There’s no shortage of big-name celebrities who take to Twitter to promote their latest project or share carefully scrubbed news about their lives — but how many of them are actually worth following? We’ve scoured our feeds for California’s best boldfaced names to see just how many have something interesting to say on the popular social media platform. Sure, many of them are aggressively political and, like much of the state, lean to the left. But each of these 12 celebrities presents highly-readable thoughts, opinions, observations, jokes and links that add something to our daily scroll.
CARL REINER
Handle: @CarlReiner
Why he’s famous: He’s a 96-year-old comedy legend
Followers: 239K
What’s great about his tweets: Reiner has figured out that the secret to a long, happy life is attitude. Lately, his tweets have leaned more to the political (he’s no Trump fan) but in addition, he often praises young talent (Reiner is a Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift enthusiast) and tweets about how much he loves his family and friends. At nearly a century old, he’s quite clearly doing all of his own social media posting — and enjoying every moment.
ALYSSA MILANO
Handle: @Alyssa_Milano
Why she’s famous: You know this actress from “Who’s the Boss,” “Charmed,” and “Melrose Place.”
Followers: 3.47 million
What’s great about her tweets: Milano really knows what she’s talking about. You wouldn’t think that the star of “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2” would do a deep dive into net neutrality or publicly offer to house immigrant children separated from their parents at the border, but here she is, on Twitter, preaching about the women’s movement, immigrant rights, and the complexities of state response in national laws regarding internet equality.
CHRISSY TEIGEN
Handle: @christineteigen
Why she’s famous: Teigen is a former model and television host, and the wife of singer John Legend
Followers: 10.7 million
What’s great about her tweets: Teigen is downright hilarious. Her sarcastic and annoyed live-tweets of a flight delay made international news, she regularly reveals embarrassing family mishaps, and she mocks politicians with the snark of your funniest friend.
JANELLE MONAE
Handle: @JanelleMonae
Why she’s famous: Monae is a chart-topping singer, songwriter, artist and actress
Followers: 1.05M
What’s great about her tweets: Monae is pretty brilliant, and she’s especially good about using her massive following to promote LGBTQ+ issues. Monae has her finger on the pulse of what is cool and hot right now because she’s one of the people defining it.
QUINN CUMMINGS
Handle: @quinncy
Why she’s famous: Oscar-nominated child actress and author; you might recognize her as a frequent Alta contributor
Followers: 27.6K
What’s great about her tweets: Cummings, who refers to herself as the Court Jester, is funny — really funny. We’re especially in love with her voluminous list of perfect, searing nicknames for all the Trump administration players, like “Pavlov Walnuts” (Paul Manafort) and “Kremlin Barbie” (Ivanka Trump).
TOM HANKS
Handle: @tomhanks
Why he’s famous: Hanks is pretty much America’s favorite actor, a two-time Oscar winner and a California native
Followers: 15.5 million
What’s great about his tweets: The real treat here is the occasional insight into Hanks’ life, which is presented in as humble and charming a manner as you’d expect. He posts pictures from film junkets, city sidewalks, and his own vintage headshots — not with any great frequency, but it’s nice to see Tom Hanks pop up in our feed.
MORGAN FAIRCHILD
Handle: @morgfair
Why she’s famous: Fairchild is an actress and ’80s sex symbol. You might know her best from “Falcon Crest”
Followers: 69.3K
What’s great about her tweets: Fairchild is no airheaded sex kitten. She devours more hard-hitting daily news than you do — and then she shares the good stuff on Twitter. She posts dozens of articles a day from the likes of The New York Times and Washington Post. And while Fairchild’s tweets lean toward the political and anti-Trump, she also promotes stories about animal rights, cold cases and the use of bamboo utensils at Hollywood premieres.
Example tweet: Fairchild rarely posts direct comments, but she retweets interesting content with dizzying frequency.
ANDY RICHTER
Handle: @AndyRichter
Why he’s famous: Comedian and actor, Conan O’Brien’s late night sidekick
Followers: 1.03 million
What’s great about his tweets: Richter is primarily known for his silly comedy, but his tweets, which lean heavily toward the political, are self-aware and smart (if you agree with him). A fervent retweeter, Richter’s another comedian who’s putting himself at the forefront of the social media resistance.
CHER
Handle: @Cher
Why she’s famous: Oh, come on.
Followers: 3.61 million
What’s great about her tweets: As a member of the very exclusive club of people known only by a single name, Cher has nothing more to prove and takes to Twitter to say exactly what she thinks about politics and post wacky videos taken with her devoted assistant Paulette. These peeks into the deliciously Hollywood life of an icon are fun indulgences. And when Cher is pissed off, watch out internet.
Example tweet: (Needless to say, this exchange went viral)
DON CHEADLE
Handle: @DonCheadle
Why he’s famous: Actor, star of “Hotel Rwanda” and “Boogie Nights”
Followers: 613K
What’s great about his tweets: Cheadle tweets A LOT — and much of that is in response to political posts from regular people. This Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner dives into the discussion more than most of us, and he’s got strong, plainspoken opinions.
ANNA KENDRICK
Handle: @AnnaKendrick47
Why she’s famous: Actress, star of “Pitch Perfect” movies, adorable human
Followers: 7.2 million
What’s great about her tweets: Based on her Twitter feed, Kendrick is just as clever and fun on the internet as she is on the silver screen. She occasionally dives into political waters but mainly sticks to self-deprecating observations about modern life.
PATTON OSWALT
Handle: @PattonOswalt
Why he’s famous: Comedian, widower of Michelle McNamara, who was the author of “I’ll Be Gone In The Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer”
Followers: 4.5 million
What’s great about his tweets: Oswalt is a nerd in the most wonderful sense, complete with “Star Wars” references only the most die-hard fans will get. He regularly engages with his Twitter followers and generously promotes anything he likes to his millions of followers. After the unexpected death of his wife, Oswalt had her book on an unsolved California serial killer finished and published within the same month the killer was identified and arrested. He’s another celebrity to take on the right wing, but he maintains his humor when doing so.
Keep reading: I Spent 12 Hours in Twitter Jail
