20 celebrities who became hilarious memes

Jennifer Lawrence is almost always giving meme material when she attends public events or gives interviews, thanks to her naturally funny personality. One of the best JLaw memes is from her appearance on Hot Ones, where she repeatedly asked Sean Evans, “What do you mean?” while choking back tears. 

Plenty of moments from Keeping Up with the Kardashians became prime meme material, but one of the most enduring has been Kris Jenner taking photos of Kim Kardashian while posing for Playboy. “You’re doing amazing, sweetie” will forever be an iconic quote. 

Kim Kardashian is responsible for some great memes. She’ll never live down the crying face meme from her breakdown over her infamous divorce from Kris Humphries. But Kardashian has come around to it, getting in on the joke herself multiple times since it’s begun floating around the internet. 

Many a moment from Donald Trump has become a hilarious meme, but one of the recent ones is his instantly infamous mugshot. That meme will stay relevant as long as we have a democracy. You gotta love the United States of America. 

Donald Trump isn’t the only politician immortalized in meme form. Photos of Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony were hilarious and iconic from the moment they were taken, and the memes that followed were proof that the internet isn’t all bad. 

Kathryn Hahn was meant to be a meme. Her face is so wonderfully expressive, and it's perfect for strangers on the internet to photoshop. The Kathryn Hahn "winking" meme from her time on WandaVision is one of the most perfect celebrity memes in existence. It doesn't come at Hahn's expense, and it makes for hilarious content over and over again. 

Ariana DeBose was just trying to give a good performance when she sang the words “Angela Bassett did the thing” and became a viral sensation. The meme was rife with discourse over whether DeBose deserved criticism, which only gave the meme more life. 

The Kevin James shrugging meme is proof that celebrities are never safe from becoming memes. James took a promo photo for The King of Queens in the early 2000s, and decades later, it started circulating on the internet. Thankfully, James has a good sense of humor. 

Daniel Craig was just doing his job as SNL host, introducing The Weeknd as the musical guest, but his inflection when saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, The Weeknd” made for prime meme fodder. Craig has been asked about the meme, and he seems to appreciate it, although he does not fully understand it at the same time. 

Chrissy Teigen at an awards show looking distressed and horrified will never not be funny. Despite being almost 10 years old now, the meme still pops up every now and again, and Teigen’s expression is still just as relatable as it was the first time it was seen. 

Britney Spears needed to be a judge on The X Factor for 10 years simply because of the great reaction memes she gave the internet. Several stick out, but perhaps the best is Spears with bangs in a black dress, giving a major side eye during a performance. 

So much happened on America’s Next Top Model that could be enshrined as a meme, but the absolute best was Tyra Banks yelling at a contestant, “We were all rooting for you!” That meme will remain as a reaction meme until the internet ceases to exist. And even then, people will whisper those words in moments of disappointment. 

Bravo has had a significant impact on the culture at large, but as far as memes go, no one from the network has made as big a mark on the internet as Taylor Armstrong. Some brilliant internet denizen took a screenshot of Armstrong yelling and put it next to a photo of a cat, and history was made. 

Drake is probably used to being a meme by now. It happens to him quite often. At the top of his meme list is every single one from his “Hotline Bling” music video. Even the video's director has shared his favorite “Hotline Bling” meme. 

Far and away, the best Justin Timberlake meme is the “It’s Gonna Be May” meme from the “It’s Gonna Be Me” video. Timberlake explained why he sang the word “me” as "May" when *NSYNC visited Hot Ones in September 2023, and he has shown his support of the meme repeatedly over the years.

When Ariana Grande performed at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, she was just trying to avoid getting smacked in the face by an angel wing. Little did she know her face would become an epic meme. 

Sad Ben Affleck memes are always funny, but they became infinitely funnier when his wife, Jennifer Lopez, was asked about them and insisted that he was happy. He probably is, which, again, makes the meme that much better. 

Like so many celebrities, Blake Lively and Leighton Meester were just doing their jobs for Gossip Girl, and years later, they turned into a strange, hilarious meme of Lively making a statement or asking a question and Meester replying with some iteration of “Go pıss, girl.” It’s definitely one of the weirder memes, but it’s still top-tier comedy.

Oprah Winfrey is a media queen. She had to know what she was doing when she asked Meghan Markle, “Were you silent, or were you silenced?” Either way, it’s a fantastic meme, as are a few others from Oprah’s bombshell interview with the former royals. 

Meryl Streep yelling at the Screen Actors Guild Awards is one of the greatest memes of all time. It’s unexpected and versatile, has serious staying power, and is always, always funny. Society at large owes a lot to Streep, and this meme is one of them.