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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s feud was made public in 2024, following the release of their movie It Ends With Us. Their legal drama continued throughout 2025 and hasn’t gone away in 2026.

After Lively filed a federal lawsuit against Baldoni, his studio Wayfarer, and his PR team, the director countersued for defamation. His countersuit was later dismissed by a judge, but the situation developed into ongoing legal battles and public reports throughout 2025, with the court filings and news coverage dominating headlines. 

Whether or not you have fatigue from the back and forth and who is accusing who of what now, people were so interested in Lively and what was going on last year that it earned her a spot near the top of the most-searched actresses in the world.

Lively took the No. 2 spot on the list of 2025’s Top 10 most Googled film & TV female stars in the world with 4.61 million average monthly searches. But who came in ahead of theGossip Girl alum for the No. 1 spot? That went to another actress who’s dealt with a lot of controversy and her own drama last year. Sydney Sweeney was named the most Googled actress worldwide with 5.27 million average monthly searches.

Sweeney went from being the “It” girl at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding in June to doing an American Eagle ad one month later that garnered plenty of backlash. In September, rumors of her romance with talent manager Scooter Braun drew the ire of Taylor Swift fans. Moreover, her movies Americana and Christy did poorly at the box office, and she was criticized for her Sports Illustrated cover that appeared to be photoshopped.

As for the most Googled film & TV male stars in the world, Lively’s husband was on that list. Ryan Reynolds landed in the No. 9 spot with 2.73 million average monthly searches. Other actors who made that list include Brad Pitt, who took the top spot with 4.12 million average monthly searches, Tom Cruise, who came in just behind him with 3.92 million average monthly searches, and Henry Cavill was third most searched with 3.17 million average monthly searches. Leonardo DiCaprio was also on the list with 2.97 million average monthly searches along with fellow Hollywood heavyweight Johnny Depp, generating 2.97 million average monthly searches.

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“Search data has become the new celebrity barometer, and 2025 made it clear that attention is the real currency of stardom,” said Silvana Vladimirova, data analyst at PlayersTime. From Sydney Sweeney’s rise as the Internet’s most searched actress to the staying power of icons like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, audiences are obsessively tracking screen stars far beyond the cinema or streaming screen.

“What’s striking is how fame now moves at two speeds — driven by blockbuster releases and streaming hits, but just as often by viral moments, headline-making relationships, and comeback narratives. In a year dominated by TikTok trends, scandalous headlines, and cinematic moments everyone was talking about, Google searches reveal exactly who captured the world’s curiosity — and why film and TV stars continue to rule pop culture conversation.”

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