Big Moments That Defined 2014 in Entertainment
It was a year of high highs and the lowest lows in Hollywood.
— -- intro: Some Hollywood stars will remember 2014 fondly. George Clooney and his good friend, Brad Pitt, married the loves of their lives, while others, like Matthew McConaughey, found critical acclaim at last. However, for others, 2014 was a year marred by tragedy or scandal. Here's a look back on this past year in entertainment.
quicklist: 1title: The McConaissance Hit!text: Last year, Matthew McConaughey did some of the best work of his life -- and this year, he was finally recognized for it. After winning a Golden Globe for "Dallas Buyers Club" in January, McConaughey won his first Oscar the next month for the same film. As if that wasn't enough, the father of three also racked up Emmy and Golden Globe nominations later in the year for "True Detective," and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. What inspired him to do the kind of work that's winning him awards now? "I thought, 'I love harder, I cry harder, I laugh harder in my real life than I do in my work. I've got things in my life every single day, risks that I'm taking that are scaring me. Why is my work not scaring me?'" he told GQ. "I talked to my agent. I talked to my wife. I talked to my moneyman and said, 'Hey, I may not work for a while. We good?' So I went away for two years."media: 27479871
quicklist: 2title: Hollywood Suffered Incredible Lossestext: 2014 was a year of great losses for Hollywood. In February, Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his Manhattan apartment after suffering from acute mixed drug intoxication. The 46-year-old actor, a father of three young children, had been open before about his struggle with substance abuse. "I went [to rehab], I got sober when I was 22 years old," Hoffman revealed during a 2006 interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes." "You get panicked ... and I got panicked for my life."
Six months later, another Hollywood lost another great when Robin Williams died of an apparent suicide, leaving behind a wife and three adult children. In the weeks and months following his shocking death, it was revealed that the comedian had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and been struggling with depression. Now, his family is trying to move forward and remember Williams, who was 63 at the time of his death, as the loving family man he was. "Dad had almost a childlike love, and he shared that love with people, with everyone," his oldest son Zak said last month. "And that ability to love, and that ability to be generous and giving and kind is something we would want to share with future generations."
Just weeks after Williams' death, Joan Rivers died at age 81, days after going into cardiac arrest during a medical procedure. Soon after, investigations were launched into Yorkville Endoscopy, the clinic where she was treated, and the comedian's daughter, Melissa Rivers, has been fighting to get answers to questions surrounding her mother's death. Meanwhile, in the past few months, Rivers has been memorialized at various events as a trailblazer for women and a very, very funny comedian -- recognition that Melissa Rivers said she would have loved. Still, "It's hard for me to really think of her as any of those things because the bottom line is, she was just my mother," she recently said.media: 27481975
quicklist: 3title: Popular TV Shows Came to an Endtext: In March, "How I Met Your Mother" fans finally learned the fates of the Ted, Tracy, Marshall, Lily, Barney and Robin, though some weren't so happy about it. "It wasn’t necessarily the happy ending that people were expecting,” admitted star Neil Patrick Harris. "But Carter [Bays] and Craig [Thomas], who were once writers on your show and the executive producers and creators, knew this ending years ago and had played towards that. And I was a big proponent of it and a big fan of it." A more well-received series finale came at the end of the year, with the shocking -- and yes, bloody -- end to "Sons of Anarchy." media: 27485185
quicklist: 4title: The Duggars Continued to Grow Their Familytext: Just a few months after they began courting, "19 Kids & Counting" star Jill Duggar, now 23, and Derick Dillard, 25, announced that they were engaged in April. They wed just more than two months later and then, in August, announced that they were expecting their first child, a boy. “We may not get a few years alone together, but God doesn’t just pop babies out," she said at the time. "You have nine months to grow together as a couple."
But Jill wasn't the only member of her family to have an exciting 2013: Her sister Jessa got engaged in August and was wed in November, and in December, Anna Duggar, the wife of the oldest Duggar son, Josh, announced that she was pregnant with their fourth child.media: 27483497
quicklist: 5title: Solange Attacked Jay Z In an Elevatortext: In many ways, Beyoncé and Jay Z seem to have the perfect home life. However, when the "XO" singer's sister, Solange Knowles, was seen physically attacking the rapper in an elevator following the Met Gala in May, some questioned what her motive was. No one involved would elucidate, saying only, "Our family has worked through it. Jay and Solange each assume their share of responsibility for what has occurred. ... They both acknowledge their role in this private matter that has played out in the public. They both have apologized to each other and we have moved forward as a united family." Have they ever: the trio was all smiles a few months later at Knowles' wedding to Alan Ferguson.media: 23684178
quicklist: 6title: Tracy Morgan Was Involved In a Serious Accidenttext: The former "30 Rock" star suffered a traumatic brain injury and broken bones after the vehicle in which he was traveling was struck by a Walmart truck in June. Two others were seriously injured in the crash and one man, comedian James McNair, died. Morgan sued Walmart (the legal battle is ongoing) and is continuing to rehabilitate himself. "[I'm] fighting every day [to get better]," he said earlier this month.media: 27480407
quicklist: 7title: Stars Said "I Do" Overseastext: This was the year to tie the knot in Europe! First, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West flew to Paris for pre-wedding festivities before heading to Florence to say "I do" at the Forte di Belvedere. Then, in August, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie quietly said "I do" in France, surrounded by their children. One month later, Pitt's pal, George Clooney, lost his status as the world's most eligible bachelor when he tied the knot with lawyer Amal Alamuddin (now Clooney) in Venice. And how did he sum up married life? It "feels pretty damn great," the Oscar winner told People magazine. No doubt the other newlywed couples would agree.media: 27483245
quicklist: 8title: Celebs' Personal Photos Were Hackedtext: In August, several stars, including Jennifer Lawrence, Kaley Cuoco, and Kate Upton, had their iCloud profiles hacked. As a result, nude photos of the celebs soon found their way to the Internet, and an FBI investigation was launched. "This is a flagrant violation of privacy," a spokesperson for Lawrence told ABC News at the time. "The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence." media: 27483747
quicklist: 9title: Taylor Swift Went Poptext: In what some first viewed to be a betrayal of her roots, Taylor Swift announced that her new album, "1989," would be pop -- not country. Ultimately, however, her fans fell in love with the new music, and the album debuted at the top of the charts. "This felt like the most authentic thing for me to follow because I’ve been playing around with pop sensibilities with my writing for the last couple of years and I just really wanted to go for it this time," explained Swift. "I feel so without a doubt [that] this is the best thing I've done."media: 27485690
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