When our record holders dream, they dream big.
Athletes, astronauts, singers and performers: these are some of the most prominent American record holders.
The NBA superstar holds many records, and he's known for being the player with the most points scored in an NBA career.
He gathered a whopping total of 38,390 points, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's long-standing record in February 2023.
Notably, he seized the record title with fewer games and minutes played than the previous record holder.
The one of social media is a tough world, but Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson knows how to win his battles.
The Rock became the most followed actor on TikTok with 74.4 million followers, snatching the top spot from fellow actor Will Smith.
In 2015, the Hollywood superstar also set a record for the most self-portrait photographs (selfies) taken in three minutes. He broke the record during the world premiere of San Andreas at London's Odeon in Leicester Square. Dwayne captured 105 selfies on the red carpet in the company of excited movie fans.
However, in 2023, the record was broken by Indian actor Akshay Kumar on the occasion of the movie Selfiee.
In 2024, RuPaul made Herstory again.
Following the win as "Outstanding Reality Competition Program" during the Emmy Awards 2023, RuPaul’s Drag Race broke the record for most Emmy wins for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program.
Counting several additional spin-offs (from All-Stars to regional editions) and becoming a true cultural movement, RuPaul’s Drag Race amassed eight wins consecutively between 2016 and 2024 - reaching 14 awards in total, from 22 nominations.
The Brazilian act became the first solo Latin artist to reach Spotify No.1 with the release of chart-topper reggaeton anthem "Envolver".
The song featured in her fifth studio album Versions of Me and, at the time of the record, it had racked up 6.39 million streams worldwide - and counting!
As of 2022, Anitta (born Larissa de Macedo Machado) is also the first-ever female solo artist to win Best Latin at the MTV Video Music Awards, as "Envolver" once again overpowered the competition.
In 2023, "Flower" - the latest single by pop sensation Miley Cyrus - topped the charts in record time. In the week ending 19 January 2023, "Flower" became the most streamed track on Spotify in one week amassing an incredible amount of 96,032,624 streams.
Cyrus' viral hit snatched the Spotify title from UK pop singer Adele.
But the singer from Nashville isn't new to record-breaking: as she also holds the record for most paid child actor thanks to her lead role in Hannah Montana. The Disney Channel popular sitcom launched Cyrus' career.
Born Jimmy Donaldson, content creator and entrepreneur MrBeast reached worldwide fame on YouTube thanks to his charitable efforts, nail-biting challenges and generous giveaways.
Among his many records, he's the most-subscribed individual on YouTube.
His versatile, entertaining and exciting content continues to awe the audience and allowed the record holder to surpass 300 million subscribers on his main channel as of June 2024.
Singer and TikTok superstar Bella Poarch is taking social media by storm.
She can boast the highest number of followers on TikTok for a musician: at the time of the record, she had 87.6 million followers (as of January 2022).
In 2022, the singer also broke the record for the most-liked video on TikTok.
Gerwig is queen of the box office, period.
In August 2023, Greta Gerwig's Barbie first became the highest-grossing female-directed film at the domestic box office (opening weekend). The movie carried on to become the highest-grossing film by a female director at the global box office -earning a total of $1,042,298,826 (£818,004,457 / €950,328,462).
Barbie is also the highest-grossing live-action movie with a female star.
The title lead is embodied by Australian actress Margot Robbie, who was greatly praised by critics and audiences alike for her portrayal of the most famous doll in the world.
Queen Bey needs no introductions.
Known for her powerful vocals, the pop icon is the most decorated vocalist at the Grammys, and assembled an unrivalled collection of 32 awards and smashed the record for most Grammy awards won by a vocalist - a total of 32, from 88 nominations.
In 2021, during the 63rd edition of the Grammys, Queen B and rapper Megan Thee Stallion became the first female artists to win Best Rap Performance during the Grammys with their collab hit "Savage."
In March 2024, the actor was reported by Forbes as the highest-earning film actor of 2023.
The comedian, actor and musician reportedly earned $73 million (£57 million) during the calendar year. However, as reported by Forbes, it's not the first time Sandler has broken a record as one of the most in-demand names in Hollywood.
Always according to the business magazine, in 2020 Sandler became the world’s highest-paid comedy actor.
The unrivalled queen of Country music never forgets to pour herself a cup of ambition... and it shows.
The singer holds the record for most decades on the US Hot Country Songs chart (female) with a total of seven, and counts 25 chart-topper hits: the highest number of No.1 hits on the US Hot Country Songs chart by a female artist.
She has also ruled over the charts for longer than any other Country act in history, breaking the record for most decades with a Top 20 hit on the US Hot Country Songs chart (a total of six).
Wicked's star and pop icon Ariana Grande is no stranger to breaking records.
In the 66-year-long history of the UK singles chart, Grande is the first-ever solo artist to replace themselves at No.1 on UK singles chart, and doubled that achievement becoming the first-ever solo artist to replace themselves at No.1 on UK singles chart for two consecutive weeks. Her hit "7 Rings" led the UK’s Official Singles Chart for a week.
On 21 February 2019, the track was surpassed by another hit signed by Grande: “Break up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored”. The week after, “7 Rings” once again dominated the chart.
Ariana Grande also made her "nonna" (grandmother) a record holder!
Michigan's very own Serena Williams can boast the record title for most tennis Grand Slam singles matches won (female): amassing 367 wins.
The now-retired tennis champion also shares the title for most Olympic tennis doubles titles: she shares the record with her sister, Venus Williams (the pair won their third Olympic title together in 2012) and with Reginald "Reggie" Doherty.
The gymnast has broken several records - and she keeps adding to the list!
Just to name a few, Biles has collected the most gold medals won at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (with 23 medals collected between 2013 and 2023), the most individual all-around titles at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships for a female (an incredible total of six, as of 2023) and the overall most gold medals won in Gymnastics World Championships and Olympic Games.
Always striving to be the "number one," Zion is the fastest man on two hands.
Born without legs because of a rare genetic disorder called Caudal Regression Syndrome, he smashed the record for the fastest 20 m walking on hands. The wrestler and athlete also performed the highest box jump with the hands, achieving a whopping 0.83 m (32.67 in).
With versatility and talent, this iconic record-breaker from Brooklyn, New York, has made Guinness World Records history, by counting over 600 records to his name.
His records span a wide range of feats and attempts, from athletic challenges to nail-biting accomplishments, like the longest duration balancing a fire staff on the tongue (a whopping 17.94 sec) and the most matchsticks extinguished with the tongue in one minute.
Professional wheelchair motocross (WCMX) athlete made record breaking history by landing the first ever wheelchair backflip in 2008 and performing the highest ramp jump by wheelchair in 2010.
On the ramps of Woodward West in Tehachapi, California (US), the pro athlete went on to nail three adrenaline-filled stunts for Guinness World Records Day 2019.
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