There are a lot of famous people from New Jersey, but it's definitely a challenge to try to pick out the single most famous.

How should you define "most famous" when it comes to where someone is from?

Should it be the first name that comes to mind?

Should it be the most successful celebrity from your state?

The website BestLifeOnline just set out to do exactly that and named the most famous person from every state by using this formula:

First, they looked at the total number of accolades. Who's won the most awards?

Next, they dug into Google search data. Who do people most want to know about?

They then took in box-office success, and mixed it all together with their self-proclaimed, "unique expertise as pop culture junkies" and came up with each state's alpha-celebrity.

People like Katherine Hepburn (Connecticut), Bette Midler (Hawaii, who knew?), and even Sarah Palin (ouch, poor Alaska) all made the cut.

As for the great Garden State, BestLifeOnline went with:

Meryl Streep

"The Laundromat" Red Carpet Arrivals - The 76th Venice Film Festival
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From growing up in Summit to being a Bernards High School cheerleader, they picked the 3-time Oscar winner above people like Frank Sinatra, Jack Nicholson, and even Bruce Springsteen.

I was going to say, "come on, how can someone be more famous than a person who only needs a first name to be recognized like Bruce?", although to be fair, I suppose if you mention "Meryl", most people will know who you're talking about.

So now, the important question - do you agree?

Who do you think should be recognized as the most famous person from New Jersey? Stop by our Facebook page and let us know!

You can click here for the full list of who BestLifeOnline says is each state's most famous celebrity.

 

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