| 100% | OUTRAGE | 7 | "Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of ___," 2020 memoir by politician and former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw |
| 30% | BETTEMIDLER | 11 | American star of stage and screen celebrated by the Kennedy Center Honors in 2021 (2 wds.) |
| 29% | SASHA | 5 | ___ Banks, American professional wrestler who was named Wrestler of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 2020 |
| 28% | ALEX | 4 | ___ Cross, fictional former FBI agent and psychologist created by James Patterson who is the protagonist in many of his books |
| 27% | RAIN | 4 | "___ On Me," song by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande that won the MTV Video Music Award for Song of the Year in 2020 |
| 27% | BRIANDAWKINS | 12 | Former American football safety who played 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018: 2 wds |
| 27% | GLORIASTEINEM | 13 | Feminist journalist played by 15-Across and Alicia Vikander in a 2020 biopic based on the memoir "My Life on the Road" (2 wds.) |
| 27% | DANIELHARDMAN | 13 | Co-founder of the firm in "Suits" who was the former managing partner before Jessica Pearson and is portrayed by David Costabile: 2 wds. |
| 26% | BENTINE | 7 | Michael —, comedian and former member of the Goons who died in 1996 |
| 26% | EAGLE | 5 | Symbol in the logos of American Airlines, Barclays and Armani |
| 26% | TERRELLOWENS | 12 | Former American football wide receiver who played seven seasons for the San Francisco 49ers and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018: 2 wds |
| 26% | PROMISED | 8 | "A ___ Land," 2020 memoir by Barack Obama which was one of the bestselling books of the year |
| 26% | BRIANURLACHER | 13 | Former American football linebacker who played his entire 13-year career for the Chicago Bears and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018: 2 wds |
| 26% | SHELBY | 6 | Isaac —, officer in the American War of Independence; first and fifth Governor of Kentucky |
| 26% | BOLSONARO | 9 | Politician born in Glicerio, now the 38th and current president of Brazil |
| 26% | LEGALIZED | 9 | With 20 Across, what the people of AZ, NJ, MT, and SD voted for by proposition in 2020 |
| 26% | THEBIGBADWOLF | 13 | Villain in the story named by the starts of 17-, 25-, 47- and 57-Across |
| 26% | DANCING | 7 | Activity exemplified in the '60s by the ends of 17-, 28-, 48- and 64-Across |
| 26% | WOLF | 4 | Villain in the tale named by the starts of 20-, 32-, 41- and 52-Across |
| 26% | ARCS | 4 | The ___, American garage rock band formed by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys |
| 25% | SONS | 4 | Word in the titles of novels by Ivan Turgenev and D. H. Lawrence |
| 25% | MARENMORRIS | 11 | 1-Across, 12-Across, 27-Across, and 50-Across country/pop singer who was named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association in 2020 (2 wds.) |
| 25% | KURTVONNEGUT | 12 | American novelist in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame who was born in 1922 (2 wds.) |
| 25% | UBOAT | 5 | One of 116 disposed of by the Royal Navy in Operation Deadlight |
| 25% | ANITA | 5 | &25A Author of novels In Custody and The Village by the Sea |
| 25% | SCONE | 5 | Parish in Perth and Kinross, Scotland; former site of the Pictish capital |
| 25% | ITSAHELLUVATOWN | 15 | Lyric in the song named by the starts and ends of 19-, 27-, 45- and 53-Across |
| 25% | BECOMING | 8 | 2018 memoir written by the former first lady of the US, Michelle Obama |
| 25% | DESAI | 5 | Anita —, author of the novels In Custody and The Village by the Sea |