With 8.5 million people spread over just 300 square miles, New York is the most populous city in America. Home to Broadway, Wall Street, the Met, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Comedy Cellar and, of course, the news media, New York is where the conversation starts and ends. Variety’s 2026 New York Legends Power List comprises luminaries in the areas of film, television, music, media, sports, politics and comedy, from Mayor Zohran Mamdani and “The Odyssey” leads Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway to the Fox News brain trust and the New York Knicks.
To make the list, candidates’ principal residence must be in New York — sorry, Trump! — and they need to have left an indelible impact on culture. Twenty-five years after the horrors of 9/11, New York is back in a big way. New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor is one of the most popular politicians in the country, and the Democratic Socialist provides daily fodder for newspaper columnists and cable news talk show hosts, here and abroad.
Mamdani and wife Rama are lightning rods that have not only the eyes of New York but the nation upon them. Ocasio-Cortez is, along with fellow Democratic Socialist Mamdani, the favored punching bag for the political right. Millions were glued to the congresswoman’s social media feeds as she documented her egg-freezing journey, and the potential 2028 presidential hopeful generates front-page headlines every time she opens her mouth.
On top of being one of President Trump’s most outspoken critics, the legendary actor is set to star in the hotly anticipated “Meet the Parents” sequel “Focker-in-Law.” He also presides over the annual Tribeca Festival and a constellation of businesses that include The Greenwich Hotel, Nobu and Locanda Verde. Few people are more synonymous with New York than Martin Scorsese, who rose from the mean streets of Little Italy to become one of America’s greatest living filmmakers. His company, Sikelia Productions, is based in New York City, as is his 26-year-old daughter, actress and filmmaker Francesca, who regales her social media followers with heartwarming videos of father and daughter on the regular.
Yes, the husband-and-wife team behind the “Barbie” movie (she directed; they co-wrote) live in New York City. Baumbach is a Brooklyn native, while Gerwig’s resided in the Big Apple since 2002, when she enrolled at Barnard. With seven Oscar nominations between them, they’ve made such films as Baumbach’s “The Squid and the Whale” and “Marriage Story” and Gerwig’s “Ladybird,” “Little Women” and the upcoming “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.” Lee has immortalized New York City on the silver screen in films like “Do the Right Thing” and “25th Hour”; taught filmmaking at NYU Tisch since 1993; housed his production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks in Fort Greene, Brooklyn — where he hosts popular block parties —since 1979; and been the most legendary Knicks fan ever.
We know what you’re thinking: Matt Damon … New Yorker? Well, the Boston actor and co-founder of Artists Equity has called the city home since 2021, and may win his first acting Oscar for “The Odyssey,” which is nearing $2 billion in worldwide grosses. His “Odyssey” co-star (and NYC native) Hathaway has also had a big year with “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “The End of Oak Street” and the upcoming “Verity.” On top of all that, her production company Somewhere Pictures optioned the hugely popular (and enjoyably divisive!) tradwife novel “Yesteryear,” with Hathaway set to star.
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