• December 28, 1998
• Vol. 50
• No. 24

The 25 Most Intriguing People '98

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From PEOPLE Magazine

Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea. Have you heard the news? Of course you have. You couldn't avoid it in 1998. Revelations, records and recantations came sizzling over the Internet, splashing across TV screens and leaking from grand jury rooms. Home runs, House seats and trouble at home (the one at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.) demanded air-time and our time with fascinating urgency.

Amid the bytes and bits, the stories and scoops, intriguing folks cropped up everywhere from home plate to Hollywood. Starrs (Ken), sluggers (Mark McGwire), spoilers (upstart Internet reporter Matt Drudge), seniors (John Glenn), even a Spice Girl (Geri Halliwell) made sensational headlines. On small screen and big, appearances were highly personal: Plus-size Camryn Manheim was an Emmy heavyweight, while Calista Flockhart pulled a Bony Marony, and Cameron Diaz had the year's most profitable bad hair day.

The stars of '98 shared the spotlight with a surprising Intriguer: the American people. We just wouldn't behave, gleefully confounding prognosticators at the polls, the box office and the brokerage. No one threw the experts to the mat harder than Minnesotans, who elected former pro wrestler Jesse "the Body" Ventura to govern their state—and express their state of mind. Why were we so unpredictable? Ventura's idea is as good as anyone's. "The people want someone to look up to," he said. "I'm 6'4"."