The 25 Best Reality TV Stars of 2012

From angry chefs to feisty housewives, these are the best "real people" who graced the airwaves this year.

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Complex Original

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Reality television may not be what's referred to as "quality" viewing, but there's no use in denying it: Shows like Keeping Up With the Kardashians are everybody's guilty pleasure. We're confident enough to admit that we've often found ourselves enthralled in some reality series marathon on Bravo or TLC. Also, we know more about all of The Real Housewives than we probably should. It's OK, there's no judging here. Reality television is popular, and it's here to stay.

On top of being a guilty pleasure, however, it's also quite fascinating. Many reality shows follow a group of people who weren't initially famous, and very quickly these regular people are catapulted to fame for no reason other than the fact that they let cameras follow them around on a daily basis. The masses become obsessed, and suddenly you find yourself at dinner parties and bars alike talking about last week's fight on Basketball Wives like it was a poignant scene from a Martin Scorsese film.

When it comes to the faces of these shows, most of them built their celebrity statuses upon their raging tempers, so they're the type of personality you end up loving to hate. But there are a few of them who are actually well-liked for being generally cool people. Or, as we'd like to refer to them, The 25 Best Reality TV Stars of 2012. Let's be real: If the world doesn't end on December 21st, these folks will be the ones that future pop culture enthusiasts look back upon to define our generation. 

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Written by Tanya Ghahremani (@tanyaghahremani)

25. Britney Spears (The X-Factor, Fox)

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24. Barry Weiss (Storage Wars, A&E)

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23. Lisa Vanderpump (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Bravo)

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22. Gordon Ramsay (Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Hotel Hell, and MasterChef, Fox)

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21. Austin "Chumlee" Russells (Pawn Stars, History)

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20. Ice-T (Ice Loves Coco, E!)

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19. Melissa Gorga (The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Bravo)

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18. Josh Harris (Deadliest Catch, Discovery Channel)

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17. Max Joseph (Catfish: The TV Show, MTV)

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16. Jim Jones (Love & Hip-Hop, VH1)

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15. The entire cast of Swamp People (History)

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14. Les Gold (Hardcore Pawn, TruTV)

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13. Evelyn Lozada (Basketball Wives, VH1)

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12. Mason Disick (Keeping Up With the Kardashians, E!)

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11. Scott Disick (Keeping Up With the Kardashians, E!)

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10. Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage (Mythbusters, Discovery Channel)

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9. NeNe Leakes (The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Bravo)

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8. The entire cast of Duck Dynasty (A&E)

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7. Tami Roman (Basketball Wives, VH1)

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6. Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson (Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, TLC)

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5. Angela "Big Ang" Raiola (Mob Wives and Big Ang, VH1)

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4. Tim Gunn (Project Runway, Lifetime)

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3. Anthony Bourdain (Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Travel Channel)

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2. Kanye West (Keeping Up With The Kardashians, E!)

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1. Stevie J (Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta, VH1)

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