2016: The 20 Biggest Stories of the Year

Credit: Swan Gallet/WWD/REX/Shutterstock

2016: The 20 Biggest Stories of the Year

Kim Kardashian's Paris robbery, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's divorce and more were Us Weekly's biggest stories of 2016 — see the complete list!

Credit: Swan Gallet/WWD/REX/Shutterstock

2016: The 20 Biggest Stories of the Year

Kim Kardashian's Paris robbery, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's divorce and more were Us Weekly's biggest stories of 2016 — see the complete list!

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Kim Kardashian's Paris Robbery

The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star was robbed at gunpoint during Paris Fashion Week at her Hôtel de Pourtalès apartment October 3. A group of men in disguise bound her hands with zip ties and carried her into the bathroom before stealing more than $10 million worth of jewelry. Her rep told Us Weekly that the Selfish author was "badly shaken but physically unharmed." After returning home safely, Kardashian maintained a low-profile and took an extended break from social media.

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Kanye West Is Hospitalized

The rapper was admitted to UCLA Medical Center on November 21 for extreme exhaustion. Sources told Us that his workload, stress over wife Kim Kardashian's Paris robbery and the ninth anniversary of his mother Donda's death led to his breakdown. "Kim has been amazing," an insider told Us. "She has been by his side through all of this, helping to feed him and lying by his side." He was released after nine days and resurfaced with blond hair at an L.A. art exhibit December 8. Five days later, he had a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in NYC. "I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues," he tweeted.

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Donald Trump Wins Presidential Election

Yuge night. In a truly historic and shocking upset, the former Celebrity Apprentice host won over his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in November, following a controversial year-long campaign. Trump received 290 electoral college votes in total, but Clinton beat him by nearly 3 million popular votes. On December 14, NBC reported that U.S. intelligence believed that Russian president Vladimir Putin was involved in a campaign to interfere with the election.

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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Divorce

The end of one of Hollywood's most legendary all-time couples! The actress filed for divorce after two years of marriage September 19, citing irreconcilable differences. Amid the messy split, Jolie maintained temporary physical custody of their six children and they both shared legal custody. Additionally, Pitt, who a source says was "blindsided" by the split, was cleared by the FBI after an investigation into an alleged plane altercation with his son Maddox.

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Prince, David Bowie and More Pass Away

Hollywood mourned the loss of many stars, including influential artists, visionaries and actors. The music industry lost many legends, David Bowie and Prince among them. The “Space Oddity” singer was secretly battling liver cancer before his January death and The Purple One died in April of an opioid overdose. Other celebs who passed away included Florence Henderson, Alan Thicke, astronaut John Glenn, Alan Rickman, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, Garry Marshall, actor Anton Yelchin, Gene Wilder and Alexis Arquette.

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Beyonce Drops Surprise Album ‘Lemonade’

She ain’t sorry! Queen Bey shocked fans when she released her sixth (visual) studio album after the accompanying album film aired on HBO in April. The new music scored the singer nine Grammy nominations. The 12 tracks covered topics such as female empowerment and cheating and was rumored to be an autobiographical reference to her marriage with Jay Z. (Becky with the good hair!)

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Taylor Swift's Romance With Tom Hiddleston

What a love story. The two hit it off at the Met Gala in May and began dating after Swift’s split from Scottish DJ Calvin Harris. (Remember those Rhode Island kissing photos?) They celebrated at her annual Fourth of July bash, traveled the world to London, L.A., Nashville, Rome and Australia, and met each other’s parents shortly after meeting. In September, Us Weekly exclusively revealed that they split after three months. "Tom wanted the relationship to be more public than she was comfortable with,” a source said.

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Dream Kardashian Is Born

He’s a dad! Surprise couple Rob Kardashian and his fiancée, Blac Chyna, welcomed their first child together, daughter Dream, on November 10. She was born at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and weighed in at 7 pounds, 5 ounces. (Chyna also shares son King Cairo with Tyga, who began dating Rob's sister Kylie Jenner in 2014.) In 2016, the couple also got engaged, starred in the E! show Rob & Chyna and set a wedding date for summer 2017.

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‘Gilmore Girls’ Revival

Where you lead, we will follow! Fans of the Stars Hollow gang lost it when it was announced in January that Netflix was reviving the beloved series. The entire cast returned for four 90-minute episodes titled Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, which debuted November 25. (Spoiler alert!) Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Luke (Scott Patterson) finally got married, Rory (Alexis Bledel) reunited with her love interests and the final four words were finally revealed.

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Kim Kardashian Releases Taylor Swift’s ‘Famous’ Phone Call

Bad blood! The internet exploded July 17 when Kardashian shared snippets via Snapchat of a phone call that the pop star had with Kanye West about his “Famous” song. Quick recap: Swift’s rep called West’s “Taylor might still have sex" lyric misogynistic, but Kardashian’s video appeared to show that Swift signed off on the track and gave her blessing. The “Shake It Off” singer later called the Snapchat “character assassination” and claimed that West never told her he would refer to her as “that bitch.”

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Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher Gets Engaged

Season 12 Bachelorette Fletcher gave her final rose to Jordan Rodgers, the younger brother of NFL player Aaron Rodgers. After the August 1 finale, Jordan’s ex Brittany Farrar claimed he cheated on her and more details of his family’s estrangement from Aaron surfaced. An insider told Us that Aaron’s girlfriend, actress Olivia Munn, was at the center of the family feud. Despite the divide, JoJo and Jordan, who moved to Texas together, revealed that the athlete would still be invited to their wedding.

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Joey Feek Passes Away

The country music star died at age 40 on March 4, following a two-year cancer battle. The singer was a part of the bluegrass duo Joey + Rory with her husband, Rory Feek. The couple tied the knot in 2002 and welcomed daughter Indiana in 2014.

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Amber Heard Accuses Johnny Depp of Domestic Violence

Days after filing for divorce after a year of marriage in May, the actress was granted a restraining order against Depp. She claimed that he assaulted her on her birthday April 21, and threw an iPhone at her face May 21. Depp denied the allegations and his family and friends came to his defense. In August, they settled their divorce case after Depp allegedly agreed to pay her $7 million.

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U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team Wins Gold

Killing it! The "Final Five" — Aly Raisman, Madison Kocian, Laurie Hernandez, Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas — won gold in the team final all-around competition at the Rio Olympics August 9. They scored eight points more than Russia, who took home the silver medal. Biles, for her part, also won three individual gold medals, making her the first woman in gymnastics history to win four gold medals at one Olympics.

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Stana Katic Exits 'Castle'

Kate and Richard drama! It was revealed in April that the actress was leaving the ABC crime procedural after eight seasons. A source told Us Weekly that Katic and costar Nathan Fillion "despised each other" off camera. "They will not speak when they are off set, and this has been going on for seasons now," the insider said. During one incident, Katic even cried in her dressing room because "Nathan was such a bully to her." Katic's rep countered to Us that the star had "absolutely no issues" with Fillion. In May, the entire series was canceled.

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Pink, Behati Prinsloo, Gwen Stefani's Nanny Are Pregnant

Baby bliss all around! Sharing a surprise bump pic in which she appeared far along into her pregnancy, Pink announced in November that she and her husband, Carey Hart, were expecting their second child together. (The pair welcomed daughter Willow in 2011.) Victoria's Secret model Behati Prinsloo and Maroon 5 rocker Adam Levine welcomed daughter Dusty Rose in September. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale's ex-nanny Mindy Mann, meanwhile, made headlines for welcoming her first child with her boyfriend. As Us exclusively revealed, Rossdale cheated on the No Doubt frontwoman with Mann before the couple ended their 13-year marriage.

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Prince Harry Is Dating Meghan Markle

The next princess? Us Weekly confirmed in October that the redheaded royal and the Suits actress met in May and began texting regularly in June. Markle met Prince Charles in September and Prince William in November. "I'm sure Harry had been looking forward to introducing his girlfriend," a source told Us. A second added: "Naturally, William is very happy for his brother." In December, the couple were photographed for the first time together as they attended a show at the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End.

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California Mom Sherri Papini's Abduction

The mother of two went missing while jogging November 2, and was found three weeks later beaten and chained on the side of a road in Yolo County, California. Investigators denied hoax rumors as Papini described, to the authorities, that her two assailants were two armed Hispanic women. Her husband, Keith Papini, told Good Morning America that Sherri was "emaciated" and weighed 87 pounds when she was found. Her blonde hair was chopped off, she had red rashes, severe burns, chain markings and branding all over her body. They later reportedly fled town and left their dogs behind.

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Kelly Ripa, Michael Strahan Have 'Live' Drama

Awkward! In April, Ripa was left blindsided when she learned that Strahan was leaving the ABC show for a full-time gig at Good Morning America. The decision created tension on set and between the cohosts. The former soap star called out sick the next day and later addressed the situation on the ABC talk show. "Our long national nightmare is over," she joked. "I needed a couple of days to gather my thoughts. After 26 years with this company, I earned the right … Apologies have been made and the best thing to come out of all of this is that our parent company has assured me that Live is a priority." As of mid-December, Strahan's replacement has yet to be named.

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Leonardo DiCaprio Finally Wins an Oscar

Cheers for Leo! The actor received a standing ovation in February, when he took home a trophy for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in The Revenant. The former child star was previously nominated six times total. One month earlier at the Golden Globes, DiCaprio also made headlines when he made a hilarious face as Lady Gaga accidentally bumped into him while walking to the stage.