Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi
Age: 23
Occupation: Reality-TV star
Previous TIME 100 appearances: 0
You love her — or love to hate her. But the pint-size breakout star of MTV's Jersey Shore has planted herself firmly in our pop culture and captivated millions of viewers despite the fact that she hasn't done, well, much of anything. Nonetheless, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi's reality show averages more than 8 million viewers a week and is MTV's most-watched series in history. Beyond television, Snooki juggles multiple fashion deals, and became a New York Times best-selling author with the release of her first book, A Shore Thing, which chronicles her search for love on the boardwalk. Barbara Walters even included the Jersey Shore cast on her 2010 Most Fascinating People list.