Top Celebrity Role Models REVEALED!

Celebrities, whether they want them or not, arguably have a sense of responsibility to consider the influence they have on others – particularly on children who admire them. Some take it more seriously than others and it’s fair to say that kids could be more interested in the fictional furry friends from Paw Patrol than in the celebs gracing the front pages of gossip magazines.

But of the copious A-listers out there to choose from, if Mom and Dad were asked to select celebrity role models for their kids, who would they pick?

Well a survey of 2,000 British parents has the answer.

The poll, conducted by 3Gem on behalf of Perpetual Fostering, gave parents a complete free choice (no shortlist) of celebrities to name, resulting in 424 different people being named.

Richard Branson came out on top with 6.69% of the vote, followed closely by David Beckham (5.45%) and Lord Alan Sugar (4.44%).

Entrepreneurs and Business magnates make up 3 of the top 5 while politicians feature highly too:

Here’s the list of Top 50 Celebrity Role Models:

Other key points from the findings:

• Women made up just 25% of the top 50 role models according to parents

• The top performing female in our survey was JK Rowling, netting 2.4% of the vote

• Both Barack and Michelle Obama feature in the top 10

• Greta Thunberg polled 14th

• While it was a poor showing on the whole for singers and actors, Beyonce stilled polled higher than Jesus!

Expert Comment

Lisa Witter, Manager of Perpetual Fostering comments:

“We love to get the views of parents on who makes the most positive role model for children. It’s interesting to see that names that have been around years still poll the highest. Newer names, like Greta Thunberg, who’ve had high profile coverage in 2019 performed well too. The top performing politician was Barack Obama, beating any British politician by 17 places.”

So there you have it. The celebs that parents most want their kids to idolize are typically entrepreneurs, thinkers and activists. And who said celebrity culture was shallow?