As we look back on 2022 and ahead to 2023, there's certainly been some moments we wish we could forget – but for now, let's focus on the positives, shall we?
These stories from the past year have warmed our hearts (even during the December frost), so to celebrate, we've rounded up our winners for 2022, from Meghan Markle sharing her story to the England women's football team triumphing in the European Championship.
We also saw a number of big social media trends have their moment in 2022, be it the ‘barbiecore’ aesthetic – or just the ‘core’ suffix in general – or the negroni sbagliato (ooh, stunnin'), which was surely TikTok's most talked-about cocktail of the year.
An honourable mention goes to Florence Pugh, who had a blinder of a year with her performances in Don't Worry Darling and The Wonder, with the blockbusters set to continue in 2023. Then there's Wordle, the daily vocab game which had us all addicted at the beginning of the year – and what about the year in TV? The White Lotus, Stranger Things, The Crown and Bridgerton all had us glued to our sofas, and discussing every fan theory.
But without further ado, let's get into our official winners of 2022 – these are the people (and er, random things) that really made 2022 their year, we reckon:
Meghan Markle
No doubt it's been a hard year for Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, in some ways, but the Duchess of Sussex herself has said she's happier than ever living life in Montecito with her family (if you haven't watched the couple's very honest Netflix documentary, where have you been?).
She's served some beautiful red carpet looks, she launched a podcast and she received the Ripple of Hope human rights award alongside Harry – now that's a winner right there.
The England women's football team
Go, Lionesses! The whole country celebrated when our women's football team won the European Championship, beating the USA in the tense final. It was the first time since 1966 that any England senior football team had won a major championship and firmly put women's sport on the map like never before – a truly historic moment.
Amelia Dimoldenberg
Another woman who absolutely made 2022 hers was Amelia Dimoldenberg, who saw even more success as the host of Chicken Shop Date on YouTube – but the comedian and presenter has now made a name for herself in her own right, too.
Her viral Louis Theroux episode, which of course sparked hundreds of TikTok videos to Louis' rap lyrics and a subsequent single release of Jiggle Jiggle, was surely a career highlight.
Hot pink
Super bright pinks (we're talking highlighter hues) were surely the official shades of 2022, with everyone from Zendaya to Anne Hathaway, Florence Pugh and Kim Kardashian wearing head-to-toe looks – thanks mainly to Valentino's monochromatic PP Pink collection.
Of course, 'Barbiecore' was also a thing in 2022, which will no doubt continue thanks to the movie release starring Margot Robbie in 2023.
The '-core' suffix
There have been plenty of other ‘cores’ in 2022, naturally. There was preppy-core, cottage-core, regency-core, normcore, balletcore… the list goes on.
“There isn't one strict way to be a woman or to be in touch with your womanhood.”
Matty Healy's autotune
The 1975's Matty Healy has an onstage bit where he says random things to the audience using autotune – he's done it for years. But now, there's TikTok, so the clips are everywhere. Happy scrolling.
Alex Scott
Alex made history when she became the first female presenter of Football First back in 2021, and she's gone on to have an incredible year in 2022, as part of the hosting team for the coverage of the women's Euros as well as the World Cup.
When England played Iran in their first match of the tournament in Qatar, she made sure to make a statement by wearing her One Love armband to promote diversity and inclusion and celebrate LGBTQ+ rights.
Ketanji Brown Jackson
All hail Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first ever African American woman to sit on the US supreme court. Her ground-breaking appointment sparked widespread praise, with the likes of Bernice King, Kerry Washington and Hilary Clinton all tweeting their reaction.
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Jennifer Lopez
2022 was the year, of course, when Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck swept us all back to the noughties and finally got married, twenty years after their initial engagement.
Their romance has inspired a brand new album from J.Lo, which will be all about their incredible love story. She told Zane Lowe in an Apple Music interview: “Once we got whole enough and complete enough and loved ourselves enough and could stand on our own two feet really completely, as the universe would have it, we were brought into each other’s lives again. And it was a crack in the clouds and that song came through and it was like, ‘Boom, that’s it.’ And we were both very sure.” Aww.
Julia Fox
Julia Fox was, well, unapologetically Julia Fox in 2022. There are too many moments to mention, from her pronunciation of Uncut Gems to her whirlwind relationship with Kanye (which she subsequently said was to keep him away from Kim) and her chaotic eyeliner tutorials.
“I was delusional.”
Rihanna
Rihanna became a mum in 2022! And let's not forget her iconic pregnancy wardrobe, which completely celebrated her changing body.
The star basically chewed up and spat out the rule book when it comes to pregnancy fashion – choosing to wear plenty of sheer and cut-out outfits that showed off her bump, instead of ‘skimming’ or hiding it.
Harry Styles
Don't Worry Darling drama and relationship breakups aside, Harry Styles has had a storming 2022 – from best-selling album Harry's House to the sell-out tour and big movie roles. He also released his beauty line, Pleasing. What's next?
The negroni sbagliato
No doubt we've all been Googling negroni sbagliato (with prosecco in it) recipes since the viral TikTok clip of House of The Dragon star Emma D'Arcy saw her reveal her favourite drink to co-star Olivia Cooke.
The question “What's your drink of choice?” will never have another answer.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé had her Renaissance in 2022, and we were all along for the ride. The new album was a major plot twist for the singer, but it gave us banger after banger – and some epic TikTok dance routines. Thank you, Bey.
Adele
After releasing her album 30 at the end of 2021, Adele made 2022 the year she returned to the stage, with sell-out shows in Hyde Park and a long-awaited Las Vegas residency, which saw her bounce back after cancelling the shows in January.
