Oh, I voted before I read the rest of the question. I thought it was for my own personal favorite, so I let my wife do the honors, and she voted for Viktor Petrenko.
But as for who was most popular with North American audiences, I think it's Gordeeva and Grinkov without a doubt.
Currently Irina Slutskaya and Alexei Yagudin are both very much appreciated. I look forward to seeing whether they will develop their skills as pro-style audience pleasers, in the manner of Ilia Kulik.
Mathman