With January just around the corner, the collective inclination is to look back on all the events that have captured our imaginations in 2018.
What surprised us this year? What made us laugh, cry or share with our friends and family? What memes did we forward? What topics did we talk about round the water cooler?
As we look ahead to the new year, now’s as good a time as any for a moment of reflection so here is The Weekly‘s round-up of all the top moments of 2018:
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While it seems like this movie came out ages ago, it only made its debut on January 29, 2019.
It became the 9th-highest-grossing film of all time with over $1.3 billion worldwide, breaking numerous box office records including the highest-grossing film by a black director, and becoming 2018’s highest-grossing film in the US and Canada and second-highest-grossing film worldwide.
It also received numerous awards and nominations, including three nominations at the 76th Golden Globe Awards, two nominations at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards and twelve nominations at the 24th Critics’ Choice Awards.
The #MeToo movement, which empowers victims of sexual assault, came to the forefront of the public’s consciousness following the New York Time’s report on misconduct allegations surrounding movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
In the aftermath of that reporting, thousands of women spoke out about their own experiences with sexual harassment to show just how common they are.
They posted on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites using the hashtag #MeToo.
At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Chloe Kim became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding medal when she won gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe at the age of 17 years.
She is a four-time X Games gold medalist and the first woman to win two gold medals in snowboarding at the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
After months of speculation that Kylie Jenner was pregnant, the beauty mogul finally confirmed in February that she gave birth to her first child, Stormi, with rapper Travis Scott.
“I’m sorry for keeping you in the dark through all the assumptions,” she wrote on her favorite platform, Instagram, saying she made the conscious decision to avoid discussing her pregnancy on social media as a means of privacy.
The Shape of Water led the 90th Academy Awards, winning best picture and best director for Guillermo del Toro.
Gary Oldman won the lead actor award for his work as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. Frances McDormand earned her second best actress Oscar for her role as a grieving mother in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Meanwhile, Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney picked up supporting actor and actress honors.
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcome Prince Louis into the world on April 23.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge left Saint Mary’s Hospital in London around seven hours later after checking in, showing off their baby to the world’s media and royal fanatics camped outside.
Prince Louis is their third child and fifth in line to the throne.
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend welcomed their second child – a baby boy they named Miles – in early February.
He was conceived via IVF after a long struggle with infertility for the couple. Their first daughter Luna was also an IVF baby.
The wedding of all weddings in the spring, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said ‘I do’ and exchanged vows on 19 May 2018 in Saint George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
The guest list included Serena Williams, Priyanka Chopra, fashion designer and BFF Misha Nonoo, Suits actor Patrick J Adams (as well as the rest of Markle’s castmate’s), Sir Elton John, and surprisingly, Harry’s ex girlfriends Cressida Bonas and Chelsy Davy.
Meghan’s wedding dress was designed by the British fashion designer Clare Waight Keller, artistic director of the fashion house Givenchy.
Known for collaborating with local Instagram influencer Andrea Chong, Daryl Aiden Yow (@darylaiden) found himself in hot water in June after he was outed for taking stock photos, or photos from other sources, doctoring them, and then implying or claiming that they were his own.
Since then, Daryl has apologised, saying he was wrong to have claimed stock images and other people’s work as his own.
“Having marketed myself as a photographer, I fell far short of what was expected of me and disappointed those who believed — or wanted to believe — in me. For all of that, I apologise,” he added.
55-year-old fashion designer Kate Spade was found dead in her New York City apartment on the morning of June 6. She had apparently hanged herself.
She launched her namesake brand in 1993 and it grew into a fashion empire, known for accessories that offered affordable luxury to younger working women.
Her brightly coloured, clean-lined style offered a spunky take on fashion at a time when luxury handbags were out of reach to most consumers and the industry was dominated by venerable European brands
President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a historic summit in Singapore on June 12, marking the first time that a North Korean leader has met with a sitting US president.
Mr Trump spoke with Kim Jong-un about nuclear disarmament and a general diffusion of tension with Western powers.
The summit came on the heels of the two world leaders exchanging threats.
Cardi B and rapper Offset announced the arrival of their daughter, Kulture Kiari Cephus, who was born on 10 July according to a post on the singer’s Instagram.
She is Cardi B’s first child and the Migos rapper’s fourth.
The red carpet premiere of Crazy Rich Asians took place on August 21 and the movie was released in cinemas the following day.
It topped the box office in Singapore in its first week, chalking up some of the best opening numbers for a romantic comedy in Singapore.
The film featured an all Asian cast and marked the Hollywood debut of a number of local stars like Pierre Png, Tan Kheng Hua and Fiona Xie.
A 7.5 magnitude earthquake and subsequent 20-foot tsunami brought widespread devastation to Sulawesi island in Indonesia in late September, leveling entire cities and rendering more than 330,000 people homeless, according to World Vision, a global humanitarian nonprofit.
Princess Eugenie – younger daughter of the Queen’s third child, Prince Andrew, and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York – tied the knot with banker, James Brooksbank, in a traditional ceremony in Windsor Castle’s 15th Century St George’s Chapel.
Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos were asked to craft the bridal gown that dipped in the back to feature of her scoliosis scars, after the Princess had surgery to correct her spine at age 12.
The strongest typhoon to hit Japan’s main island in 25 years leaf a trail of destruction in its wake, forcing one of the country’s largest airports to close and hundreds of flights to be cancelled.
At least 10 people died after Typhoon Jebi slammed into the country, bringing strong winds and lashing rain.
Italian fashion house, Dolce & Gabbana, came under fire after posting an video depicting a Chinese model struggling to eat Italian food with chopsticks.
It faced a boycott after Chinese buyers expressed outrage over what they said was a culturally insensitive gesture.
Subsequent posts of insulting comments in a private Instagram chat with Stefano Gabbana added salt to the wound, and the designer duo were forced to publicly apologise in an attempt to salvage their reputation in the world’s most important luxury market.
Stan Lee, the former editor-in-chief, publisher, and chairman of Marvel Comics, died on November 12, 2018.
Stan was best known for co-creating much of Marvel’s pantheon of beloved superheroes: Spider-Man, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Doctor Strange, among others.
In a slew of buzzy celeb weddings in 2018, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas was the buzziest of them all with celebrations that were spread out over five days.
The loved-up duo cos Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur their wedding venue, and Priyanka proved she was the most extra bride of the year with a 22-metre long veil that outshone even her best friend, Meghan Markle’s, bridal topper.
Oh, and of course, they chose to wear Ralph Lauren for the nuptials – the designer that dressed them both for the Met Gala in 2017 where they first sparked dating rumours.
Isha Ambani, the daughter of India’s richest man, tied the knot with Anand Piramal, son of another Indian billionaire, on 12 December.
Songstress Beyoncé performed as part of the lavish festivities in what is likely to be one of the world’s most expensive and glamorous weddings
The many guests included former US First Lady and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, media giant Arianna Huffington, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.
