Googleâs most searched list 2023: Where Carlee Russell, Alabama woman who faked her abduction, ranks
Google has released its 2023 list of leading search trends for a variety of categories and Alabama’s Carlee Russell made one of the lists.
The Alabama woman convicted of faking her abduction was the seventh most-searched person in the U.S. in 2023, Google data shows. The list includes people like athletes Damar Hamlin and Travis Kelce, actors Jeremy Renner and Jamie Foxx, internet personality Lil Tay and television host Tucker Carlson.
Russell was propelled into the spotlight in July when her fake abduction became a national story after she claimed to see a child walking beside the interstate in Hoover before her supposed disappearance. Russell returned home a little more than 48 hours later. She eventually admitted there was no infant or abduction and issued an apology.
Russell was found guilty of false kidnapping and ordered to spend a year in jail and pay a $18,000 fine. She is appealing the verdict.
Year in Search
Leading off the news category was the war in Israel and Gaza, followed by the Titanic submarine and three hurricanes – Hilary, Idalia and Lee.
Hamlin topped the list of searched people in 2023. Hamlin, a player for the Buffalo Bills, went into cardiac arrest on Jan. 2 after making a tackle. CPR and automated external defibrillation were administrated on the field before he was rushed to the hospital. Remarkably, Hamlin made a full recovery and returned to the NFL later in the year.
The death of “Friends “Matthew Perry led the list of searches related to passings of notable people. Perry was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his L.A. home on October. His cause of death remains under investigation. Searches for Perry’s passing was followed by the deaths of Tina Turner, Jerry Springer, Jimmy Buffet and Sinead O’Connor.
Here’s a look at the top searches for 2023, according to Google:
Top News Searches
- War in Israel and Gaza
- Titanic submarine
- Hurricane Hilary
- Hurricane Idalia
- Hurricane Lee
- Maine shooting
- Nashville shooting
- Maui fire
- Idaho murder trial
- Canada wildfires
Top People Searches
- Damar Hamlin
- Jeremy Renner
- Travis Kelce
- Tucker Carlson
- Lil Tay
- Andrew Tate
- Carlee Russell
- Jamie Foxx
- Danny Masterson
- Matt Rife
Passings
- Matthew Perry
- Tina Turner
- Jerry Springer
- Jimmy Buffett
- Sinéad O’Connor
- Ken Block
- Tyre Nichols
- Lisa Marie Presley
- Suzanne Somers
- Bob Barker
Athletes
- Damar Hamlin
- Travis Kelce
- Brock Purdy
- Lamar Jackson
- Jalen Hurts
- Nick Chubb
- Wander Franco
- Will Levis
- Mac McClung
- Jon Jones
Movies
- Barbie
- Oppenheimer
- Sound of Freedom
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie
- Creed III
- John Wick: Chapter 4
- Five Nights at Freddy’s
- Cocaine Bear
Musicians
- Jason Aldean
- Ice Spice
- Oliver Anthony
- Peso Pluma
- Joe Jonas
- Sam Smith
- Matt Healy
- Kellie Pickler
- Kim Petras
- Sexyy Red
TV shows
- The Last of Us
- Ginny & Georgia
- Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
- Daisy Jones & The Six
- Wednesday
- That ‘90s Show
- Kaleidoscope
- Beef
- The Idol
- The Fall of the House of Usher
Songs
- Try That In A Small Town – Jason Aldean
- Rich Men North of Richmond – Oliver Anthony
- Unholy – Sam Smith and Kim Petras
- Ella Baila Sola – Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma
- Boy’s a liar Pt. 2 – Ice Spice and PinkPantheress
- Kill Bill – SZA
- Cruel Summer – Taylor Swift
- Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffett
- Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53 – Shakira
- Vampire – Olivia Rodrigo