Biggest celebrity stories of 2008

December 31, 10:19 AMChicago Celebrity ExaminerMichelle Coffey

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It wouldn't be a biggest Chicago celeb story without Oprah. In the above, she's cheering at Obama's Grant Park victory speech/Courtesy of Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images

When it comes to our celebrity cred, Chicago can't quite compete with the likes of New York or L.A. And we're OK with having our sports heroes, newscasters and club owners define our celeb scene. But 2008 brought some A-list attention to the Windy City, in times of celebration and in times of overwhelming grief. Without a doubt, Obama owns the biggest fame story of the year, but for our purposes, we're more or less leaving the politicians out of it (otherwise, I'd never get beyond the Blago rant.)

• Bernie Mac, 50, passes away on August 9 at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago. The beloved comedian from Chicago's South Side died due to complications from pneumonia. Thousands of fans and friends attended his funeral at House of Hope in Pullman.
• Bill Murray jumps out of a plane at the Chicago Air & Water Show. The city's biggest lakefront festival celebrated its 50th anniversary by having the avid Cubs fan and Wilmette native fall 13,000 feet out of a plane to land on North Avenue Beach on the fest's opening day.
• "The Dark Knight," with Chicago posing as Gotham City, has the highest grossing opening weekend ever. The much-anticipated movie, starring the late Heath Ledger, went on to be the second biggest movie of all time (behind "Titanic") and as of December 29, 2008, has grossed $530,907,655. The film showcases Chicago's architecture and infrastructure throughout it.
• Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were murdered in late October. William Balfour, Hudson's estranged brother-in-law and the only suspect in the case, appeared in court on December 30 to face charges for the killings. It's believed he committed the murders in an act of jealous rage, after suspecting that Hudson's sister, Balfour's wife with whom he was separated, had a new boyfriend.
• Celebs head to Grant Park to hear Barack Obama's victory speech. The swarms of Obama supporters who flooded Grant Park to witness a piece of history on November 4 were joined by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Spike Lee, Star Jones, Common, Forest Whitaker and Will.IAm. Throughout the speech, a tear-filled Oprah was spotted leaning on the shoulder of a mystery man, whose identity became a small obsession with the local press. The Sun-Times identified the stranger (even to Oprah!) as Sam Perry, an Obama campaign volunteer.

Any other Chicago celeb stories you can't forget from 2009? Share them in the comments field below!