Who’s your favorite Duggar family member? We all have our opinions, but we’ve ranked them all – including in-laws – from top to bottom.
Behold, the first-ever edition of THG’s official Duggar Power Rankings, with our consensus, #1 Duggar draft pick leading off at the top.
At the bottom? You can probably guess …
Jana
Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. That old cliche is destined to apply literally to Jana Duggar, 30, the eldest daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle and one dubbed “Cinderella” due to her natural beauty, loving personality, and perpetual servitude. While her other siblings marry and have kids of their own, Jana is essentially forced to stay home and take care of her siblings … and nieces and nephews. And yet, she does it with a smile on her face, a sense of humor and the patience of a saint. No matter how much she’s put upon, she puts on a happy face and lights up our lives. Being so easy on the eyes does not hurt, either. #FreeJana!
Jinger
The spelling of her name is cause for major side-eye, but if you can get past that, what’s not to love about Jinger Duggar? Silly, sassy and (relatively) independent, she’s been a fan favorite for years now, and if there were ever a Duggar set to break the family mold, Jinger seemed like the most likely candidate. Since marrying Jeremy Vuolo and moving to Los Angeles, she’s done that and then some. With aplomb.
John David
John David, the twin brother of Jana (pictured), is a firefighter and pilot. Also single, he earned major points for disavowing Josh’s actions on Jill & Jessa: Counting On. He’s now married to Abby Burnett with a baby of his own and relatively little regard for Jim Bob’s rules. Good on you, John David.
Amy
Cousin Amy Duggar – the daughter of Jim Bob’s sister – is only rebellious by Duggar standards. In any other family she would have this #badass label she possesses. Still, the fact that Amy D. isn’t brainwashed, and is actually her own person who speaks her mind gives her automatic entry into the top tier.
Joseph
Joseph Duggar, 20, is now a student at Crown Bible College in Knoxville, Tennessee. He has also been tied to one of the Bates girls from Bringing Up Bates. Seems like a nice fella.
Jeremiah and Jedidiah (Tie)
Jeremiah Duggar is described as wonderful young man who serves the Lord and is creative, talkative, nurturing, and helpful to others. He is also five minutes older than his brother Jedediah (pictured).
Joy-Anna
She’s smart. She’s well-rounded. She can dead lift her own weight. She wears shorts (yes, actual shorts)! She’s a well-rounded young woman and a great mom with a bright future … of course, our hopes that she would be truly allowed to spread her wings, which she clearly isn’t thanks to her marriage to Austin Forsyth (who kinda weirds us out) have pretty much been dashed. Alas.
Jill
A midwife by trade, fair Jill strikes us as being as sweet, kind, happy and harmless as they come, though we’re forced to deduct a few points for her handling of the somewhat shady Dillard Family Ministries with husband Derick – her life partner and religious and spiritual counterpart. Lately, one gets the distinct impression they aren’t being entirely truthful with fans – who have sent them money no less.
Anna
We sympathize with Josh Duggar’s long-suffering wife Anna, and believe she – like any woman – deserves a million times better than that cheating, lying, hypocritical, porn-addicted child molester. Still, part of us sort of wishes she would grow a pair and bail. Sorry. Gotta be honest.
Derick
Derick is an odd one. He may be a goofier-looking, less athletically-gifted Aaron Rodgers, but Derick charmed us all in 2014 as he courted Jill from afar in Nepal, then married her and settled into a nice life with her back in Arkansas. They had a baby (Israel) and he had a good job at Walmart (tax accountant, not retail). But then the Josh Duggar scandal broke and everything changed. They took off to El Salvador for missionary work, never to return – well at least more than twice a month – and shadily asked for fan donations to fund their trip, despite offering scant details of what they actually do there.
Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn-Grace and Josie (Tie)
Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn-Grace and Josie have all come into their own through the years on 19 Kids & Counting, but we’ve yet to learn enough about them apart from their older, more prominently featured family members to accurately differentiate them in these power rankings. So they remain one big group for now.
Josiah
Josiah Duggar, for a brief moment in time, looked like he would be next in line to marry among the Duggars, but his courtship with Marjorie Jackson ended as quickly as it began – an unheard of scenario in Duggar Nation. There’s been talk of a tell-all book from Marjorie, but that has yet to materialize.
Jessa
Jessa Duggar earned a reputation as a spitfire early on, and while her honesty is refreshing, it’s come back to bite her numerous times and earned her fair share of criticism. Her marriage to Ben Seewald has only increased this polarizing image. They also named their kid Spurgeon.
Ben
Ben Seewald is Jessa’s husband, as fans are well aware, and has caused controversy from the start – albeit nothing remotely in Josh’s league – with his outspoken views on abortion, creationism and other topics. His willingness to stir the pot is rivaled only by his wife and his mother-in-law.
Michelle
Give Michelle Duggar due credit for enduring childbirth 19 times and devoting nearly 14 years (!) of her life being pregnant. Give her less credit for some of her eyebrow-raising parenting decisions, Stone Age interpretations of gender roles, extremist political views and questionable conduct in life in general.
Jim Bob
There once was a time when we had a real soft spot for Jim Bob. Not to the point where we looked up to the guy or would follow his example, but we developed a begrudging respect for the kind of level-headed, resourceful and calming influence who could make you think “What Would Jim Bob Do” in any number of life situations. Plus, while his views were sometimes unconventional, you had to admire or at least acknowledge that faith and family were the central tenets of his life, and that he was true to himself, his wife, and his kids. Then we learned that he covered up his son molesting his daughters, preferring to handle the matter “in house” when his own house “rules” were a root cause of the problem, and whatever integrity he had was forever tarnished.
Josh
Come on. Was there ever any doubt who would finish dead last? Or that we would use his Ashley Madison profile pic?