Pool / Carlos Alvarez / Christopher Polk / Kevin Winter / Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images

This year, a lot of digital (and actual) ink was spilled about who got married and who broke up. But Kim Kardashian aside, there were still plenty of celebrity news stories to go around. Here's a look at 10 that had everyone buzzing.

 

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

 

The sultry-voiced British chanteuse suffered a nasty breakup, and we enjoyed the spoils. Adele's '21,' which chronicled her broken heart in glorious fashion, sold zillions of copies to hipsters and grandmas alike, becoming the best-selling album of 2011 and turning the singer into an international superstar.

 

Carlos Alvarez, Getty Images

2

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Maid Has His Baby

 

 

This year it was revealed that the former governor of California fathered the family housekeeper's son, who was born the same week in 1997 that Arnold's then-wife, Maria Shriver, gave birth to their youngest son. And in perfect unison, the world said, “Ew.”

 

Pool, Getty Images

 

LiLo was once the most promising young actress of her generation, but these days she's more known for wearing a groove in the streets between her home and the Los Angeles County Courthouse and going au naturel in 'Playboy.'

 

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

 

The legendary Warhol once claimed everyone would be famous for 15 minutes. But when Black's ear-wormy song 'Friday' went viral last spring, it made us wish he'd said “five minutes” instead.

 

Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images

 

As advertisers and authors wept, Oprah Winfrey closed out a 25-year run as the Queen of Daytime. While she's now plotting world domination on her own network, it's unlikely the world will ever see a juggernaut quite like the one she created with her longtime syndicated talk show.

 

Andreas Rentz, Getty Images

6

Mila Kunis and and Justin Timberlake Attend Marine Corps Galas

 

 

Forget Match.com and eHarmony — this year, the best way to hook a celebrity date was to use YouTube. Two members of the Marine Corps used the video site to ask the 'Friends with Benefits' co-stars to their respective annual dances, and Kunis and Timberlake accepted. The 'SexyBack' singer later called the event one of the “most moving evenings” he's ever had.

 

Jason Merritt, Getty Images

 

She hinted at it on the VMAs red carpet. Then in the closing moments of her performance on stage, Beyonce ripped open her jacket and rubbed a burgeoning baby belly, sending celeb-watchers into a feeding frenzy. Meanwhile, her husband Jay-Z beamed, proving that while he may have 99 problems, this sure wasn't one of them.

 

Christopher Polk, Getty Images

 

He was never known as a pillar of society, but Charlie Sheen used 2011 to truly take an extended break from the niceties of sanity. In the process, he got himself fired from his lucrative 'Two and a Half Men' gig, went on a cringe-worthy tour, and turned “Winning!” into a catchphrase most of us just wanted to forget.

 

Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

 

After a California woman said she'd enjoyed a little private time with the teen sensation that resulted in a baby, Bieber's camp went on the attack. He's since taken a paternity test and she's dropped her claim, but for about 10 minutes there, we all wondered if maybe the Biebs was naughtier than we ever suspected. (And then we felt disgusted with ourselves for even considering it.)

 

News of the World / Jason Merritt, Getty Images

10

Hacker-Palooza

 

 

Between the News of the World cellphone-hacking scandal that led the 168-year-old paper to cease operations and the nudie self-portraits of celebrities like Scarlett Johansson that were leaked on the internet, it was enough to make most of us question whether getting rid of our landlines was such a good idea after all.

 

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