1. Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and The Matrix Reloaded were the three biggest films of the year.
2. The final installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, was released into theaters and would go on to be a huge critical and box-office hit.
3. No Doubt, Sting, and Shania Twain headlined the Super Bowl halftime show.
4. Adrien Brody kissed Halle Berry while she presented him with Best Actor Oscar at that year's Academy Awards.
5. Nicole Kidman won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in The Hours, while Catherine Zeta-Jones won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in Chicago.
6. And Chicago was the big winner that night, taking home the Best Picture Oscar.
7. Teen Vogue published its first issue — FTR, it had Gwen Stefani on the cover but I couldn't find it, so I used this photo of '00s icon Nicole Richie holding an issue from 2003.
8. Vanity Fair published one of the most iconic covers of the '00s (possibly ever)! Of course, I am talking about the one that featured Amanda Bynes, Alexis Bledel, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Mandy Moore, Evan Rachel Wood, Raven-Symoné, Hilary Duff, and Lindsay Lohan on the cover!!!
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9. Rumors that Friends would be coming to an end the following year with Season 10 were confirmed by then–NBC President Jeff Zucker.
10. Louis Vuitton released its first multicolor monogram bag collection (which was in collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami). And if you were old enough during the '00s, then you know what an impact it had.
11. These slippers were EVERYWHERE:
12. As were Ugg boots, which officially started as a trend.
13. Wicked made its debut on Broadway...
14. ...as did Avenue Q.
15. We got the sequel to two '00s cinematic masterpieces: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.
16. Gigli was a box office bomb.
17. A month after the film's release, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck announced days before their wedding that they would be postponing their wedding "due to excessive media attention."
18. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin got married in secret at a courthouse in Santa Barbara, California.
19. Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton officially divorced after being separated for a year.
20. Legendary TV actor John Ritter died at age 54 of aortic dissection after falling ill while filming his sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.
21. The Da Vinci Code was first published, it would go on not only to be one of the bestselling books of the year, but also the next couple of years.
22. Carson Daly announced that he would be leaving TRL after having hosted the show since its inception in 1998.
23. Natalie Maines of the Chicks caused a huge right-wing uproar when during a promotional interview in London. She said, "We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States [Bush] is from Texas." The comment also got their music boycotted from country radio stations.
24. Apple launched its game-changing iTunes Music Store.
25. And its third-generation iPod — getting rid of the mechanical scroll wheel.
26. Isaac Mizrahi launched a line with Target — paving the way for many affordable brand and luxe brand/designer collabs to come.
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27. Missy Elliott and Madonna appeared in an ad campaign together for the Gap.
28. And, of course, they appeared in the classic "Into the Hollywood Groove" commercial for it:
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29. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy made its debut on Bravo.
30. Meanwhile, America's Next Top Model made its debut on UPN...and you're probably hearing "Wanna Be on Top?" in your head right now.
31. Both Arrested Development and The O.C. made their debuts on Fox.
32. Both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dawson's Creek ended their runs.
33. Ruben Studdard won Season 2 of American Idol.
34. Cartoon Network began airing reruns of the at-the-time-cancelled Family Guy during Adult Swim. The immediate success of the show airing on Adult Swim (along with high DVD sales) would lead to Fox un-cancelling and reviving the series.
35. Get Rich or Die Tryin' by 50 Cent was the biggest-selling album of the year.
36. He also had the biggest song of the year with "In Da Club."
37. While Beyoncé's debut solo single, "Crazy in Love" feat. Jay-Z, was the song of the summer.
38. The Simple Life premiered — giving us some classic reality TV moments.
39. Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica also premiered, and it gave us one of the most iconic pop culture moments ever in its first episode.
40. And lastly, Madonna and Britney Spears shared "the kiss" during the opening of the 2003 VMAs.
Honestly, the whole opening is legendary and remains that way 20 years later:
