Imelda Marcos

About Imelda Marcos

Imelda Marcos (born 1929) is a highly influential figure, ranking #654 in MIT's Historical Popularity Index (HPI), largely due to her role as the First Lady of the Philippines during the two-decade authoritarian rule of her husband, Ferdinand Marcos. Her historical significance stems from her political involvement, conspicuous spending, and the lasting impact of the Marcos regime on Philippine society and governance.

Despite this high historical ranking, Imelda Marcos garners significant modern internet attention, registering 716K annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This places her in a category of "overattention relative to historical importance," as indicated by an Attention Gap score of +2x. When contrasted with Eva Braun, who ranks slightly lower in historical importance at #829 but received 1.6 million views, Marcos’s attention level is substantial within the context of political spouses. Her contemporary cultural profile is perhaps better understood by noting her views are about 30 times higher than Hurrem Sultan (#448 importance, 59K views), demonstrating a major historical disconnect in modern search interest.

Furthermore, her online relevance shows a positive trend; her Wikipedia pageviews increased by +13.6% year-over-year, supported by a +4% momentum gain between Q1 and Q3 of 2025, suggesting recent media coverage or cultural resurfacing is sustaining high public curiosity.