News Digest

Taylor Swift crowned most charitable star of the year

Taylor Swift can add another award to her name - as the year’s most charitable celebrity. The Shake It Off star has beaten Emma Watson, Beyonce and Miley Cyrus to be named the top do-gooder of 2014 by U.S.-based charity DoSomething.org. It is the third consecutive year she has received the honour from the non-profit organisation, a title which she has held since 2012. The 25-year-old singer was chosen because she donated all the proceeds from her single, Welcome To New York, to New York City public schools, reported U.S. Weekly.

Thanks Billboard. Also thanks, YOU. (Does dorky celebratory dance then trips over a cat toy)

Taylor Swift’s tweet after hearing she had been chosen as Billboard’s Woman of the Year for 2014

Orange Is The New Black actress Laverne Cox took second place. Her role as transgender inmate Sophia Burset in the Netflix prison drama has enabled her to become a voice for the LGBT community. Beyonce came in third, ahead of Miley and Emma, who round out the top five. Both Beyonce and Emma, a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, were honoured for bringing “feminism to the forefront”, while Bangerz singer Miley earned recognition for shining a light on homelessness, after bringing homeless teenager Jesse Helt to the MTV VMAs in August.