55% of Americans think they are at least “somewhat” cool — which celebrities do they say the same for?

Like a Rorschach test or that dress from more than 10 years ago now, each person comes away from the concept of “cool” with a different take on what it actually is — shifting, fickle, and deeply subject to individual tastes, as the idea has traditionally been.

On-trend lines

As difficult an X factor to pin down as “cool” might be, the majority of Americans think they at least fit the bill a little bit, with some 56% of US adults reporting that they are “somewhat cool” or “very cool,” per a new survey published by YouGov yesterday.

Perhaps naturally, the share of Americans who see themselves as making the “cool” cut did dwindle a little with age, though maybe not as much as you’d expect: 65% of adults under 30 said they’re at least somewhat cool, which only slipped to 45% when YouGov asked its oldest cohort (65 and older) the same question.

Interestingly, when YouGov gave Americans a list of celebrities and asked which ones they found the coolest, half of the top 10 entrants sat firmly in the over-65 demographic, with spots toward the top taken by Samuel L. Jackson, The Beatles, and Willie Nelson.

Sherwood News

77-year-old Samuel L. Jackson, who’s starred in more movies that have grossed $100 million or more around the world than anyone else, per Guinness World Records data, came in atop Americans’ “cool” list, alongside British rock band The Beatles, while Michael Jordan rounded out the top 3.

Alongside the various stars of the screen, the sporting world, and the music industry, just one political figure, former President Barack Obama, broke the top 10. Only two women, actress Meryl Streep and tennis legend Serena Williams, were in the top 10, though Simone Biles and Beyoncé were 11th and 12th.

Go deeper: find out who else fared well (and not so well) in the “cool” rankings, as well as other interesting analysis from the YouGov survey, here.