From Betty White to Sandra Bullock, the 10 Stars America Puts the Most Faith In

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The Star Economy

Hollywood's Most Trustworthy Celebrities Forbes Staff, 02.08.11, 06:00 AM EST

From Betty White to Sandra Bullock, the 10 stars America puts the most faith in.

Los Angeles -- Audiences can't seem to get enough of Betty White, whether she's standing at an awards show podium, starring in a sitcom or hosting Saturday Night Live.

Turns out they have a tremendous amount of faith in her too, according to E-Poll Market Research, which has named the 89-year-old star among the most trusted celebrities in America.

To determine which other stars the public has come to count on, we reached out to the California-based polling company, which ranks more than 6,000 celebrities on 46 different personality attributes, including trustworthiness and likability.

"People are hardwired to 'worship' something, and celebrities are akin to modern-day religious icons," says James Houran, a clinical psychologist who researches the topic. "We trust them because we feel we know them--they are familiar and successful, and people want to copy them in an effort to feel successful too."

The trouble with this: What we know is simply an on-screen persona, which we subconsciously confuse, or even substitute, for an off-screen one. Very often, that's by design. In a TMZ-fueled culture with a seemingly insatiable appetite for all things celebrity, these stars and the pricey publicity teams that they employ go to great lengths to ensure that details of their private lives remain precisely that. To be sure, some are more successful at it than others (think Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen).

Those who have not only avoided the tabloid glare but also played heroic or sympathetic characters on screen, for instance, have fared particularly well in the public eye. Consider the résumé of Back to the Future star Michael J. Fox, who lands at No. 1 on the list. As E-Poll President Gerry Philpott puts it, "the edgiest he's ever been is a conservative in Family Ties." More recently, the acclaimed actor has garnered that much more respect off-screen, where we know him as a family man and leading activist in the fight for Parkinson's disease funding, a disease he was diagnosed with more than a decade ago.

The same can be said for Morgan Freeman, who edges out White (No. 3) to become the second most trustworthy star on the list. But the person we have come to rely on is not Freeman the man, but rather Freeman the star, care of such films as Million Dollar Baby, Driving Miss Daisy and The Shawshank Redemption. Strengthening that perception is a speaking voice that is so closely tied with authority that he has replaced Walter Cronkite as the voice that introduces the CBS Evening News.

Consistency, too, has a lot to do with a star's influence, says Philpott. He points to director-producer Ron Howard, No. 6, who has consistently churned out highly regarded fare, from A Beautiful Mind to Apollo 13 to Cinderella Man, and two- time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks, No. 10, as examples.

Neuroscientists will tell you something called the "mere exposure effect" is at play here. Specifically, the more we're exposed to someone or something, the more we come to like and trust it. Sandra Bullock, who lands at No. 7 on our list, is a good example. In the last year, we've seen the Oscar winner everywhere from the big screen to the awards circuit to the celebrity weeklies. Technically speaking, she has assaulted our senses. The result: Her image actually begins to wear a neuro-chemical groove on our brain and, over time, repeated exposure to her triggers a sense of comfort and loyalty.

But how healthy is it to put our trust not in elected officials but rather in movie stars like Will Smith (No. 8) and Hanks (No. 10)?

Not very, says Houran, who fears that real connections and affection can be dismissed or minimized in favor of these types of false relationships with stars. "Putting faith, affection, loyalty and devotion in celebrities tends to be unhealthy because it is a premise based on an illusion," he explains, "the illusion of connection and intimacy." 1. Michael J. Fox

In such roles as Marty McFly in Back to the Future and Alex P. Keaton on the 1980s sitcom Family Ties, actor Michael J. Fox earned viewers' affection. As a leading activist in the fight for Parkinson's disease funding (a disease he was diagnosed with more than a decade ago), he has earned their respect. The combination catapulted Fox to the top of this list.