These five were megastars in their own right. RedEye charts just how hot they were. Kyra Kyles
Tina Fey
January: Snags Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild awards
April: “Baby Mama” debuts at No. 1 in theaters
July: Stars in quirky American Express ad
September: Nailin’ Palin on “SNL”; nabs three Emmys
October: “30 Rock” returns, with guests including Oprah
December: Lands cover of Vanity Fair, more SAG and Golden Globes noms
Named AP’s entertainer of the year, EW’s second-smartest person on TV, and one of Barbara Walters’ most fascinating folks
Heath Ledger
January: In wake of shocking death, gets kudos for “Dark Knight” performance
February: Beach memorial held for him in Perth, Australia
July: “Dark Knight” dominates box office with $158M opening
August: “Knight” surpasses $400M 18 days into its release–a record
November: Michelle Williams details heartbreak over Ledger’s death to Newsweek
December: Nominated for SAG award
Lil Wayne
January: Arrested in Arizona on drug possession charges
June: Sells 1 million copies of “Tha Carter III” in one week, breaks Fiddy’s record
October: Named “People’s Champ” at BET Hip-Hop Awards; witnesses birth of son, calls it “nasty” but “wonderful”
November: Bags top rapper award at AMAs; refutes Web claim he was killed in gunfight
December: Gets eight Grammynoms
Miley Cyrus
January: Scandal! Cyrus’ camp admits brief use of a body double during popular “Best of Both Worlds” show
February: 3-D concert film of Miley’s tour scores biggest film debut ever over Super Bowl weekend ($29M)
April: Scandal!!! Cyrus apologizes ahead of bare-backed photo on cover of Vanity Fair
July: Releases second album, “Breakout,” which debuts at No. 1
August: Teen Choice award (totally!); says she “bawled for a month” after breaking up with Nick Jonas (awww)
October: Celebrates Sweet 16 early at Disneyland, shuttered just for her; rumored to be dating older male model
November: Lends her voice to animated Disney flick, “Bolt”
Michael Phelps
March: Featured inside Vogue magazine with model Caroline Trentini
August: Eight amazing gold medal wins–1 billion reaction shots of his mother at Beijing Games
September: Greatest Olympian ever? Certainly most visible–on Oprah, MTV, “SNL”
November: Appears on “Entourage” in a very quick cameo
December: Swims onto Barbara Walters’ list of year’s most fascinating people
SOURCES: NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, AP, BOXOFFICEMOJO.COM, MTV.COM, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD
