J.K. Rowling crowned the year's most "fascinating" person

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has been crowned the year's most "fascinating" person in a US television special.

The writer topped the annual 10 Most Fascinating People list presented by veteran TV host, Barbara Walters.

The show did not contain any new interviews with Rowling, 42, who is estimated to be worth more than £545 million GBP ($1.09 billion).

But Walters said Rowling deserved to top the list because of the entertainment her books had brought to millions.

Walters said: "Like her Harry Potter series her life has been a dark yet wondrous fairy tale.

"She had transformed the ordinary milestones of a child's life - loneliness and loss, friendship and the struggle to grow up, into a story that captivated the world.

"And that, for us, makes J.K. Rowling the most extraordinary, magical and fascinating person of 2007."

Others who featured on the show included celebrity couple David and Victoria Beckham, former US President Bill Clinton, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and chart star Justin Timberlake.

The seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was published in July, selling more than 11 million copies on its first day of release.