Year in review: The entertainers who blew us away in 2021

The former Orange Is the New Black star and multiple Emmy Award winner is turning heads once again. This time on the underrated HBO drama series In Treatment. Aduba joined the cast for Season Four in the Fall of 2020, as Dr. Brooke Taylor, for which she's received a Golden Globe nomination. Her character is complex, highly intelligent, but refreshingly vulnerable. To the point where we are not sure who has the bigger issues within the doctor-patient relationship.

In late November 2020, Bad Bunny released his third studio album El Último Tour Del Mundo. And to no surprise, the album and Bunny's success remained steady throughout 2021. In fact, the album became the first all-Spanish-language release to top Billboard's 200 chart in the United States. He was also noted as the most-streamed artist on Spotify for a second consecutive year. Did we also mention he moonlights as a professional wrestler?

More than 50 years after the fact, and The Beatles are still making fans swoon over their musical presence. In this case, it's Peter Jackson's 2021 documentary The Beatles: Get Back, which has fans of the band and critics, alike, seemingly talking non-stop about this Fall piece streamed on Disney+. It follows the band as it works on the 1970 album Let It Be. Contrary to the long-time belief that the Let It Be sessions were filled with tensions and disinterest, the almost eight hours of footage here, shows the group in a rather spirited light -- at least a good chunk of the time. Made more engrossing by the freaking talent level possessed by John, Paul, George, and Ringo. 

We might need a notepad to keep track of Cumberbatch's activity in 2021. He starred in The Mauritanian and The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. Not to mention, he's considered one of the highlights of the latest Marvel celebrated offering Spider-Man: No Way Home, reprising his role as Doctor Strange. However, it's Cumberbatch's run as a rather surly rancher Phil Burbank in the critically acclaimed The Power of the Dog, that earned him one of the film's seven Golden Globe nominations

Gandolfini is one of the principal characters in HBO's The Many Saints of Newark, David Chase's prequel to The Sopranos , and became quite the talk of the film. In his first major role, Gandolfini played a younger Tony Soprano, the same iconic character made famous by his late father James Gandolfini. While the cinematic relation between the younger and older character is pretty obvious from the work, the younger Gandolfini truly makes it his own without any undue pressure put upon himself.

When it comes to versatility, Gaga has surpassed the notion of being the next Barbra Streisand. She's better. And her turn as the notorious Patrizia Reggiani, aka "The Black Widow," power-hungry wife to fashion mogul Maurizio Gucci  (splendidly played by Adam Driver) in House of Gucci reinforced the fact that Lady Gaga is capable of stealing every scene, intended or not, and keep getting better with every project she tackles. Gaga received a Golden Globe nomination for the role, which also earned her a New York Film Critics Circle honor for Best Actress.

This versatile young Los Angeles-based punk band made up of sisters Lucia and Mila de la Garza, their cousin Eloise Wong and good friend Bela Salazar, became an internet sensation for its tune "Racist, Sexist Boy." About a classmate of Mila's who made a distasteful remark about her ethnicity. The song, part of the group's massively popular show at a branch of the L.A. Public Library system, was praised by the likes of Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers. That led to a recording deal with Epitaph Records, which was actually in the works prior to the song, and an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany were certainly worthy stars of the highly popular WandaVision (Disney+). However, we keep coming back to the overall performance of Hahn. The unheralded veteran character actor, Hahn's brilliant as Agnes, the nosey neighbor to Wanda and Vision. Agnes, though, holds some power of her own, as witch Agatha Harkness, the most consistent antagonist in the series. While deliciously dastardly, Agatha is jealous that magically comes quite easy to Wanda, and she herself seems to struggle in mastering her own abilities.

Haim is best known as one-third of her Grammy-nominated pop-rock band -- with sisters Este and Danielle -- of the same last name. Hoffman, meanwhile, is the son of late actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Together they make their film debut in the lead roles of Paul Thomas Anderson's late '21-release Licorice Pizza, a coming-of-age comedy-drama set in the San Fernando Valley in the early 1970s. Both received almost instant acclaim, and already earned Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Awards nominations, among others.

Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a highly anticipated 2021 film, and Liu made sure it was well received. That's because he was stellar in the lead role of Shang-Chi. A martial arts expert, who as a boy was trained to be an assassin, but through a series of events, eventually grows up to live a normal life in San Francisco. That's until his past catches up with him, and the action takes off from there.

It wouldn't seem easy for a middle-aged woman to transform herself into a high school freshman -- boy. However, this talented, actor, comedian, and writer, a former Saturday Night Live cast member, pulled it off in impressive fashion. Pedrad's Chad, a TBS sitcom about a nerdy and sensitive teen boy trying to navigate his way through high school, is equal parts hilarious and endearing. Pedrad created the character and plays the lead role, under plenty of makeup and ample amounts of gusto.

Rodrigo cut her teeth as a popular Disney teen favorite but truly took off in 2021, with the release of her debut album Sour. A No. 1 Billboard and Emmy-nominated release, and tabbed 2021's best album by Rolling Stone, SOUR featured five singles, including the massively popular "Driver's License," the most-streamed song on Spotify this year. That chart-topping success vaulted Rodrigo to international stardom, which she used to help the COVID vaccine effort at the White House.

The venerable Smart pulled double duty in 2021. And, did so quite well. First, as Helen Fahey, the comically, yet concerning, mother and great-grandmother in widely acclaimed HBO miniseries Mare of Easttown. Then, for HBO Max's Hacks, Smart is even more entertaining as longtime Vegas stand-up comedian Deborah Vance, who needs a little help and more modern material to maintain her relevance in show business. Another role in which she was praised by critics. Smart, interestingly enough, shined bright in 2021 despite the March death of husband Richard Gilliland.

Otherwise known as Lindsey Jordan. In 2021, the uber-talented, indie-rock, the singer-songwriter released her second studio album, Valentine. The record, which wasn't easy to make for the 22-year-old, is filled with songs of heartbreak, episodes of self-reflection, and even self-destruction. Check out the especially personal "Ben Franklin." The New York Times ranked it third on its best albums of 2021

Was there really any doubt Stewart wouldn't knock it out of the park as the late Princess Diana in Spencer (a reference to Diana's maiden name)? Stewart's performance is captivating, to say the very least, in a tale told from Diana's perspective regarding her decision to, and ultimately, leave her husband, Prince Charles, thus leaving her rather sad life as a member of British royalty. The role garnered Stewart Best Actress nominations for the Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Movie Awards  

Let's face it, Kate Winslet is great in just about every project takes on. Among those standout roles happens to be one of her most recent, as Mare Sheehan, an emotionally tortured detective sergeant in rugged Easttown, Pennsylvania from HBO's Mare of Easttown. The single mom and grandmother have endured plenty of personal tragedy in her own life, and even more at work. But, she trudges on and is loyal, dependable, and easily likable despite her obvious flaws. The miniseries won four of the 16 Primetime Emmy Awards it was nominated for, including Winslet for Outstanding Lead Actress.

Actor Chris Witsake might not be a familiar name to those outside of the Chicago area or Midwest, but that might change after the successful 2021 he enjoyed. He's the creator of Twitter sensation Chicago Party Aunt, who earned her own animated series of the same name on Netflix in September. Though the verdict might still be out on how worthy Chicago Party Aunt will do in series form, Witsake's talent has certainly caused his star to rise.

The 20-year-old Zegler wasted no time making a name for herself. Cast in the iconic role of Maria , in Steven Spielberg's film version of West Side Story, Zegler drew immediate praise for her performance. Blessed with an angelic voice, Zegler has become the individual focal point of a film that earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture, Musical, or Comedy. Meanwhile, Zegler joins the likes of Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Lawrence, and Emma Stone, also nominated for their individual lead performances.