VOTE: Best & Worst of 2005

What were they thinking when ...?
• The nanny called Jude Law a "great lover."
• Tom "I'm in love!" Cruise leaped on Oprah's and Leno's couch.
• Russell Crowe hurled a phone at a hotel concierge.
• Prince Harry wore a swastika to a costume party.

Cancer survivor Lance Armstrong won his seventh consecutive Tour de France; Melissa Etheridge beat breast cancer and played the Grammys; Live 8 brought together 1,000 artists on four continents to fight African poverty; and celebs rallied to raise more than $18 million in tsunami relief.

It was supposed to last forever: Sweethearts Nicole Richie and DJ AM, “Newlyweds” Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, barelyweds Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush and Hollywood faves Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston all called it quits.

Kevin Federline nurtured his cornrows, while Natalie Portman let work go to her head, shaving it for a role in V for Vendetta. J.Lo toyed with Star Wars style and Brad Pitt (with Angelina’s help) proved blonds DO have more fun.

What's a premiere/party/photo op without Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton or Jessica Simpson? The It girls of 2005 held the paparazzi captive as they ate, drank, dated, shopped, drove, walked – and breathed.

• Tom Cruise vs. Brooke Shields: "She doesn't understand the history of psychiatry," he said.
• Paris Hilton vs. Nicole Richie: "Nicole knows what she did," the heiress and former-BFF said.
• Kanye West vs. the President: "George Bush doesn't care about black people," the rapper said.
• Oprah Winfrey vs. Hermes: "Everybody who's ever been snubbed because you were not chic enough or the right class or the right color.... that is very humiliating," she accused.

They went their separate ways in 2005, with Ashley staying at NYU and Mary-Kate jetting back to Cali. But the sisters' biggest mark of independence: separate magazine covers.

TomKat moved on fast-forward, Vauniston combined work and play, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban (Urman? Kidban?) found Aussie love, and Brangelina aimed to save the world.

Let's make nice: Sienna Miller took back Nannygate's Jude Law; Charlie Sheen cozied with Denise Richards – after she filed for divorce and gave birth; Orlando Bloom and Kate Bosworth gave it another go; and Oprah Winfrey (forgiving his Uma/Oprah moment) let David Letterman have a second chance, guesting on his show.

Demi Moore's three girls played maids-of-honor as she married their "Other Dad," Ashton Kutcher. Heidi Klum wed Seal and gave her 19-month-old daughter Leni a half-brother, Henry. And Brad Pitt is adopting Angelina Jolie's kids, Maddox and Zahara.

The heiress built her own animal kingdom in 2005, ruled by her treasured Chihuahua Tinkerbell, a few ferrets and an exotic bear-like kinkajou named Baby Luv. And the newest addition to her collection of loved ones? Beau Stavros Niarchos.