Between August and January, Beyoncé headlined the Glastonbury Festival (one of the largest music festivals in the world) and a three-night-stint at NYC’s Roseland Ballroom; announced her pregnancy; and proceeded to record and release four epic music videos.

It’s been a big year for Poehler: She was named as one of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People in the World,” she garnered a Golden Globe nod for best actress on a TV series for Parks and Recreation; and she gave the Class Day address at Harvard…all that while raising two boys under five.  

Dartmouth grad Kaling was the only woman on the eight-person writing staff of the first season of The Office—and she was only 24 years old. Over the last eight seasons she’s written at least 22 episodes of the sitcom, and she can be seen onscreen each week portraying egomaniac Kelly Kapoor. Not enough for you? Kaling found time in 2011 to release her comic memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?—and it’s now a best seller.

The former Spice Girl has had many careers—international pop star, bestselling author, reality star—but it’s her British-Fashion-Award-winning clothing that has earned her the biggest kudos of late. The mother of four is also very active in charity, and she was nominated for a VH1 Do Something award for her work with the Save the Children foundation.

She’s made notable TV cameos on Glee, sang at the Oscars and Grammys, and turned herself into a lifestyle guru with an online newsletter and bestselling cookbook.

White recently rang in her 90^th birthday with a televised bash, and her career has never been hotter. Her TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland recently won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Cable TV Comedy. Premiering soon: White’s new reality show, Off Their Rockers, in which senior citizens play pranks on young people.

Talk about dedication! In 2008, Hargitay suffered a collapsed lung on the set of Law and Order: SVU—yet she only missed one episode. And though she’s now working even harder following Christopher Meloni’s recent departure, she and her husband adopted two children in 2011.

The world’s top-selling female recording artist directed her second feature film, W.E., opened a series of fitness centers across the world and began work on her twelfth studio album. She’s slated to perform in this year’s Superbowl Halftime show with Cirque de Soleil.

In spring 2011, Frankel released a bestselling book, A Place of Yes, and sold her Skinnygirl cocktail line to Fortune Brands’ Beam Global for an estimated $120 million. Not a bad gig for the new mother and former Real Housewife of New York City.

Don’t call her Oprah’s sidekick. Though King is still editor-at-large for her BFF’s magazine, she bounced back from her failed talk show on Oprah’s network by recently accepting a role as co-anchor for CBS This Morning.

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