10. Justin Timberlake, 26, has been singing ever since he was a toddler. After having graduated form the Mickey Mouse Club and 'N Sync, he is the only former boy band member who's even hotter on his own.

This year has been especially good to Timberlake, who won two Grammy Awards and an Emmy for a racy "Saturday Night Live" skit. And now, after two very public breakups, his love life is back on track with actress Jessica Biel.

9. Since leaving office nearly seven years ago, Bill Clinton, 61, has traveled to more than 84 countries using his status to fight poverty, childhood obesity, global warming and AIDS.

Taking on a unique role this campaign season, the charismatic former president could make history as the first gentleman of the White House in 2008.

8. MySpace founders Tom Anderson, 32, and Chris De Wolfe, 41, left, might have more friends than anyone on the planet.

Their social networking Web site is changing the way millions of people communicate, with users in more than 23 countries. It all started when Anderson sensed that Friendster, a Web site that peaked in popularity during the '90s, could be updated and improved upon if members were allowed to promote themselves. His instincts paid off, and MySpace realized exponential growth.
7. Soccer star David Beckham, 32, and his wife Victoria, 33, crossed the pond this year, leaving England for America's hotbed of stardom. David began playing for Major League Soccer team the Los Angeles Galaxy, and Victoria resumed her role as the poshest of the Spice Girls during a girl group reunion that brought her to the stage for the first time in seven years. It was enough to earn the power couple two slots, one each, on the 10 Most Fascinating People list.

During their interview with Walters, the Beckhams spoke candidly about their relationship, their friendship with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, having more kids, soccer, the Spice Girls and much more.

6. Although she might be too modest to agree, Katherine Heigl is one of 2007's most fascinating people.

Not only did movie roles start pouring in as a result of her Emmy-winning portrayal of Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens on "Grey's Anatomy," her personal life is also blooming. Heigl, 29, plans to marry rocker Josh Kelley in a few weeks. "It's all so much at once, and so fast," Heigl told Walters.

5. Ever since her soulful Academy Award winning performance in "Dreamgirls," Jennifer Hudson's public profile catapaulted from American Idol contestant to the embodiment of the American dream.

The next role for the 26-year-old singer and actress will be as Carrie Bradshaw's assistant in the much-anticipated "Sex and the City: The Movie."

4. The people of Venezuela have spoken, and Hugo Chavez will not be running again for president in 2012. But despite the recent electoral defeat of his constitutional reforms, Chavez, 58, has capitivated people around the world as the most controversial and potentially powerful man in South America. He has been called a buffoon, a political genius, a dictator in the making, and a liberator.

3. Don Imus, 67, made his return to radio Dec. 3 after having been fired from CBS Radio and MSNBC after making racially charged comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

The fallout prompted a nationwide discussion about race, respect and the language used to describe women.

There are no plans, however, for Imus to present a kinder, gentler persona, he told Walters.

2. J.K. Rowling tops Barbara Walters' list as the most fascinating person of 2007.

At one point Rowling had no money or prospects, but she kept writing and took her manuscript to 12 publishers. They all rejected it. Finally, one company offered her $4,000, with the warning that children's books weren't very profitable.

As the prolific author of seven "Harry Potter" books, Rowling has written her own happy ending, by transforming the ordinary milestones of a child's life into a story that has captivated the world.

And the winner is…

BARBARA WALTERS pronounced Harry Potter author J.K. ROWLING 2007's "most fascinating person," Thursday, on her ABC special profiling celebs who grabbed her interest this year.

Rowling, the multi-millionaire novelist who was once a down-on-her-luck single mom, has gone on to become arguably one of the most popular names in literature today.

Other personalities on Barbara's list included BILL CLINTON, VICTORIA and DAVID BECKHAM, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, KATHERINE HEIGL, JENNIFER HUDSON, MySpace moguls TOM ANDERSON and CHRIS DeWOLFE, Venezuelan President HUGO CHAVEZ and DON IMUS, in his first interview since being fired from his radio show last April after making racially charged comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

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