<p id=”par-1_20″>A new poll is looking for answers about what makes a person uncool and what qualifies them as cool. </p>
<p id=”par-2_50″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/what-countries-blocked-kanye-west-playing-concerts.html/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Kanye “Ye” West</a> ranked last in the poll that asked Americans who they felt was the “coolest <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/notable-people/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>celebrity</a>.” That’s not surprising since most people agree that much of what he has said over the years and his erratic behavior have not been cool. But what makes a star cool? </p>
<p id=”par-3_28″>Is it self-image, celebrity culture, generational identity, or something else? Here’s more on that and the celebrity rankings, including who landed No. 1 on the list of “Coolest Celebrity.”</p>
<p id=”par-4_39″>The poll was conducted by <a href=”https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/54739-who-americans-think-is-cool” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>YouGov</a> in an effort to figure out who and what Americans think is cool. The U.S. respondents were given a list of 36 well-known celebs and asked to rank them by their cool factor.</p>
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<p id=”par-5_72″>The study found that “Americans who say they’re cool are far more likely to say coolness is important than are those who say they’re not cool. Fifty-one percent of those who say they’re very cool say coolness is at least somewhat important, compared to 30% of those who say they’re somewhat cool, 5% of those who say they’re not very cool, and 3% of those who say they’re not at all cool.”</p>
<p id=”par-6_8″>And which celebrities are considered the coolest? </p>
<p id=”par-7_31″>Out of the 36 famous people, including actors, singers, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/celebrity-athletes/?swcfpc=1″>athletes</a>, and politicians, respondents ranked <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/samuel-l-jackson-felt-snakes-on-a-plane-didnt-well-better-audiences-thought.html/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Samuel L. Jackson</a> as the coolest. More than 70% hold the opinion that Jackson is cool. </p>
<p id=”par-8_34″>The Beatles, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/michael-jordans-first-wife-didnt-have-a-prenup-so-she-asked-for-something-else.html/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Michael Jordan</a>, Willie Nelson, and Clint Eastwood round out the Top 5 of celebrities Americans think are the coolest. Dwayne Johnson followed close behind Eastwood’s 65% with 63% of the cool vote.</p>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-width=”550″ data-dnt=”true”><p lang=”qme” dir=”ltr”><img src=”https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72×72/1f64f-1f3fe.png” alt=”🙏🏾” class=”wp-smiley” style=”height: 1em; max-height: 1em;” /> <a href=”https://twitter.com/armani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@armani</a> <a href=”https://t.co/VdXcXmEeTu”>pic.twitter.com/VdXcXmEeTu</a></p>— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) <a href=”https://twitter.com/SamuelLJackson/status/2033606961678160358?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>March 16, 2026</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
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<p id=”par-9_50″>Some of the figures respondants said they were unsure whether or not they’re cool include Kendrick Lamar with 34% unsure, Zorhan Mamdani 34%, Sydney Sweeney 36%, Caitlin Clark 39%, Timothée Chalamet 44%, Olivia Rodrigo 48%, the K-Pop group BTS 54%, and Los Angeles Dodgers player <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/shohei-ohtanis-wife-mamiko-tanaka.html/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Shohei Ohtani</a> with 54% unsure.</p>
<p id=”par-10_28″>But for most of the celebrities asked about, Americans are more likely to think other people think the celebrities are cool than to consider the celebrities cool themselves.</p>
<p id=”par-11_78″>“For example, 40% of Americans say <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/traviskelceinterview.html/?swcfpc=1″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Travis Kelce</a> is very or somewhat cool, and 36% say he’s not very or not at all cool — a net coolness of +5. But 52% think the typical American thinks Kelce is cool, and only 25% think others think he’s uncool, for a net of +27. That’s a 22-point gap between what Americans think and what they think others think, the largest of any of the 36 celebrities in the poll.</p>
<p id=”par-12_41″>“Other celebrities who Americans disproportionately think other Americans consider cool, relative to their own rating of the celebrities’ coolness, include Sabrina Carpenter (an 18-point gap), <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/taylor-swift-partying-ex-prince-andrews-daughters-purposely-avoided-beatrice-eugenie-event.html/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Taylor Swift</a> (17 points), Serena Williams (15 points), <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/beyonce-wore-outfit-backwards-kris-jenners-birthday-party-no-one-said-word.html/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Beyoncé</a> (15 points), and Bad Bunny (15 points).</p>