Kristen Wiig
That Kristen Wiig co-wrote and starred in the year's funniest comedy — and at $169 million at the U.S. box office, the highest grossing film Judd Apatow has ever produced — shouldn't be as surprising as many found it to be. In her six seasons on SNL, the comedian has created some of the weirdest, off-kilter characters the show has ever seen, and her small role as Katherine Heigl's passive-aggressive co-worker in Knocked Up was hilarious. But Hollywood — especially funny Hollywood — is still largely male-dominated and male-driven, which makes the success of Bridesmaids so refreshing. Wiig has officially joined the ranks of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to usher in a new era of comedy — not female comedy, just plain ol' comedy that happens to be written and performed by women.