For the second year in a row OntarioBets.com took a break from our Ontario sports betting coverage to scour social media, determining the most well-known celebrities from the province. Our list for 2023 only looks a little different from 2022. The biggest change: Keanu Reeves is in, Nina Dobrev is out.
OntarioBets.com, your source for Ontario online casinos, used a weighted system between AhRefs.com Keywords Explorer and Google Trends to look at the most searched Ontario celebrities over the past 12 months (August 2022 to August 2023). Once we found both statistics, we averaged them to set the Top 10. We defined “Ontario celebrity” as someone who resided in the province in their formative childhood and teenage years for over 10 years. Celebrities include actors/actresses, singer/songwriters, TV personalities, comedians, dancers and social media influencers.
In the top spot again is Justin Bieber, 29, from London, Ontario. The Biebs has been busy over the past year. He has sung duets with Beam, Omah Lay, and Don Toliver. He popped in at Coachella, released new singles, worked on a forthcoming album, and in January he sold the publishing rights to his music for more than $200 million.
New to the top 10, and coming in at No. 2, is Toronto’s Keanu Reeves, 58. His fourth “John Wick” movie was a smash – bringing in more than $426 million worldwide – and he’s set to reappear as Wick in a “Ballerina” feature starring Ana De Armas, with whom he starred in the small, quirky thriller “Knock Knock” in 2015. Also on tap for Reeves, a return as supernatural exorcist John Constantine in “Constantine 2.”
Jumping from fourth to third is Ryan Gosling, 42, from London. The jump can most likely be attributed to Gosling’s role as Ken in a little summer film called “Barbie,” which has now topped $1 billion in worldwide box office. Gosling has a number of projects in development, but they’re all waiting for the strike by the SAG-AFTRA actors union to end.
Singer/songwriter The Weeknd, 33, from Toronto, climbs two spots to No. 4. Over the past year he released an HBO concert film and corresponding album “Live at SoFi Stadium.” His HBO series “The Idol,” which the Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) co-created and starred in, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival; it became a lightning rod for controversy and a target for ridicule when HBO aired its six episodes of raunchy, misogynistic ridiculousness.
Dropping from No. 2 to No. 5 is Drake, 36, from Toronto. 2023 saw the Canadian rapper-actor-businessman team on a single with Popcaan, headline the Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, and become the most streamed act ever on Spotify. Drake (real name Aubrey Drake Graham) sampled Kim Kardashian for his single “Search and Rescue,” and teamed with British rapper Central Cee.
Dropping from third to sixth is Newcastle’s Jim Carrey, 61. In April 2022, Carrey said he was retiring from acting. So far, he has kept his word. His only project since “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” has been a role in the “Out of Time” music video by his fellow Canadian, The Weeknd. It’s a testament to Carrey’s longevity and popularity that he still makes the list at all.
Moving up one spot from No. 8 to No. 7 is Belleville pop-punk queen Avril Lavigne, 39. Lavigne also had a relatively quiet year, in which she has worked on her eighth studio album, with a release date to be announced. Her last single, released in the fall, was “I’m a Mess,” with the English singer Yungblud.
Switching spots with Lavigne is London’s Rachel McAdams, 44. McAdams returned as Dr. Christine Palmer in “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness,” then the former Mean Girl played an empathetic mom in the long-awaited adaptation of “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” She also played herself in three episodes of the TV sitcom “Dave.”
Singer Shawn Mendes, 25, from Pickering, stayed put at No. 9, mostly due to earned affection and fans curious if he had anything in the pipeline. Mendes’ only recent credit is voicing the lead in “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.” He has two movie projects in talks, both stalled by the actors’ strike.
Wrapping up the Top 10 again is Windsor’s Shania Twain, 58, who toured over the past year to promote her most recent album “Queen of Me.” She also got a lot of social media facetime when she showed up at the Grammys in a bright red wig and a white outfit with giant black polka-dots. It was one of the most head-turning outfits on the red carpet.
OntarioBets.com takes a hyper-localized approach to pop culture stories as well as topics such as Ontario sportsbook apps, online slots and much more.
Author
Howard Gensler is a veteran journalist covering the Ontario sports betting market for OntarioBets.com. Before his focus on U.S. sports betting, Howard worked at the Philadelphia Daily News, TV Guide and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Howard is also a founding editor of bettorsinsider.com.
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