten — "Gatsby" didn't become popular until it was distributed to soldiers during World War II.

Oxford, Mississippi, is the ultimate literary destination for fans of William Faulkner. He was reared, schooled, made famous, and buried there, and loved Lafayette County so deeply that he created his own fictitious county based on it.

He told the Paris Review, "I discovered that my own little postage stamp of native soil was worth writing about and that I would never live long enough to exhaust it."

Indeed, almost all of Faulker's novels, including 1929's "The Sound and the Fury" and 1930's "As I Lay Dying," are set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County.

Faulkner died in 1962 in his home state.

Poet, singer, and memoirist Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis.

Angelou was also a civil rights activist, working with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Her most acclaimed work, "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings," was published in 1969 and is a memoir of her traumatic early life and the development of her love for literature. Angelou was also a prolific poet, penning widely quoted lines in poems like "On the Pulse of Morning" and "Phenomenal Woman."

Angelou received an honorary National Book Award in 2013 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010 before her death in 2014.

Born and raised in Helena, Meloy has written books for kids and adults, most famously the 2003 novel "Liars and Saints" and the 2017 novel "Do Not Be Alarmed."

The Harvard College grad is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and The New York Times, and has been dubbed "the first great American realist of the 21st century" in a review of her work by The Boston Globe.

Sparks was born in Omaha to a business professor and an optometrist's assistant — that's why, even though his work is most associated with North Carolina, he's representing Nebraska.

He wrote his first novel the summer after his freshman year at Notre Dame and, though the novel went unpublished, it was the beginning of a slow-going (at first) career in writing.

He wrote his first bestseller, "The Notebook," at age 24 in 1996. It spent over a year on the hardcover bestseller list.

Sparks has been an incredibly prolific author, writing a new book nearly every year, many of which have been made into films, including "A Walk to Remember," "The Lucky One," "Safe Haven," "Nights in Rodanthe," "The Last Song," and "Message in a Bottle."

Relatively new to the book industry, Bock, who was born and raised in Las Vegas, wrote his debut novel "Beautiful Children" in 2008. It was named the same year to The New York Times' Notable Book of the Year list.

Bock's parents were pawnbrokers, and his upbringing with them, as well as his childhood in Las Vegas, was a huge influence on the novel.

His latest book, "I Will Do Better: A Father's Memoir of Heartbreak, Parenting, and Love," which is about his life with his daughter after his wife's death, was released in October 2024.

Brown grew up on the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, where his father taught math and where Brown himself eventually attended, Parade reported.

Growing up Episcopalian, Brown doubted religion from a young age, which led to themes of conspiracy and religious skepticism that are found in many of Brown's books, like his most famous work, the 2003 novel, "The Da Vinci Code."

After graduating from Amherst College, Brown briefly pursued a career as a musician, even recording a few CDs, before quitting his teaching job to write full time.

The Newark-born author set many of his books in his hometown, including his last novel, "Nemesis," in addition to his most well-known works such as 1997's "American Pastoral," 1969's "Portnoy's Complaint," and 2004's "The Plot Against America."

The Jewish community in which he grew up became a huge influence on many of his books, including the relationships between family members or the divide between Jews and non-Jews where he was raised.

Roth died in 2018.

Anaya came from a family of cattle workers and sheepherders in the tiny town of Pastura.

"We were all poor, and had the curanderas — the healers — that helped," Anaya said in a 2016 interview with The Las Cruces Sun-News. "We had the vaqueros, the cowboys, who came in and out of the village. On Saturday evenings, my dad would take out a guitar, and somebody would bring beer, and my dad would sing some of the old New Mexico songs." He added that all of that "crawled into [his] DNA."

At age 14, he and his family moved to Albuquerque.

His first novel, 1972's "Bless Me, Ultima," was successful — but controversial — upon publication, and led to Anaya becoming one of the founding fathers of the Chicano literature movement. It was set in the New Mexico town of Guadalupe.

Anaya died in 2020.

James Baldwin's work weaves tales of "Black people's aspirations, disappointments, and coping strategies in a hostile society," according to the Poetry Foundation.

Baldwin, a New York City native and acclaimed novelist and essayist, was adored by critics for both his writing style and substance, and he penned now-classics like "If Beale Street Could Talk" and "Go Tell It On The Mountain."

Baldwin moved to Paris in 1948, where he lived for the rest of his life. On his move, he told The New York Times, "Once I found myself on the other side of the ocean, I could see where I came from very clearly, and I could see that I carried myself, which is my home, with me. You can never escape that. I am the grandson of a slave, and I am a writer. I must deal with both."

Baldwin died in 1987.

Born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, Wolfe was recognized at a young age for his genius and enrolled at UNC Chapel Hill at age 15.

After completing further studies in playwriting at Harvard, Wolfe went on to write not only many plays, but some lengthy novels as well, including "Look Homeward, Angel," a work of fiction based on his life in Asheville.

While the book was a huge success, it was met with controversy back home, as more than 200 characters were based on actual Asheville residents, including his own family, according to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial. The outcry was so bad that it led to Wolfe exiling himself from Asheville for almost a decade before returning home again.

Wolfe died in 1938.

Born Louis Dearborn LaMoore in 1908, the North Dakota native grew up in Jamestown, a medium-sized farm community, with a veterinarian father. L'Amour heard tales of the Great American Frontier from his uncles and his grandfather, who lived through the Civil and Indian wars.

Hearing these tales impressed L'Amour, who went on to write his "American Tradition" novels like "The Walking Drum" and "To the Far Blue Mountains."

He died in 1988. As The New York Times noted, at the time of his death, "all 101 of Mr. L'Amour's books — 86 novels, 14 short-story collections and one full-length work of nonfiction," were in print, making him one of the most prolific authors of all time.

Born in Lorain, Ohio, iconic novelist Toni Morrison studied at Howard and Cornell Universities before working as a publishing editor for many years. Morrison was 39 when her first novel, "The Bluest Eye," was published in 1970 to critical acclaim.

However, it was her third novel, 1987's "Beloved," that made her a literary star. 

Throughout her career, Morrison won several awards for her work, including the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988 for "Beloved."

Morrison died in 2019.

Ralph Ellison is best known for his 1952 novel "Invisible Man," about a Black community in the South in which a man searches for his identity.

Before his writing career took off, though, Ellison left his home of Oklahoma City to pursue music at the Tuskegee Institute. It wasn't until Langston Hughes introduced Ellison to Richard Wright that Ellison was encouraged to take up writing.

"Invisible Man" was the only novel published by Ellison in his lifetime, making him one of the most famous literary one-hit wonders.

Ellison died in 1994.

Even though Cleary's Oregon hometown, Yamhill, was so small it didn't have a library, she developed a love of books early on. Once she got to school, the school librarians suggested she write children's books for a living, and Cleary made that her ultimate goal.

She published her first book, "Henry Huggins," in 1950. The "Henry Huggins" series lasted through 1964.

After that came her most famous series: The "Ramona" series, which began in 1955 and ended in 1999, including books such as "Beezus and Ramona," "Ramona Quimby, Age 8," and "Ramona Forever."

Cleary died in 2021 at the age of 104.

Pennsylvania native John Updike is one of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction more than once: in 1981 for "Rabbit Is Rich" and in 1990 for "Rabbit at Rest." His books are known for their carefully crafted depictions of the American middle class.

He also wrote "The Witches of Eastwick," which was turned into the popular 1987 film starring Cher and Jack Nicholson, and its 2008 sequel, "The Widows of Eastwick."

Updike died in 2009.

McCarthy's works are closely tied to the South, but the Southern Gothic writer was actually born in Providence.

McCarthy's family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, when he was a child, and his father worked there as a lawyer.

McCarthy was 32 when his first book, "The Orchard Keeper," was published in 1965. Over the next 57 years, McCarthy wrote semi-regularly. His other works include 1992's "All the Pretty Horses," 2005's "No Country for Old Men," and 2006's "The Road."

McCarthy died in 2023.

Peggy Parish brought her beloved kids' book character Amelia Bedelia, a housekeeper who interpreted her employers' instructions literally, to life after spending years teaching elementary school and discovering what children like to read, according to Harper Collins.

Parish grew up and attended school in South Carolina but taught for many years at a New York elementary school before returning to her hometown of Manning. Her celebrated book series just celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2023.

Parish died in 1988, but Amelia Bedelia lived on through her nephew, Herman, who wrote "Amelia Bedelia" books for decades after his aunt's death. He died in 2024. 

Growing up, the Pulitzer Prize winner said he was considered "a daydreamer and rubbernecker," but those perceived weaknesses eventually became strengths when he decided to become a writer.

"They are prerequisites for writers. To follow your obsessions, which are probably your weaknesses, is a strength. Hard workers become great writers," he told The Dallas Morning News in 2018.

Johnson's best-known works are the 2003 novel "Parasites Like Us" and the 2012 novel "The Orphan Master's Son," which is what earned him the Pulitzer Prize.

South Dakota was another difficult state to fill — other authors, like Laura Ingalls Wilder, called South Dakota home at one time or another, but were not born there.

Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor, a contemporary of  Robert Penn Warren, Katherine Anne Porter, and Jean Stafford, grew up in Tennessee and was named for his father, Matthew Hillsman Taylor, an attorney and Vanderbilt alum, according to The New York Times.

Taylor later went by Peter Taylor professionally, dropping the Matthew Hillsman; all of his works were written under the name Peter Taylor.

Taylor won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in 1987 for his novel "A Summons to Memphis."

He died in 1994.

It's hard to overstate Hoover's impact on the publishing industry. She puts out bestsellers at an astonishing rate: She's released 26 books and sold over 20 million copies, per The New York Times. She was also named one of Time's Most Influential People in 2023.

Not that her career has been without controversy, but it doesn't seem to have affected Hoover's popularity. She's become a brand of her own and has multiple film adaptations of her novels set after the box office success of "It Ends With Us" … even though the behind-the-scenes drama almost derailed the entire thing.

Hoover was born and raised in Texas, and still lives in her hometown of Saltillo, with a few of her books being set in East Texas.

Though Savage is best known for his Montana-based novels, such as 1967's "The Power of the Dog," the Wild West author was actually born in Salt Lake City, according to his 2003 obituary in the Los Angeles Times. 

He followed his mother to a Montana ranch when she remarried, and there gained his inspiration for many of his books.

His last book before his death, "The Corner of Rife and Pacific," follows the joys and sorrows of a family in the small, fictional Montana town of Grayling.

"The Power of the Dog" was turned into a movie in 2021 starring Benedict Cumberbatch. It was nominated for 12 Oscars, including best picture, winning one for best director.

Hill was born and raised in Burlington and remained in the Northeast for college, where he attended Dartmouth. A foremost authority on the Green Mountain State, Hill spent many years as the editor of Vermont Life magazine, during which time he also authored several Vermont-centric books, including 'The Winooski," according to his 1987 obituary in The New York Times.

It was particularly difficult to track down Vermont-born authors. Poet Robert Frost wrote in and about the state but was born in San Francisco, and Rudyard Kipling wrote "The Jungle Book" while living in Brattleboro, but was born in India.

Though Willa Cather is generally known for writing about frontier life, she was born in Virginia. Known for her books like "O Pioneers!," "My Antonia," and the Pulitzer Prize winner "One of Ours," Cather paved her way as a preeminent author of modernist fiction focusing on the Great Plains of the US.

She died in 1947.

Debbie Macomber, who was born in Yakima, Washington, is a successful romance novelist with over 200 titles currently in print.

According to her website, she is a No. 1 New York Times-bestselling author, and many of her books have been turned into Hallmark movies. She is best known for her "Cedar Cove" series, which was adapted into Hallmark's first scripted series and aired from 2013 to 2015. It starred Andie MacDowell.

Born in West Virginia, author Mary Lee Settle was best known for her critically acclaimed "Beulah Quintet" series, which was historical fiction that focused on events from Cromwell-era England to 20th-century West Virginia.

Settle also won the National Book Award for her 1978 novel "Blood Tie," and she established the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction just two years later.

She died in 2005.

Ingalls Wilder, whose family moved from state to state like nomads for much of her life, was born in the "big woods" of Wisconsin, where her 1935 children's classic "Little House on the Prairie" was eventually set.

Other books from her "Little House" series were also based on the places she'd lived — Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri — and all but one of her books were nominated for the prestigious Newbery Medal for exceptional children's literature, though she never actually won.

Ingalls Wilder died in 1957.

Born in Cheyenne, MacLachlan carried a bit of prairie dirt with her wherever she went to remind herself of her hometown (Cheyenne, Wyoming) until her death in 2022, according to her Amazon bio.

Lauded for her beloved children's books that tell stories of home and family, like 1985's "Sarah, Plain and Tall" and 1993's "Baby," MacLachlan was always fascinated by children's preoccupation with and attachment to certain places.

We expected more from Pharrell Williams, who was a co-chair on Monday night.

While his fellow co-chairs arrived in everything from blue capes to ivory suits with ancient jewels, Williams stuck to a white jacket with a touch of shimmer and some black slacks.

It's never a dull moment when Kim Kardashian arrives at the Met Gala, but this year, she didn't make much of a splash in her all-black ensemble.

Kardashian sported a bodycon black leather dress designed by Chrome Hearts and a wide-brimmed fedora fit for Carmen Sandiego.

In classic Kardashian fashion, the reality TV star still wanted her outfit to be daring, revealing a low-rise skirt in the back. But her look didn't stand out in a night full of bold suits and regal colors.

The Norwegian billionaire stepped on the red carpet in a cream-colored suit, an overcoat seemingly made from latex, a wide-brimmed hat, and Tabi boots.

Overall, the ensemble looked like it needed some tailoring.

He also carried a see-through briefcase filled with vibrant red roses, which made the outfit look more like a costume than a high-fashion moment.

Hawke looked pretty as she walked the red carpet in a custom Prada look. However, her pink, stapless dress and sheer, tan cape didn't seem inspired by menswear or Black dandyism.

Sink made her Met Gala debut in a black ball gown with lace detailing on the bodice that crossed over her torso, forming sheer sleeves.

The dress was pretty but had a Gothic feel that didn't suit the theme. The full skirt also swallowed Sink, making it look like the dress was wearing her.

It pains us to put the Princess of Genovia on this list, but Anne Hathaway's look just didn't stand out.

The fashion icon kept things simple for fashion's biggest night with her custom Carolina Herrera ensemble, which featured a white dress shirt and a bedazzled black-and-white striped skirt.

A matching sparkling jacket could have added a little more oomph to the overall effect.

You couldn't miss Anderson as she walked the red carpet in a crystal-covered gown from Tory Burch. It was silver, long-sleeved, and wide in shape. She also wore her hair in a new blonde bob.

Though the outfit was fun and a fashion risk for Anderson, it mostly looked out of her comfort zone.

Heidi Klum may be the queen of Halloween, but she played it too safe on fashion's biggest night.

The supermodel wore a simple, sleeveless black dress with a flowing train to the Met Gala. The ensemble could have benefited from some flashy accessories or a bold jacket.

James attended the Met Gala in her husband LeBron James' stead, as the honorary co-chair pulled out of the event due to a knee injury.

Her mermaid style Thom Browne gown was on-theme, with its suit-jacket bodice and pinstripe pattern.

However, the corset detailing on the bodice didn't look well-tailored to James' body. Some small adjustments to the bodice would have made this a standout look.

While we loved the silver color and sheen of Lorde's Thom Browne outfit — which included a bandeau that seemed to defy gravity — we thought the skirt style was a bit outdated.

We think Lorde's look would have had a bit more edge if she had paired her bandeau with tailored pants instead.

Joe Burrow made his Met Gala debut on Monday, but his baggy suit just didn't look right for a night celebrating impeccable tailoring.

His shirt's open collar and creased pants also detracted from the overall ensemble, and his baby-blue Gucci sneakers didn't seem to coordinate with the color scheme.

We wish the Bengals star had opted for something a bit sharper.

Wales Bonner created Apollo's suit, which included a cropped jacket, straight trousers, and a sparkling leopard-print shirt.

The patterned top was an unexpected twist for a menswear look, but it clashed with the yellow streaks in his hair. The look might have worked better if he had chosen just one pop of color.

Just weeks after returning from space, King attended the 2025 Met Gala in a hot-pink halter dress that resembled a deconstructed suit.

Though the dress, designed by Chuk Collins, embraced menswear elements, other style details dated the look; namely, its peplum waist, pink plaid, and sparkling floral appliques.

Its lengthy skirt also could have benefited from a bit more tailoring.

Hailey Bieber's Met Gala look lacked the color and fun that define dandyism.

Instead, she opted for a simple black suit jacket and tights. The ensemble could've benefited from bold accessories or a pattern to add depth to the monochromatic look.

Kendall Jenner arrived at the Met Gala with Hailey Bieber, and her outfit was similarly lackluster.

The model sported a tailored Torishéju suit jacket with a matching gray skirt.

It was a hue that felt more corporate than representative of dandyism. It could've been better in a pastel tone instead.

Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade coordinated in chic black and white looks as they walked the Met Gala steps on Monday night.

They both added pops of color via their gems, with Union opting for a ruby necklace and Wade sporting a bedazzled baby-blue vest.

Colman Domingo and his husband, Raúl, weren't afraid to be bold on fashion's biggest night.

The "Sing Sing" actor sported a silk blue cape with a tailored Valentino suit underneath, while his husband made an entrance with a sparkling purple suit.

Dua Lipa and Callum Turner were all smiles as they walked the daffodil carpet on Monday night.

The pop star sported a feathered black Chanel gown, while Turner opted for a sleek suit.

Pharrell Williams and his wife, Helen Lasichanh, were among the many couples to opt for black-and-white looks at this year's Met Gala.

Williams kept things simple with white jacket and black slacks, while his wife opted for a leather bodysuit and patterned sheer tights. Both looks were Louis Vuitton.

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra also coordinated their outfits for fashion's biggest night.

Chopra sported a polka-dot Olivier Rousteing suit with a dramatic black hat, while Jonas wore a cream-colored shirt and black pants by Bianca Saunders decorated with a silver brooch.

Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens brought some major color and fashion to the daffodil carpet.

The Olympian traded her usual gold for a metallic cobalt-blue minidress with a flowing train, while Owens wore an all-white suit that he paired with a black cane.

Spike Lee and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, looked effortlessly cool on Monday night.

The director and Knicks superfan wore an all-black suit that he accessorized with an orange hat from his favorite NBA team, while his wife wore a sleek suitdress.

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz brought the stripes on Monday night.

Keys sported a red pinstripe suit with an off-the-shoulder jacket, as well as a puffy cape that matched the fabric of her husband's suit.

Debbie Allen and her husband, Norm Nixon, went monochrome for their Met Gala outfits.

Allen sported a metallic red dress that sparkled with silver embellishments, as well as a matching bold red hat, while Nixon opted for an all-white suit.

Colin Kaepernick and Nessa looked positively regal in their Met Gala outfits.

The former NFL star opted for a burgundy patterned suit, while Nessa wore a sleek black gown with a cropped puffer jacket.

Adrien Brody sported black slacks with a long flowing black jacket, while Georgina Chapman wore a strapless black gown with a sheer bodice.

Ciara and Russell were a picture of elegance on Monday night in their coordinating outfits.

Wilson looked sleek in his black suit, decorated with a silver brooch, while Ciara sported a shimmering silver and black dress designed by LaQuan Smith.

Usher and his wife, Jenn Goicoechea, got all dressed up for their Met Gala date night.

The R&B icon sported a sleek tuxedo with a white scarf, which matched his wife's white suit jacket and big flower on her label.

Usher also paired his look with a cane, one of the most popular accessories of the night.

Domingo, one of the evening's co-chairs, arrived at the event in a royal-blue cape with a sequined overlay designed by Valentino. It was reminiscent of an iconic look worn by André Leon Talley, a former Vogue editor and fashion legend, who chose a similar blue oversized cape for the 2011 Met Gala. Talley died in 2022.

This look, also Valentino, perfectly encapsulates this year's theme of Black dandyism.

Hamilton, another one of this year's co-chairs, wore head-to-toe Louis Vuitton.

The model and face of this year's Met Gala wore a cream-colored suit with a long train and a large carnation pinned to his lapel.

The designer sported an impeccably tailored light-blue suit with matching shoes as he walked the daffodil carpet on Monday night.

The Mumbai-based designer opted for a regal black cape covered in swirls of golden embroidery. He paired the ensemble with silver brooches that sparkled from his tie and lapel.

The American chef, who is overseeing this year's Met Gala dinner, arrived in style in a pinstripe black suit that he paired with a crown that sparkled with gold jewels.

The "Severance" star completed the look with bold black-and-white shoes and a bow tie.

He paired the sleek ensemble with a grand robe covered in gold embroidery, black gloves, and black boots.

The American playwright and actor paired his tails with cream pants and a dramatic bow tie.

His mother, Diana Ross, stole the show with her incredible cape, but Evan Ross made sure to show off his own style with a sparkling black suit.

The actor and model sported flowing plaid trousers, which he paired with a cropped jacket, striped shirt, and polka-dot tie.

Mukherjee's quilted coat featured a floating train. He paired the ensemble with a black hat decorated with yellow feathers.

The rapper's suit featured subtle pinstripes and a dusting of sparkles across the shoulders.

The designer paired his shimmering black pinstripe suit with a gray-and-white striped jacket. He accessorized the ensemble with a cane and a pop of yellow from his socks.

The "ASAP Forever" rapper, who is also set to become a father for the third time, was the final co-chair to arrive, and, of course, he did it in style. His perfectly tailored suit was designed by Rocky himself; he paired it with a crystal-tipped umbrella.

Goggins wore an inside-out skirt and jacket designed by Thom Browne to make his Met Gala debut.

Golding wore a suit and waistcoat all in the same golden hue — perhaps a nod to his last name.

The model made an eyepatch look chic when he walked the Met Gala blue carpet.

Scott was one of the few celebrities to wear a pastel shade on the blue carpet this year. He wore a mint-green suit, a red waistcoat, a mustard shirt, and a patterned tie.

Asomugha attended the event with his wife, Kerry Washington, but the two didn't walk the carpet together.

Wade, who also walked the carpet with his wife, Gabrielle Union, wore an ivory jacket, a mint-green shirt, and a sequined waistcoat. He accessorized with painted nails and a crystal brooch.

White's pinstripe suit was a custom design by Louis Vuitton.

The singer draped turquoise beads across his torso and back.

Balvin's monochromatic look has a vintage vibe, including his pink hat.

Jonas, who walked the red carpet with his wife, Priyanka Chopra, looked suave in his high-waisted trousers that he paired with two silver pins.

Idris, who stars in the upcoming "F1" alongside Brad Pitt, first walked the carpet in a white racing suit before two aides dramatically ripped it off to reveal this burgundy look designed by Tommy Hilfiger, though Idris kept the bedazzled helmet.

The musician wore a brown suit designed by Prada. On his head was a pava, a Puerto Rican straw hat traditionally woven from palm fronds. His tie is made from the same fabric, incorporating a bit of his heritage into his look.

The reigning Super Bowl MVP's suit was encrusted with crystals across the shoulders.

The "Bridgerton" star's jaw-dropping fire-engine red outfit included matching red shoes and an oversized red cape.

Rihanna, who revealed she was pregnant with her third child on Monday, was among the last celebrities to arrive at the Met Gala, but her ensemble was worth the wait.

The Fenty Beauty mogul's gown took inspiration from menswear with its pinstripe-patterned skirt and gray striped bodice, which called attention to her baby bump. She wore a micro suit jacket adorned with brooches atop the dress, and she added a polka-dot ascot and a wide-brimmed hat to the look.

The musician was a vision in her green jumpsuit, which was seemingly crafted from velvet. It had a plunging neckline with ruffles in a lighter shade, a satin belt around her waist, and long sleeves that complemented the garment's wide pant legs.

The all-black gown was both romantic and dramatic. Designed by Alessandro Michele for Valentino, the dress had a velvet bodice with long sleeves, feathers attached at the back of its neckline, and a full skirt with deep pleats.

Richardson might be an athlete, but she looked like a princess in her Valentino gown. It had a long-sleeved layer of lilac lace beneath a yellow gown, which was made from knotted pieces of fabric that created thin slits across her torso.

Versace designed his tan suit, which fit loosely but was still tailored just right for the musician. The contrast of his leather vest and felt hat really made the outfit, though.

Palmer's black-and-white ensemble took inspiration from Dorothy Dandridge and was crafted by Vera Wang. The designer made her a top with suit lapels acting as halter straps, a structured bodice, and large pieces of fabric that flowed over her hips.

The look also included black trousers, a feathered headpiece, and open-toed heels.

At first glance, the football star's Burberry suit was simple. But the black three-piece set actually had beaded shoulders that shone in the light. His tie was accessorized with a diamond pin, and his hat also added an old-school touch that matched the night's theme.

Zac Posen created the actor's custom pantsuit in the Gap Studio. Its fitted vest top had flowing sheer sleeves that moved with Harrier on the red carpet, and its wide-leg pants added a fun and dramatic touch.

Thompson turned heads with her coat-inspired dress. The piece was fitted at her waist but exaggerated at the hips, highlighting the tall leather boots she wore beneath it. Her accessories included a shiny tie and a top hat.

Union and Wade arrived in black-and-white Prada numbers. Union's dress' white train cinched her waist and flowed out behind her, while Wade's vest's textured detailing made his look stand out.

Kaling arrived in a custom Harbison Studio outfit, pairing a jacket that had white lapels with a form-fitting black skirt.

Large embellishments of different shapes lined the center of the skirt, and Kaling belted the outfit with a red and white sash that spilled out into a train behind her.

Scott played with color with his Met Gala suit, which was designed by Giuliva Heritage. He paired the Tiffany-blue suit with a red vest, mustard shirt, and teal and black tie, almost creating the colors of a retro diner. Flowers sat on his lapel for a fresh touch.

Washington's custom Simkhai look paired a jacket top, which dipped low in the center and had a cutout in the back, with a semi-sheer, pale-yellow skirt that flared to her ankles. A wide-brimmed pale-yellow hat and matching shoes completed the ensemble.

Stallion's custom Michael Kors gown was inspired by Josephine Baker and Eartha Kitt. The sparkly, silver dress had a sweetheart, halter neckline and hugged her figure, while her white coat train brought glamour to the ensemble.

Pharrell Williams designed Carpenter's pantless Louis Vuitton look, which featured a maroon bodysuit and a matching, cropped jacket with gold buttons and collar detailing.

Her platform heels were maroon, too.

Suki Waterhouse leaned into the menswear side of the Met Gala theme, as the bodice of her black Michael Kors dress was designed to look like a suit jacket. It contrasted with the floor-length skirt, which had a thigh-high slit, and open back.

Golding's Ozwald Boateng suit offered a fun play on the "Tailored For You" dress code, as the jacket, pants, and vest were gold, but the black shirt he wore with the look ensured the effect wasn't over the top.

Coach designed the actor and musician's black-and-white minidress. It was crafted in the shape of a blazer with exaggerated hips and worn over a sparkling silver bustier. She completed the look with platform heels and a mesh headpiece.

Even among the night's best-dressed stars, Turner-Smith stood out. She wore a custom Burberry catsuit with a subtle print beneath a long leather coat. Both pieces were burgundy in color, as were her top hat, heels, and lipstick.

Doechii's head-to-toe Louis Vuitton ensemble took a more playful approach to the Met Gala, as she paired a jacket patterned with the LV logo in white and gray with checked shorts in the same color.

The outfit exposed her maroon socks and shoes, matching the ascot she wore around her neck.

The tennis legend looked like a modern-day Cinderella in her custom Moncler look. She wore an off-the-shoulder gown in a shiny shade of blue and carried a puffer cape around her arms. Her hair was also styled in short waves, adding more elegance to the bold ensemble.

Magda Butrym designed Hammam's white jumpsuit. It was fitted at the top, which was designed like a blazer, but wider at the hips and legs to create a unique shape. She accessorized with a feathered cap, a polka-dot tie, and a cane.

The base of Edebiri's custom Ferragamo ensemble was a white dress with a collar, mimicking the look of a blouse. Red beading sat atop the garment, forming opposing arcs on the bodice and skirt.

Edebiri wore a black leather jacket atop the look that had ribbons of fabric floating down the sleeves like a train and a gold brooch on the lapel.

Ross had one of the biggest fashion moments of the night in her custom Eleven Sixteen look. It was comprised of a sparkle-covered dress, a large white hat, and a massive feather-lined cape embroidered with the names of her family members.

Dressed by Thom Browne, Tillman wore a classic dandy look. His outfit included pinstripe pants, a velvet suit jacket with long tails, and a bow tie attached to his white shirt.

Zendaya made her annual Met Gala appearance in a white suit and matching hat from Louis Vuitton, designed by Pharrell. Her stylist Law Roach said on Instagram that the look was inspired by Bianca Jagger in the 1970s.

McDonald wore a cream Harbison Studio gown that hugged her figure and featured bow detailing down the center. A detached train flowed out behind her, adding drama.

Williams' custom Lacoste ensemble, designed by the brand's creative director Pelagia Kolotouros, consisted of a green polo, a matching tennis skirt, and a coordinating coat dress that flared out behind her. Sparkly, pom-pom-like fabric adorned the jacket's sleeves and cuffs.

Henry walked the red carpet in a red suit designed by Orange Culture, a Nigerian fashion brand. He accessorized the bold suit with a patterned cape, black boots, and black gloves.

The bodice of Saldaña's Thom Browne dress was designed to look like a suit vest with pearl button detailing and a collar. The buttons continued onto the white skirt and adorned the sleeves, while a gravity-defying ribbon made the back pop.

Hadid's Miu Miu gown featured a halter neckline and gathered fabric around her waist. It was embroidered with gold embellishments, making it shine on the red carpet. Old Hollywood glam completed the look.

Powers' Boss suit played with pattern and shape, as it paired plaid, wide-legged trousers with a cropped black jacket.

He wore a striped suit and a polka dot tie, completing the playful ensemble with brooches on his lapel, a pocket square, and chain detailing across his blouse.

Biles' blue Harbison Studio dress felt like a modern take on dandyism, with its collar detailing, structured silhouette, and plethora of embellishments adorning the fabric.

The bow train that flowed out behind her was the perfect finishing touch.

Nyong'o arrived at the Met Gala in a teal Chanel suit. A semi-sheer cape was attached to her double-breasted jacket, and she also wore a flower on her lapel and a hat.

The actor stood out in a printed, colorful suit with jewel embellishments from Miu Miu. She wore the custom pieces over a black-and-white checkered shirt and a yellow ruffled tie.

The viral creator's gray pinstripe suit offered a classic silhouette, as did his hat and shoes. But an assortment of pocket watches adorned Lame's vest, and he wore a trench coat on only one shoulder, almost as if it was put on in a rush, evoking the idea of time with his ensemble.

Taylor wore a statement cape embellished with roses and crystal pins, a pinstripe suit, a diamond necklace over her corset, and a cane held in her gloved hands. Her ensemble was custom-made by Marc Jacobs.

Domingo's custom Valentino ensemble, with its ornate blue cape, paid tribute to André Leon Talley. He removed it, revealing a gray, black, and white suit with contrasting textures and an oversize flower on the lapel.

Hamilton sported a custom Wales Bonner suit in a cream shade, a matching hat, and an assortment of Briony Raymond jewelry crafted with rubies.

Jones arrived in a Manish Malhotra coat dress that plunged to her navel and coordinating pants. Sparkly beading adorned the ensemble, and Jones carried a cane for a fun flair on the red carpet.

"The Idol," a series about a former teen idol trying to reclaim her stardom only to fall prey to a cultish producer, was doomed from the start. The 2023 series started receiving negative headlines when it was first reported by outlets like Deadline that the show's original director, Amy Seimetz, had departed amid an "overhaul."

What Seimetz's version of "The Idol" would've been, we'll never know, but the version we did end up seeing, led by "Euphoria" showrunner Sam Levinson and The Weeknd, ended up closer to a "sordid male fantasy" (Variety), a "Pornhub-homepage odyssey" (The New York Times' Kyle Buchanan), or "torture porn" (sources on set, per Rolling Stone).

Whether you think that's an exaggeration or not, there's no denying that the show just wasn't very good. The relationship between Lily-Rose Depp's Jocelyn and The Weeknd's Tedros made no sense, and Jocelyn's heel-turn at the end of the season was borderline offensive.

Plus, the show wasted the rest of the talented cast, including Rachel Sennott, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Hank Azaria.

It was canceled after one season.

"The Brink," which aired in 2015, was originally renewed for a second season before the network reversed the renewal and canceled it, per Deadline.

The series starred Jack Black as a Foreign Service Officer assigned to work at the USA's embassy in Islamabad. His costars were Tim Robbins, who played the secretary of state, and Pablo Schreiber, who played a Navy pilot/drug dealer.

The darkly comic series could never quite nail down its tone. As Emily St. James wrote for Vox, "There are funny moments scattered throughout, but by and large, 'The Brink' aims to filter the satire of 'Strangelove' through the tone of 'Family Guy,' where there's no joke so obvious that it can't be made even more obvious."

"Arliss" was such a mediocre show that it was used as a punchline for TV critics and sports journalists — Bill Simmons, when he was still at ESPN, frequently bemoaned its quality. In one 2001 article, he called it "perennially unwatchable" and a "running joke in the industry for the past few years."

For those who may not even remember what "Arliss" was: It was a sports dramedy created by and starring Robert Wuhl as Arliss Michaels, an agent for an extensive roster of professional athletes. It ran for seven seasons from 1996 to 2002, confounding many.

As Entertainment Weekly put it, "TV critics [were] fond of using the series for batting practice."

Much like "Arliss," "The Mind of the Married Man," which aired from 2001 to 2002 and similarly starred its creator (this time, comedian Mike Binder), was used as a punchline for TV critics.

In the same 2001 article in which he insulted "Arliss," Bill Simmons called this sitcom a "stinkbomb" and its creator/star "wildly untalented."

The show starred Binder as a fictionalized version of himself delving into the male perspective of being married. That's it. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff.

As Kevin Alexander wrote for Thrillist, "The best part of this show is the dated Wikipedia summaries of each episode."

If you watched "Here and Now" in 2025, seven years after it debuted on HBO, you might find it well-meaning, if a bit clunky. Led by Tim Robbins and Holly Hunter, it's the sprawling story of a multiracial family living in Portland — think "Parenthood," but make it HBO.

The reviews for the show's lone season were negative. Time's Judy Berman called it "a self-righteous wallow in upper-middle-class Trump-era despair that tokenized its diverse cast, undermined its own progressive credentials, and wasted two excellent leads," while Joel Keller of Decider wrote, "'Here and Now' is so overwrought that it makes 'The Handmaid's Tale' look like a lighthearted romp by comparison."

"1st & Ten" was one of HBO's earliest sitcoms upon its premiere in 1984. It lasted for six seasons, ending in 1991.

Unfortunately for the show, it's now best known for starring OJ Simpson, who played a running back turned coach — while the presence of a pre-murder trial Simpson might make this a morbid fascination for the true-crime obsessed, it's still not worth the watch. It's just not funny!

Another problem? The premise — that a woman won the ownership of a professional sports team in a nasty divorce — would go on to be executed better in future shows, such as "Major League" and "Ted Lasso."

In retrospect, "Vinyl" was not that bad, but we had such high expectations that, almost 10 years later, we still can't believe this wasn't the greatest show of all time.

Co-created by Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger, Rolling Stone editor and author Rich Cohen, and "Boardwalk Empire" creator Terence Winter, a show about a 1970s record executive in New York City played by Bobby Cannavale sounds like a slam dunk.

But it just wasn't. As Barbara Ellen wrote for The Guardian, "The makers of 'Vinyl' need to realise that a decent soundtrack is not a panacea for dud scenes and bad dialogue."

After originally getting renewed for a second season, HBO reversed its decision and canceled the show two months after the first season concluded.

The 2018 American remake of the British series "Camping" was the first project that creators Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner worked on together after the end of their smash hit "Girls" in 2017.

Needless to say, expectations were high. The cast had a deep bench, including David Tennant, Jennifer Garner, Ione Skye, Juliette Lewis, Chris Sullivan, Arturo Del Puerto, Bridget Everett, Busy Philipps, Nicole Richie, Hari Nef, and more.

However, this show (about a group of middle-aged friends taking an annual camping trip) was just deeply unpleasant to watch. Every character was unlikable, and not in a charming way, like the characters of "Girls." It was almost painful.

"'Camping' is in the running for the worst US version of a successful British series since 'Coupling,'" wrote Gwen Ihnat for the AV Club.

Hugh Laurie, one of the most acerbic actors in Hollywood, teaming up with Armando Iannucci, the creator of "Veep" (one of the most hilarious, biting satires in HBO's history), should've produced the best show of all time.

Instead, we got "Avenue 5," a story about a space cruise that gets diverted from returning to Earth for three years … with only eight weeks worth of supplies on board. Laurie played the captain of the ship, Ryan Clark.

The show premiered in 2020 and only returned for its second season in 2022, which probably caused it to lose some momentum, and the show was canceled.

"What we're left with is a not terribly funny workplace comedy, with the saving grace of some accomplished and likable performers," wrote The New York Times' Mike Hale.

Think back to June 10, 2007. The highly anticipated series finale of "The Sopranos" has just concluded with one of the most iconic and divisive unresolved endings of all time. People were calling HBO because they were convinced their signals had cut out prematurely.

Instead, the credits rolled and viewers were treated to "John from Cincinnati," a … surfer crime show? Starring former "90210" and "Saved By the Bell" heartthrobs Luke Perry and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, along with Bruce Greenwood, Rebecca De Mornay, Ed O'Neill, Luis Guzmán, and Jennifer Grey?

Oh, and the titular John? He's a psychically gifted man who possibly has mental disabilities — it's never made clear — and who can only speak using words people have said to him, and can make things appear in his pockets. Sure?

It was never going to work out for this show. Everyone was too emotional about "The Sopranos," and it was the wrong place, wrong time for this crew of Californian misfits.

Tim Goodman called the show "utterly flat and unbelievable in its supposed wackiness" in his review for the San Francisco Chronicle.

What he's won: Three Emmy Awards (outstanding directing for a drama series in 2011; outstanding documentary or nonfiction special and outstanding directing for nonfiction programming in 2012), one Grammy Award (best music film in 2006), and one Oscar (best director in 2007)

What he's missing: A Tony Award

What she's won: One Emmy Award (outstanding variety, music or comedy special in 2003), one Grammy Award (best dance recording in 2000), and one Oscar (best actress in 1988)

What she's missing: A Tony Award

What he's won: One Emmy Award (outstanding performance in a variety or music program in 2005), one Grammy Award (best compilation soundtrack album for visual media in 2019), and two Tony Awards (best actor in a musical in 2004; a special award in 2012)

What he's missing: An Oscar (though he was nominated in 2012 for best actor)

What she's won: Two Emmy Awards (outstanding guest actress in a comedy series in 2006; outstanding lead actress in a limited series or movie in 2021), one Grammy Award (best spoken word album for children in 2000), and one Oscar (best actress in 2009)

What she's missing: A Tony Award

What he's won: Three Emmy Awards (outstanding original music and lyrics in 2014; outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) in 2021; outstanding short form program in 2022), five Grammy Awards (best musical theater album in 2009 and 2016; best song written for visual media in 2018 and 2023; best compilation soundtrack for visual media in 203), and three Tony Awards (best original score in 2008 and 2016; best book of a musical in 2016)

What he's missing: An Oscar (though he was nominated in 2017 and 2022 for best original song)

Fun fact for the Miranda fans: The "Hamilton" mastermind also has a Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur Genius Grant to his name. Once he wins his Oscar, he'll be a "PEGOT."

What she's won: Two Emmy Awards (outstanding variety musical series in 1973; outstanding nonfiction series in 2005); two Grammy Awards (best recording for children in 1965; best spoken word album for children in 2011); and one Oscar (best actress in 1964)

What she's missing: A Tony Award (though she was nominated three times for best lead actress in a musical in 1957, 1961, and 1996)

What he's won: Two Emmy Awards (outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie in 2004 and 2010), one Oscar (best actor in 1993), and two Tony Awards (best supporting or featured actor in a play in 1969; best leading actor in a play in 1977)

What he's missing: A Grammy Award (though he was nominated for best spoken word album in 2001)

What she's won: One Emmy Award (outstanding musical performance in a daytime program in 2017), one Grammy Award (best musical theater album in 2017), one Tony Award (best leading actress in a musical in 2016)

What she's missing: An Oscar (though she was nominated in best actress in 2019 and 2024, and for best original song in 2019)

What he's won: 20 Grammy Awards (there are too many to name, but rest assured, the Grammys have loved the Boss since 1981), one Oscar (best original song in 1994), and one Tony Award (a special award in 2018)

What he's missing: An Emmy Award (he's been nominated three times for various specials in 2001, 2009, and 2019)

What she's won: Three Emmy Awards (outstanding lead actress in a limited series or movie in 2009 and 2014; outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie in 2012), two Oscars (best supporting actress in 1982; best actress in 1994), and one Tony Award (best leading actress in a play in 2016)

What she's missing: A Grammy Award

What he's won: Three Emmy Awards (outstanding voice-over performance in 1997; outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or movie in 2006; outstanding narrator in 2014), one Oscar (best actor in 1991), and one Tony Award (best actor in a play in 1984)

What he's missing: A Grammy Award (though he was nominated for best spoken word album in 1985)

What she's won: Two Emmy Awards (outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series in 2004; outstanding guest actress in a drama series in 2008), one Grammy Award (best spoken word album in 2009), and two Tony Awards (best actress in a play in 2006; best featured actress in a play in 2017)

What she's missing: An Oscar

What he's won: One Grammy Award (best album of original instrumental background score written for a motion picture or television in 1988), one Oscar (best original score in 1987), and one Tony Award (a special award in 2021)

What he's missing: An Emmy Award (though he was nominated for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) in 2021)

What she's won: Two Emmy Awards (outstanding lead actress in a limited series or movie in 1981; outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie in 2000), one Oscar (best supporting actress in 1977), and one Tony Award (best actress in a play in 2003)

What she's missing: A Grammy Award (though she was nominated for best spoken word album for children in 2002)

What he's won: One Emmy Award (outstanding musical performance in a daytime program in 2018), one Grammy Award (best musical theater album in 2018), and one Tony Award (best actor in a musical in 2017)

What he's missing: An Oscar

"Stranger Things" began as the story of a group of pre-teens who, after one of their best friends goes missing, become tangled in a dangerous web of government conspiracies, alternate dimensions, the Cold War, and more.

One of the show's breakout characters is Eleven (played by Millie Bobby Brown), a young girl born with telekinesis. Immediately after her birth, she was abducted by a scientist whom she calls Papa (Matthew Modine) and taken to Hawkins Lab, where she and other children were experimented on.

The coming fifth season will also be the season's last.

In 2016, Matt and Ross Duffer confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that "Stranger Things" was originally sold as "Montauk" before they decided to switch the name and the location to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.

"We liked Montauk, because we liked the coastal setting," Matt Duffer said, adding that Montauk was also the basis for Amity Island, the fictional location of "Jaws," one of their favorite movies.

However, the setting changed when they realized "it was really going to be impossible to shoot in or around Long Island in the wintertime," Matt Duffer said.

Filmmaker, Charlie Kessler, sued the brothers in 2018, claiming they stole the idea of "Stranger Things" from his script "The Montauk Project," Thrillist reported. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the Duffers denied his claims, and Kessler dropped the lawsuit in 2019.

According to signs in the park outlining Camp Hero's history, the US Army commissioned Camp Hero in May 1942 — five months after the US joined World War II in December 1941 — to defend against German submarines and boats.

The Army deactivated the base in 1947 and turned it over to the US Air Force in 1951, which remained there until 1982.

Camp Hero, named for Major General Andrew Hero Jr., who served as the chief of coast artillery from 1926 to 1930, according to Arlington National Cemetery, opened to the public in 2002.

As a huge fan of "Stranger Things" with a mild interest in secret governmental conspiracy theories, I figured I'd drive out east and laugh with my mom (who made the trek with me) about the wildest things we'd learn about Camp Hero.

Instead, I came away feeling like "Stranger Things" got the atmosphere of this place exactly right.

Montauk is commonly known as The End. It's the last town on Long Island, making it the perfect spot for an Army base scanning the oceans for submarines hiding in the depths below.

When there's no traffic, it can be a fun drive. You pass through picturesque towns worth a stop, like Amagansett, East Hampton, Southampton, Wainscott, and more.

Curbed reported that celebrities including Julianne Moore, Ralph Lauren, and Robert De Niro have owned real estate in the town.

I grew up on Long Island and have been to Montauk dozens of times, but I'd never explored Camp Hero before.

Montauk Lighthouse, according to the Montauk Historical Society, was the first lighthouse to be built in New York after George Washington commissioned it in 1792.

It's also the fourth-oldest working lighthouse in the US and just one of 12 lighthouses to be named a National Historic Landmark.

Or, if you're a New York resident with an Empire Pass like I am, it's free.

According to New York State's Parks Department, the Empire Pass "permits unlimited vehicle access to most facilities operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation."

Essentially, it gets you into most New York state parks for free. A card costs $80 per year (or $72 a year for a digital card), or you can purchase a lifetime pass for $750 (or $742 for a digital card). Three-season and five-season passes are also available, as shown on the parks' website.

As my family members are big fans of Jones Beach, another state park, we've had an Empire Pass for as long as I can remember.

I was surprised to learn that a decent chunk of land is off-limits to visitors and is a wildlife and plant sanctuary.

There are a few parks in the Montauk area that offer a good view of the bluffs, including Shadmoor State Park, Montauk Point State Park, and Ditch Plains Beach.

This wouldn't be the last warning sign I'd see that day.

The Patch reported that the town of East Hampton, which includes Montauk, was given a $350,000 federal grant to address the erosion issues along the coastline in December 2022.

Officials told The Patch that, according to measurements by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Montauk's shoreline "eroded more than 44 feet inland between 2000 and 2012."

In the years since, the erosion has only continued — so I heeded the sign's warnings.

The radar tower looms over Camp Hero. I knew I needed to make my way over there to get a good look.

According to signs in the park, the Army built batteries throughout the base. Batteries 112 and 113, which are both still standing, contained two 16-inch guns each. The artillery was removed in 1947.

Even from a distance, you can see just how big it is.

According to signs in the park, the "giant" radar, specifically an AN/FPS-35, was built in 1960, and it remained operational until 1980.

Its radar dish was built to detect an attack on the US. As The New York Times reported in 2006, it was once "able to detect airborne objects more than 200 miles from shore."

The radar tower is central to many of the conspiracy theories surrounding Camp Hero.

Filmmaker Christopher Garetano, who directed a docudrama about Camp Hero called "Montauk Chronicles" in 2014, spoke about the radar dish during a History Channel documentary called "The Dark Files."

"Every 12 seconds the radar tower would rotate and there would be animals freaking out and people getting headaches and bad dreams," says Garetano in "The Dark Files," claiming "people's electronic equipment would go haywire" when the dish rotated.

"I don't want to add fuel to the fire because I don't believe all the zombie stuff," one resident of 40 years told The New York Post in 2020. "But the impact that tower had on the town was real. I don't know if it affected our thoughts like some people say, but it was a force."

Ticks are frequent carriers of Lyme disease. That was more than enough to keep me away from any heavily wooded areas.

The New York Times reported in 2006 that visitors to Camp Hero were given pamphlets about what to do in case they spotted an undetonated grenade or other unexploded ammunition — it did use to be an active military base, after all.

It was spookily silent as we walked through the woods, even though we weren't too far from the beach or a busy highway. I felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.

As you can see, it looks like we were just about to walk into a heavily wooded forest.

In the first episode of "Stranger Things," Mike, Lucas, and Dustin search the woods for their friend Will after he goes missing while biking home. The trio are searching on a rainy night when they suddenly come across Eleven, who had just escaped Hawkins Lab.

At the end of season one, Eleven returns to the woods to escape the lab's clutches.

I've read one too many stories about tourists falling to their deaths while trying to take the perfect selfie. Staying on the flat path was enough for me.

This rock was helpfully in the perfect place for me to pose for a photo.

Fishing is one of Camp Hero's biggest draws, and I saw a few fishermen on the beach casting their lines.

I didn't even have the presence of mind to take a picture of this dog — that's how you know my mom and I were truly freaked out.

The sign in front of this roped-off structure explained more about downtown Camp Hero. When the base was built in 1947, 600 men and 37 officers lived in this area, and the structures were disguised as a "seaside fishing village," with artificial wood siding and fake windows.

This structure, the gym, was designed to look like a church. It's the only structure left from the original "downtown" Camp Hero, though other newer buildings are still standing.

I was half-convinced that someone was just going to pop out of the windows if I got too close.

We didn't want to scare the deer away, so we kept our distance while exploring the buildings.

According to a comprehensive summary of the conspiracy theories surrounding Camp Hero written by Thrillist in 2016, the events that conspiracy theorists claim happened in Camp Hero were actually pretty similar to what happens in "Stranger Things."

Author Preston Nichols brought the theories into the mainstream when he published "The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time," which detailed his reported experiences working at Montauk Air Force Station — he claimed he'd recovered repressed memories of his time at the base in the '70s and '80s. 

Nichols said he worked with another former employee on something called the "Montauk Chair," which used electromagnets to strengthen psychic powers. In season four of "Stranger Things," Eleven uses something similar to recover her powers.

Nichols also said scientists at the base used abducted children (like Eleven and her "siblings") to perform experiments on, and that some were even sent to an unknown dimension (like the Upside Down).

Eventually, these experiments were shut down when one of the children summoned an interdimensional monster, Nichols wrote — just like Eleven bringing the Demogorgon to our world.

Joe Loffreno told the Post in 2020 that he believes he's one of the children who were abducted and experimented on and who were mentioned in "The Montauk Project."

"I didn't believe it until two years ago," Loffreno said. "I was hypnotized [by a certified hypnotist] for about 40 minutes and all these memories flooded back. They did a very bad thing to us out there. We were just little kids. They had no right to experiment on us. It was a very dark, very evil thing."

Garetano, director of "Montauk Chronicles," spoke with Newsday in 2017 about the reported tunnels. He said that when the History Channel was filming for "The Dark Files," they found proof that the tunnels existed.

"Something extraordinary was found, which goes against all the official statements that there isn't anything there," Garetano said. "We didn't get into them, but we have footage of them that was taken by someone else." He added that they saw something on the "electric resistivity imagery tests" that were conducted.

Another local, Paul Fagan, told the New York Post that he believes a nuclear reactor might've secretly been buried at the base in the '50s, and that any conspiracy theories are actually meant to distract from the reactor's existence.

The New York Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider in 2023.

The Army and the Air Force have never appeared to go on the record about the claims either, and they did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider either.

When the Army built the base, it was used to surveil the surrounding area for German submarines, and it was also an antiaircraft artillery training station. At the time, according to the sign, all antiaircraft units in New York were sent to Camp Hero for a few weeks to train.

The sign also said it was home to other surveillance and height-finding radar that "guarded the New York City area against a surprise attack by Soviet bombers or other missiles."

The base was also used "extensively" as a live-fire training range until it was shut down in the '80s.

The lack of lights is why the park closes at sunset.

Even though it was just a few minutes down the road, the atmosphere was completely different. The parking lot was bustling, and I could hear kids laughing as they explored the beach. I felt like I had just been to a completely different world.

I'd recommend making the drive if you're already in Montauk or the Hamptons.

Do I really believe that there were scientists using abducted children to contact a different dimension at Camp Hero?

No.

However, I understand the fascination with Camp Hero — the fact that the radar tower and other disguised buildings are still standing decades later, the secluded location, and the idea that there could be secret tunnels underground are all compelling fodder for urban legends.

Anyone interested in military history or conspiracy theories would learn a lot at Camp Hero, and I'd recommend visiting — but only during the day, and not on your own.

This story, which was originally published in August 2023 and has since been updated and republished.

A three-time Academy Award winner and nine-time Golden Globe winner, Meryl Streep is accustomed to red carpets.

However, although the acting legend has starred in several fashion-forward roles in movies like "The Devil Wears Prada" — in which she essentially played Met Gala organizer and Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour — and "Mamma Mia," she's never attended the Met Gala.

Streep was a Met Gala co-chair for the 2020 event. However, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented it from taking place that year.

She was not re-added as a co-chair when the Met Gala was held again in 2021, and has skipped every year since.

Contrary to what his popularity and his role as the clothes horse Ken in "Barbie" might suggest, Ryan Gosling has still never been to the Met Gala.

This was particularly surprising in 2023, as "Barbie" was the biggest hit of the year.

With the perfect mix of edgy and elegant style, it's shocking that the actor never attended the event, particularly in the 2000s, when she was at the height of her Hollywood career.

The costuming and cinematic masterpiece of the "Maleficent" films also seemed like perfect opportunities for Jolie to make her Met Gala debut. However, we're still waiting for that day to come. 

Although he's acted in box-office hits like the "Fast and Furious" franchise and "Moana," the actor and former wrestler has never attended the Met Gala.

Somehow, neither Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, nor Matthew Perry (before his death in 2023) ever attended the event.

While the Met's attendees include fashion's elite, the guest list also includes the biggest names of the moment, so it's shocking that none of the powerhouse "Friends" cast made appearances when the show was on the air or afterward, when their careers — especially Aniston's — and personal lives made headlines.

No, Drake was never Rihanna's date to the Met Gala. While rappers like ASAP Rocky, Lil Nas X, Chance the Rapper, and Migos have all made appearances, the Canadian star has not. 

The "9 to 5" cast of acting legends and fashion icons has never been at the big night.

Fashion icon Dolly Parton has walked many red carpets, but never one for the Met Gala. Her "9 to 5" costars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin also haven't.

Each of these women is a legend with a very active career. They also know how to make a statement with their outfits: Parton with sparkles and fringe, Fonda with sleek silhouettes, and Tomlin with graphic T-shirt-and-blazer combos.

The often-controversial couple has always been carefully watched by the public, making headlines and starting heated debates. However, they undoubtedly also have some pretty great red-carpet couple looks.

One carpet they never walked on is the Met Gala. Their children, Jaden Smith and Willow Smith, have attended, though.

The music icon's 2021 comeback also cemented her spot as a fashion icon. Whether performing in outstanding gowns sans heels or sitting courtside in striking coats, she turns heads.

Although the "Easy on Me" singer hasn't attended the event yet, there's hope for her debut since she's returned to the limelight in recent years.

When the Princess of Pop was at her height of fame in the 2000s, you may have suspected she walked the Met Gala's red carpet, but she didn't.

It would've been fitting to see Spears reinterpret her eccentric tour costumes and award-show style to match the unique Met Gala themes. 

Many royals — including Princess Diana — have graced the fashion spectacle, but Prince William and Kate Middleton are not part of that group.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are one of the most talked-about couples on the planet. Shockingly, not even one of their best couple looks has been at the Met Gala.

If there's any celebrity who could have a Met Gala theme based on them, it's probably Helena Bonham Carter. The actor is always dressed in vintage-punk Vivienne Westwood and Tim Burton-esque looks.

While her character in "Ocean's 8" attends the Met in a fabulous gown, Bonham Carter hasn't been in real life.

In a 2018 interview on "The Graham Norton Show" in the UK, Bonham Carter said she'd never been invited. Her costar Rihanna jokingly explained, "That's because you wear dresses like that," pointing to Bonham Carter's funky printed look.

While the Met Gala is the perfect platform to showcase entertainers' cool and quirky styles, Christina Aguilera has never had the chance to be part of it.

The "Genie in a Bottle" singer has been busy creating music, touring, acting, and creating an image for herself for most of her life. 

While her fan base would no doubt be excited to see her flaunt her style at the Met, they'll have to keep waiting.

Brad Pitt is a red-carpet staple, always in a dapper suit and always with a new hairdo. It seems surprising that he's never been to the Met, especially when his costars and friends like George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jonah Hill have.

But like his famous exes, Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie, Pitt has also steered clear.

With eight Grammys, 16 ACM awards, dozens of CMT awards, and many more awards, Underwood has proven she's a singing sensation.

But she hasn't attended the Met Gala — not back in the day when she won "American Idol" and not now, when she's still serving red-carpet glamour.

While many superheroes have graced the Met Gala red carpet sans armor, some key actors have not.

Tom Holland (Spider-Man) should surely have been invited over the years with his fiancée, Zendaya, but the two have never attended the event together.

In this case, Angela Bassett did not do the thing — she's never attended the Met Gala, even though she has impeccable red-carpet style and has been a star for decades.

Chris Rankin played the prefect Percy Weasley in four films. He now works behind the scenes.

Rankin, 41, has had a few minor acting credits since "Deathly Hallows Part 2," and he has 52,700 followers on Instagram.

He has been credited as a production coordinator on successful shows like "Downton Abbey" and "A Discovery of Witches," however, so while he doesn't have the same level of traditional Hollywood success, he's been busy. He did not appear in the Max reunion, "Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts," in 2022.

Devon Murray played Seamus Finnigan in all eight movies, but he hasn't done much outside "Potter." In general, he seems to be more interested in crypto than acting.

Murray, 36, has only one movie appearance to his name after "Potter" ended in 2011, an uncredited role in 2018's "Damo & Ivor: The Movie." He was also in a music video in 2017, for "Every Time You Need Me," by Simonna.

On the social media front, Murray has about 162,000 followers on Instagram and 251,200 on X, but overall, Murray is still known mostly for blowing stuff up as Seamus. He also did not appear in the Max reunion.

Josh Herdman played Goyle in all eight films, and he has continued to act.

Herdman, 37, is also a professional MMA fighter as well as an actor. Since "Potter" ended, he's secured a few acting credits in the series "Marcella," as well as "Alex Rider" in 2020. He also appeared in the 2018 film "Robin Hood" starring Taron Egerton.

Most recently, he appeared in two episodes of "Andor" and two episodes of the Starz adaptation of "The Man Who Fell to Earth."

Herdman has fewer social-media followers than Murray (128,000 on Instagram), but his continued acting career and fighting career put him in front.

Herdman did not return for the reunion.

Oliver and James Phelps, who played the Weasley twins in all the films, are too much of a unit to separate.

The Phelps twins, 39, have sporadically continued to act together, rarely appearing in things without each other. While they haven't acted much since the end of the films, they've capitalized on their "Potter" fame, and each has over 2 million followers on Instagram, (James has 2.5; Oliver has 2.4).

Their onscreen appearances include 2021's psychological horror film "Last Night in Soho," directed by Edgar Wright. The two also appeared as themselves in the docuseries "The Cars That Made Britain Great" and hosted the "Potter"-themed baking show, "Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking" on Food Network in 2024.

The twins also cohosted a podcast together, "Normal Not Normal," that saw them "talk to a star-studded selection of friends, colleagues, and personal heroes who stepped into the limelight at a young age, and find out what 'normal' means to them." It ended in 2023.

Hilariously, the Phelpses did appear in the Max special, but their name labels were swapped.

While Wright, 34, hasn't appeared in any blockbuster films lately, her clout has only grown since playing the youngest Weasley. In addition to the multiple indie films she's acted in, ("The Sea," "After the Dark," "Before I Sleep"), she's also become a director and founded her own production company, BonBonLumiere. She also has a cool 3.9 million followers on Instagram.

Her directorial debut, a short called "Separate We Come, Separate We Go," starred her "Potter" costar David Thewlis and received positive reviews at its debut during the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. Most recently, she's focused on directing music videos. 

She's been less busy since 2018, however, so we can't put her higher than some of her costars who are still working constantly. Wright had a small role in the "Potter" reunion in 2022.

Evanna Lynch played the lovably loony Luna Lovegood for four films.

Lynch, 33, has found the most fame on social media — she has 3.8 million followers on Instagram — but she keeps busy with other projects as well. She hosted "The ChickPeeps Vegan Podcast" until 2023, and began a Substack in 2025 called "Penfriendship."

She also competed on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2018, finishing in third place. Acting-wise, she's appeared in a few indie films, but her main focus seems to be on other ventures.

During the 2022 reunion, Lynch shared the fascinating story of how she was cast as Luna — for years, she was a pen pal of author JK Rowling.

Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom, is, of course, the man behind the phrase "Longbottoming," thanks to his drastic post-"Potter" glow-up — the cultural impact of that alone places him above some of his costars.

The 35-year-old is also still acting regularly, however. He appeared in the 2020 series "All Creatures Great and Small," as well as the 2024 series "Avoidance." "Ripper Street," "Happy Valley," "Me Before You," and even an episode of "Drunk History" are among his other credits.

Lewis also hosts "The Official Leeds United Podcast," and he has 2.4 million Instagram followers and 1.3 million X followers. He reunited with his fellow Hogwarts classmates during the Max special.

Clémence Poésy played the half-Veela, half-human Fleur Delacour in three films.

Poésy, 42, has appeared in more than one iconic property — besides "Potter," she had a small arc during season four of "Gossip Girl" as Chuck's French girlfriend Eva, and she was in the 2020 Christopher Nolan film, "Tenet."

Poésy also starred in the Apple TV+ miniseries "The Essex Serpent" alongside Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes. From 2023 to 2024, she played Isabelle in "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon."

Up next is another Apple TV+ series, "Neuromancer," which also stars Callum Turner, Peter Sarsgaard, and Mark Strong, and the BBC series "King and Conqueror," which costars James Norton and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

So, what she lacks in social media (143,000 Instagram followers), she has made up for with parts in prestige projects — she also appeared in "127 Hours" and "In Bruges" in between her "Potter" films.

Freddie Stroma played the annoying Cormac McLaggen for three films.

Yes, Stroma's appearance in "Bridgerton" bumped him up a few spots — how could it not? It was a major hit, and he played a literal prince.

But the 38-year-old has been steadily acting for years outside "Bridgerton." He starred in "Unreal," had a role in "Pitch Perfect" (phenomenon), and appeared in an episode of "Game of Thrones" (the third phenomenon he's been involved with to date). 

A fourth came in 2022: He plays Adrian Chase, aka Vigilante, in the Max series "Peacemaker," a spin-off focusing on John Cena's character from "The Suicide Squad." Season two is expected in August 2025.

He also starred in "Time After Time" as HG Wells and starred in "The Crew," a Kevin James-led sitcom on Netflix, which was canceled in July 2021.

While Felton, 37, is still best known for Draco Malfoy, he's been able to capitalize on that in a way few other "Potter" stars have.

Whenever he posts a throwback from the set, it makes headlines. It's helped him gain a massive 11.9 million Instagram followers and 2.9 million X followers.

Felton does still act though — he had a sweet arc on "The Flash" as Julian, appeared as Laertes in "Ophelia," and has been in other indie films in the past decade.

In 2022, Felton published his memoir "Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard," which was a New York Times bestseller.

Felton was also a large part of the 20th anniversary special, sharing anecdotes about shooting scenes with his on-screen dad Jason Isaacs, remembering his on-screen mother, Helen McCrory, who died in 2021, and even talking about his special bond with Emma Watson.

Next up, he's set to appear in a series depicting the life of Gandhi as English lawyer Josiah Oldfield.

Katie Leung played Cho Chang in five films, starting with "Goblet of Fire."

It's taken Leung, 37, a few years, but she's seriously poised to become one of the more successful members of the "Potter" cast.

In the past few years, she's appeared in "T2: Trainspotting," the Prime Video series "The Peripheral" and "The Wheel of Time," and the BBC series "Nightsleeper."

Leung also had a voice role in the Netflix animated series "Arcane," which is part of the "League of Legends" universe. It wrapped its two-season run in 2024.

Most exciting, though, is that she's set to star in the coming fourth season of "Bridgerton" as Lady Araminta — as book readers know, that's a big deal.

She also has an impressive 408,000 followers on Instagram.

It's only up from here for Leung, although she did not return for the 20th-anniversary special.

Harry Melling is unrecognizable from his days as Dudley Dursley. You might've seen him in "The Queen's Gambit" and not even realized.

Melling, 36, has become quite the actor since leaving "Potter" behind. After his last appearance in "Deathly Hallows Part 1," he's appeared in "The Lost City of Z," "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," "His Dark Materials," "The Old Guard," "The Devil All the Time," "The Queen's Gambit," "The Tragedy of Macbeth," and "The Pale Blue Eye," among other projects — a very impressive résumé for someone who used to be known as the annoying, evil cousin.

Melling is also going costar with Alexander Skarsgård in the romantic comedy "Pillion," so it's safe to say we'll only be hearing more from him — though we only got a glimpse of him in old footage in the reunion.

Alfred Enoch's run on "How to Get Away with Murder" was popular enough that there's a significant number of people who know him better as Wes Gibbins than Dean Thomas — and that's saying something. The Emmy-winning show wrapped up its six-season run in May 2020. That puts him in the upper echelon of "Potter" child stars.

The 36-year-old continued his TV success in the Apple TV+ series "Foundation," which costars Jared Harris and Lee Pace. He was on the first two seasons.

In 2025, he appeared in the BBC/PBS series "Miss Austen."

Enoch was one of two fellow Gryffindors from Harry's year that returned for the special, though he didn't have a huge part.

Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, is most successful in his native country of England.

Grint isn't as mega-famous as his costars, but that seems to be the way he wants it. He joined Instagram only in 2020 ... and now has over 5.3 million followers.

The 36-year-old hasn't appeared in many films since the saga ended, but he has been successful on TV. He starred in (and executive produced) the Crackle series "Snatch" alongside the future "Bridgerton" star Phoebe Dynevor and the "Skins" heartthrob Luke Pasqualino.

He also starred in the Apple TV+ series "Servant," which the horror icon M. Night Shyamalan produced, from 2019 to 2023. He teamed up with Shyamalan for his 2023 film, "A Knock at the Cabin," too.

During the anniversary special, Grint shared that he actually thought about quitting the movies, as did Emma Watson, because of the pressures of fame.

Fun fact for 2010s teens: Grint has been in a relationship with Georgia Groome of "Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging" since 2011. They have one daughter together.

Emma Watson, who turned 35 on April 15, went from "Harry Potter" to a Disney princess in the live-action "Beauty and the Beast," an infamous criminal in "Bling Ring," a beloved manic pixie dream girl in "Perks of Being a Wallflower," and the eldest March sister in "Little Women," among other roles.

She also graduated from Brown University, was appointed a UN Goodwill Ambassador, launched the HeForShe campaign, is part of the G7, and has done extensive modeling.

Her impact will still be felt around the world, whether or not she retires from acting — her Instagram has a staggering 73.4 million followers.

It's no wonder she almost quit the series, as she revealed in the special.

Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter himself, has become quite the actor since leaving Hogwarts.

He's shied away from big-budget films, instead focusing on bonkers films such as "Guns Akimbo," "Swiss Army Man," and the interactive finale of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."

He also appeared in the magical film "Now You See Me 2," in which he pointedly is not a magician. Per IMDb, he'll be returning for the sequel later this year, "Now You See Me: Now You Don't."

He starred in the TBS anthology series "Miracle Workers" from 2019 to 2023 — a clip of Radcliffe performing "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" in drag went viral in 2020.

In 2022, Radcliffe co-starred with Channing Tatum, Brad Pitt, and Sandra Bullock in "The Lost City" and played Weird Al Yankovic in the biopic "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story."

The 35-year-old has also had a successful theater career. He famously starred in "Equus" and the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," which earned him a Grammy nod. He also has two Drama Desk nominations under his belt, and in 2024, he won a Tony for his performance in the revival of "Merrily We Roll Along."

Radcliffe, of course, had lots of screen time in the reunion, having special moments with not only Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, but also with Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter (whom he had a crush on), and director Chris Columbus.

Robert Pattinson, who appeared only in "Goblet of Fire," is easily the most successful child star to come out of "Harry Potter."

Pattinson, who does not have an Instagram account, spun his one-movie role into the leading man of one of the other biggest franchises of the 2010s: "Twilight." Today, he's the most successful star from that franchise, too.

After a decade of distancing himself from big blockbusters by starring in films like "Good Time" and "The Lighthouse," Pattinson, 38, officially had his mainstream comeback. He starred in "Tenet," "The King," and is Batman, for crying out loud.

After recently starring in Bong Joon Ho's follow-up to "Parasite," "Mickey 17," Pattinson has a busy couple of years coming up. Next for him are: Christopher Nolan's adaptation of "The Odyssey," "Die, My Love" alongside Jennifer Lawrence, "The Drama," alongside Zendaya, and, of course, "The Batman 2."

There's no one else who compares, honestly.

The theme of 2024's celebration was "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," which brought back vintage looks and styles that hadn't been seen in years.

The theme honored Chanel icon Karl Lagerfeld, with "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty."

The 2021/2022 Met Gala was a two-part event, with the first part held in September 2021 and the second in May 2022.

In 2022, the Met Gala returned for the culmination of the American-themed two-part celebration.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who missed out on the chance to co-chair in 2020, helmed the event alongside husband-and-wife duo Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds and overall icon Regina King, who didn't walk the carpet at the big event. King's son died in January 2022, so she was likely still mourning the loss.

Part one of the two-part Met Gala, which was held in September 2021, was sponsored by Instagram and themed in "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion."

The 2020 Met Gala was, of course, canceled due to the pandemic. But had it taken place as scheduled on May 4, the theme would've been "About Time: Fashion and Duration," sponsored by Ghesquière's Louis Vuitton.

2019's theme was "Camp: Notes on Fashion," and it was sponsored by Gucci.

Rihanna's Met Gala looks had long earned her the title of "Queen of the Met Gala," and in 2018, she added the title of co-chair. The year's theme was a bold one: "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination." It was sponsored by Versace and Christine and Stephen Schwarzman, who also served as co-chairs.

Stephen Schwarzman is a cofounder and CEO of The Blackstone Group, a private equity firm that has a stake in Versace.

The 2017 theme was "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between," celebrating the Japanese brand, and was a joint sponsorship between Apple, Condé Nast, Farfetch, H&M, and Maison Valentino.

The event, fittingly sponsored by Apple, was themed "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology."

The evening's honorary hosts were returnees Nicolas Ghesquière, Karl Lagerfeld, and Miuccia Prada.

It's believed that Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn met at the 2016 Met Gala. A lyric in Swift's song "Dress" describes each of their looks from the event. Swift and Alwyn's relationship would last for six years.

In addition to the actresses, then-CEO of Yahoo Marissa Mayer and entrepreneur/movie producer/third wife of Rupert Murdoch, Wendi Murdoch, also hosted the event, plus honorary chair and Hong Kong billionaire Silas Chou.

The other hosts for the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion"-themed night were Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch, Aerin Lauder, and Oscar de la Renta.

This year's theme, "Punk: Chaos to Couture," remains one of the most iconic Met Gala themes. In addition to these four, Beyoncé was an honorary co-chair.

"Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations" was the theme of 2012's Met Gala, which was also chaired by Miuccia Prada.

That year's theme was "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" to honor McQueen after his death in February 2010.

The night, which was sponsored by Gap, was themed "American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity."

The 2009 Met Ball was themed "The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion."

The gala's theme was "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy."

The evening was themed "Poiret: King of Fashion," dedicated to legendary designer Paul Poiret.

Fittingly, the Burberry and British-heavy night was themed "AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion."

Of course, as the night's theme was "House of Chanel," no one but Lagerfeld could've been a chair.

The 2004 Met Gala had no co-chairs beyond Wintour. The year's theme was "Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century."

The evening's theme was "Goddess: The Classical Mode."

L'Oréal CEO Lindsay Owen-Jones and his wife, Cristina, also chaired the "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years"-themed event, as L'Oréal was the night's sponsor.

The Met Gala was canceled in 2002 in the wake of 9/11, and next occurred in 2003.

The last Met Gala of the 20th century was themed "Rock Style." There was no Met Gala in 2000, so the first Met Gala of the 21st century wasn't held until 2001.

The theme was "Cubism and Fashion," and it was sponsored by the Prada brand.

That year's theme was "Gianni Versace," dedicated to the designer after his death in July 1997.

The theme of the 1996 Met Gala was simply "Christian Dior."

The first Met Gala chaired by Anna Wintour occurred on December 4, 1995. Legendary designers Gianni Versace and Karl Lagerfeld were honorary chairs that year, and the theme was "Haute Couture."

Annette de la Renta was the wife of the late designer Oscar de La Renta, while Bronfman is the wife of Edgar Bronfman Jr., a legendary businessman, producer, and former CEO of Warner Music Group.

I've heard nothing but good things about Cook Out from friends and colleagues, so I knew I had to try the famed North Carolina-based chain when I visited this year.

As a New Yorker, I thought $12 an hour for a cashier seemed a bit low — NYC's minimum wage is $16.50, per January 1 — but in North Carolina, Cook Out's pay is higher than the minimum. Per the state's Department of Labor, its minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

You can get burgers in many different varieties, including Cook Out Style (homemade chili, slaw, mustard, onions), Cheddar Style (cheddar, bacon, grilled onions), Steak Style (A1 sauce, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato), or House Style (quesadilla sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion), to name a few.

You can also get grilled chicken sandwiches, hotdogs, barbecue, chicken fingers, wraps, quesadillas, corn dogs, hushpuppies, wraps, many different types of fries, onion rings, a Walkin' Taco (more on that later) … the list goes on.

Cook Out is also famous for its 45 different milkshake flavors.

It's enough to make a gal's head spin.

The option to dine in is relatively rare for Cook Out. Most locations are just a drive-thru or a walk-up window, so I wasn't that surprised by the lack of customers inside. I had already noted that our location had a line going around the building for its drive-thru.

This location was clean, nicely decorated, and had a lot of seating.

My BBQ Plate came with a generous serving of pulled pork topped with hot sauce, and sides of coleslaw, fries, and hushpuppies.

I couldn't believe I got all that for less than $7. A similar meal from Raising Cane's, for example, would cost $15.49 for four chicken fingers, fries, toast, coleslaw, and a drink.

A McDonald's value meal might be cheaper, at around $5 for a burger, nuggets, fries, and a drink, but I found that Cook Out's food seemed a lot fresher than McDonald's and other fast food I've tried.

I'm a big barbecue fan from my time living in Louisiana during college, but the New York barbecue scene doesn't compare to what's going on in the South.

So it's been a while since I've had some truly delicious Southern barbecue. Even at a fast-food joint like Cook Out, the pulled pork did not disappoint. It was moist, not chewy at all, and well-seasoned.

As a rule, I will always prefer a creamier slaw to a more vinegary one, so I was a fan of Cook Out's slaw, which is homemade and more mayo-forward than the recipe at other places.

An order of hushpuppies on their own is $1.99, and I seriously considered buying another serving after quickly inhaling the ones that came with my meal.

If you don't know what hushpuppies are, they're a staple of Southern cooking with only a few ingredients. They're essentially delicious, deep-fried cornmeal.

Cook Out's hushpuppies were not heavy at all. Instead, they were light and savory. I couldn't get enough.

I tried to get as many sauces as I could to dip my fries into. Seen here are Cook Out's Buffalo sauce, Polynesian sauce, barbecue sauce, honey mustard, and ranch.

This was a huge hit with everyone at my table. It was tangy, slightly sweet, and had the slightest bit of spice. It paired well with my fries and my hushpuppies.

Usually, I'm a sucker for special sauces — if I could drink Cane's sauce or Chick-fil-A sauce, I would. But I wasn't a fan of Cook Out's offering.

Maybe it's because everything else at Cook Out seemed so homemade, but the second I tore the wrapper off the Special Sauce, I got the ick.

In terms of taste, I couldn't really get a handle on what this was supposed to be. I thought it would be similar to Russian dressing (ketchup and mayo mixed together), but it reminded me more of nacho sauce than anything else.

I consider myself to be an Oreo/cookies-and-cream milkshake connoisseur. I've tried it at any fast food establishment that offers it. Until this day, I would've said that Chick-fil-A's cookies-and-cream shake was the gold standard.

But now there's BCO and ACO: Before Cook Out and After Cook Out. This was the creamiest, thickest milkshake I've ever gotten at a fast-food joint. The chunks of Oreo weren't overwhelmingly big, and the vanilla ice cream was perfect.

At $3.99, that's $2.50 cheaper than the comparable cookies and cream shake at Shake Shack.

This reminds me of In-N-Out, another fast-food chain that has Bible verses across its packaging.

The verse on Cook Out's milkshake cups is "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

I'm not religious, but I was certainly rejoicing in my shake.

A Walkin' Taco, which costs $3.69, is a bag of Doritos topped with chili, cheese, lettuce, and sour cream. For 55 cents, you can add fresh jalapeños.

I'm not trying to be dramatic, but the Walkin' Taco — a culinary delight popularized in the Midwest and found across the South — is pure innovation and needs to come to New York City. What a game changer! I would love to walk around Central Park while munching (mess-free, might I add) on a taco in a bag.

Anecdotally, the trays seem to be Cook Out's most popular offerings. You can choose from any manner of main dish (including burgers, chicken, quesadillas, or barbecue), two sides, and a drink (or a shake for an extra $1.60).

The base is $7.99, but adding toppings has small upcharges. My brother got a burger with cheese (an additional 50 cents) and tomatoes (an additional 10 cents), along with an order of chicken nuggets and hushpuppies.

I can't speak to what a plain burger is like, but I quite enjoyed the cheeseburger. It wasn't too thin like some other fast food burgers can be, and I thought it was well-seasoned. It was also quite juicy.

The nuggets, in my opinion, were average. They weren't too bland, but they didn't have any strong flavoring to them, either.

New York may have a lot of things, but we are missing Cook Out, and I desperately wish that would change. The closest thing we have is Mighty Quinn's, which has a more limited menu and is more expensive.

In total, for my family of three, we paid $34 for two burger trays, a barbecue plate, and two shakes. There's nothing in New York that compares, not even McDonald's or Wendy's.

Now that I've tried Cook Out, I'm already hoping to plan another trip to a state with a location nearby — so don't be surprised if you see me popping up in Tennessee or Virginia sooner rather than later.

Source: ONE Sotheby's International Realty