ONTD

1. Angelina Jolie

The actress has visited more than 20 humanitarian hot spots including Iraq and Darfur since becoming a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency in 2001. On a trip to Iraq in August, she appealed for international aid to help millions of displaced Iraqis. Jolie has three adopted children -- from Ethiopia, Cambodia and Vietnam.


2. Bono

The U2 singer and "Red" campaigner has been a tireless voice in the fight against HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty and crippling debt.

3. Desmond Tutu

The apartheid opponent and Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been a constant advocate of conflict resolution and reconciliation. This year he won India's Gandhi Peace Prize and has been a vocal critic of the South African government's response to HIV/AIDS. He is leader of "The Elders", a humanitarian council made up of elder statesmen.

4. Bill Gates

The Microsoft founder and world's second-richest man has poured money into the fight against infectious diseases such as AIDS and malaria. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $3.5 billion since 2003, according to BusinessWeek.

5. Bill Clinton

The former U.S. president's foundation tackles causes from HIV/AIDS to ethnic conflict. He holds an annual philanthropic summit that this year generated pledges to combat health, poverty, education and climate woes that he said could help 100 million people. His new book is titled "GIVING: How Each of Us Can Change the World".

6. Jimmy Carter

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former U.S. president is a crusader for conflict resolution and diplomacy. His Carter Center works to prevent wars and eradicate diseases. This year he toured Sudan's Darfur region with "The Elders" humanitarian council.

7. Kofi Annan

The former United Nations secretary-general is also a member of the "Elders" humanitarian council and founder of the Global Humanitarian Forum dedicated to strengthening the international community's ability to tackle the big crises of our time and mega-disasters like the Asian tsunami.

8. Mia Farrow

A committed Darfur activist, Farrow has led a global movement to press China to help end abuses by ally Sudan. This year she started an Olympic-style torch relay through countries that have suffered genocide and offered up her own freedom in exchange for a respected Darfur rebel figure.

9. Don Cheadle

The actor has embraced humanitarian causes since his Oscar-nominated role in 2004's "Hotel Rwanda", becoming a passionate spokesman against atrocities in Darfur. He co-wrote "Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond".

10. Brad Pitt

Like his partner, Angelina Jolie, the Hollywood hunk is a respected Darfur advocate. He has also launched a housing project in New Orleans.

1. Madonna

Despite controversy surrounding her adoption of a Malawian "orphan" last year, Madonna has been lauded by Malawi's government for putting the plight of AIDS orphans on the global stage and raising money to help them.

2. Paris Hilton

After spending 45 days in jail this year for violating probation on a traffic offense, Hilton announced she planned to swap partying for philanthropy with a trip to Rwanda. The trip was later postponed.

3. Oprah Winfrey

America's highest-paid TV celebrity has used her Oprah's Angel Network charity to support vulnerable people worldwide and AIDS-affected children in Africa. The former Bob Hope Humanitarian Award winner is ranked 35th in BusinessWeek's ranking of most generous philanthropists. But her girls' academy in South Africa made headlines this year when a former dormitory matron was charged with abusing students.

4. Bono

See above

5. Bob Geldof

The LiveAid legend and former Boomtown Rats singer has kept up the pressure on aid, trade and debt issues. His TV company is launching a broadband channel aimed at promoting world peace.

By Tim Large

LONDON (Reuters) - From tattooed wild woman to humanitarian heroine -- what a difference a few years has made for Angelina Jolie, who topped a Reuters poll released on Thursday of the best celebrity humanitarians of 2007.

Hollywood star Jolie commanded the greatest public respect of all celebrity public do-gooders this year due to her work as a U.N. goodwill ambassador and as the adoptive mother tried to raise awareness of suffering in Africa.

But the poll by humanitarian Web site Reuters AlertNet (www.alertnet.org) found not all do-gooders fared so well, with fellow adoptive mother Madonna voted the least respected celebrity altruist of 2007 despite raising millions for orphans in Malawi, and Bob Geldof struggling for support.

Madonna's image was hit by claims she used her fame and wealth to circumvent Malawian adoption rules.

"People aren't stupid," said Peter Walker, director of the Feinstein International Famine Center at Tufts University.

"They can really sense when it's just an endorsement and when somebody really means it. Someone like Angelina Jolie comes across as having more integrity than some celebrities and a greater sense that she doesn't just do this for the publicity."

The online poll of 606 people conducted from December 7 to 19 put 32-year-old Jolie ahead of U2 singer Bono, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Microsoft founder Bill Gates -- all of whom have helped put African suffering on the global agenda.

The result underlined how far Jolie has changed her image since shocking onlookers by French kissing her brother at an awards ceremony about seven years ago and from wearing a vial of second husband Billy Bob Thornton's blood around her neck.

Since becoming an ambassador in 2001 for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, she has visited more than 20 humanitarian hot spots, most recently Iraq.

"She does this in a very low-key way," said UNHCR spokesman Peter Kessler. "She goes out to see for herself, to get up close and very personal. She doesn't travel with film crews, and I think that is real testimony to her dedication to the cause."

Jolie has three adopted children -- from Ethiopia, Cambodia and Vietnam, and last year gave birth to a daughter, Shiloh, with her actor partner Brad Pitt.

But she has sparked little of the controversy that has dogged Madonna, who adopted a toddler from Malawi in 2006.

"Madonna seems to do philanthropy the way she's done Indian culture, sex, and just about everything -- like a disposable fad," said one anonymous voter. "Hope she doesn't get bored of her adopted African kid."

John McKie, who recruits celebrities for British relief agency Christian Aid, was less critical of Madonna.

"She has played Live8 and she's got her own charity in Malawi," he said. "Many celebrities don't engage in Africa on any level, so we shouldn't be too hard on Madonna."

After Madonna, U.S. socialite Paris Hilton gave the worst name to celebrity humanitarianism in 2007, the poll found, after announcing she planned to swap partying for philanthropy with a trip to Rwanda. The trip was later postponed.

Famous figures who scored highly for their humanitarian work included former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, Jordan's Queen Rania and former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan.

Actors Mia Farrow, Don Cheadle and Brad Pitt won praise for their advocacy on behalf of Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.

Bono showed he has both admirers and detractors, ranking second after Jolie in the "most respected" category but also attracting enough negative votes to put him in the top five celebrity do-gooders people love to hate -- with Bob Geldof.

"This guy probably believes he's the new Messiah," said one anonymous voter.