RISMEDIA, January 4, 2010—U.S. adults would most like to be neighbors with the Obama family, according to the third annual Zillow Celebrity Neighbor Survey. “Octomom” Nadya Suleman was named the least desirable neighbor of 2009. The survey asked more than 2,000 U.S. adults which celebrity they would most like to have as their neighbor, and who they wouldn’t want to share a fence with.
In 2010, more adults would like to be neighbors with the Obama’s (14%) than second-place Sarah Palin (12%) and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi (12%). Country music superstar Taylor Swift ranked third with 9% of the vote, followed by Oprah (7%) and football legend Tom Brady and his model wife Gisele Bundchen (3%).
According to adults surveyed, not all celebrities would make good neighbors. Seventeen percent of adults named Nayda Suleman (i.e., Octomom) the worst neighbor of 2009, followed closely by Jon and Kate Gosselin (16%).
In light of recent news, adults appear to be indecisive about whether or not professional golfer Tiger Woods would make a good neighbor. Three percent of adults found him to be a desirable neighbor for 2010, while only slightly more (4%) thought he was the worst neighbor of 2009. The same confusion surrounds Sarah Palin, who last year was ranked at the top of the desirable neighbor list. While 12% thought Palin to be a desirable neighbor for 2010, 11% voted her as the worst neighbor of 2009- ranking her simultaneously near the top of both the “best” and “worst” lists this year.
“For two years in a row now, Americans have made it clear that they think politicians and talk show hosts make the best neighbors. If nothing else, there will be plenty to talk about at the summer barbecue,” said Amy Bohutinsky, Zillow.com vice president of communications. “Meanwhile, this year we noticed a trend on the worst-neighbor side; apparently Americans are opposed to living next door to a brood of young children, particularly those that come with a television crew and paparazzi.”
Two controversial couples famous for capitalizing on media attention also made the worst list. One in ten (11%) did not want to live next to Richard and Mayumi Heene, parents of the infamous Balloon Boy in 2009. Reality TV stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt received 8% of the vote. Britney Spears, voted number one worst neighbor of 2008 (19%), received only 7% of the vote in 2009, ranking seventh on the “worst” list.
For more information, visit www.zillow.com.
