The changing face of People’s Sexiest Man Alive: From action heroes to indie heartthrobs, how the ultimate sex symbol has evolved over 4 decades

People Magazine revealed John Krasinski would take the crown of 2024’s Sexiest Man Alive last night.

The 45-year-old hunk was declared the face of the publications annual Sexiest Man issue on the Late Show with Steven Colbert, leaving many divided. 

The Office star is one of 39 smoldering faces to have graced the cover of the highly anticipated People cover, with a long legacy of dashing men having paved for sexy celebs.

The cover has previously hosted the handsome faces of Paul Rudd, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Sean Connery and many others over it’s 39-year tenure.

Some have even been named Sexiest Man Alive twice by the magazine – with Brad Pitt taking the crown in 1995 and again in 2000.

George Clooney is also a two timer Sexiest man winner, having scored the inaugural title in 1997 and then again nearly a decade later in 2006. 

The first face ever the grace the cover in 1985 was Mel Gibson, who – long before being embroiled in multiple sandals – won the title after debuting his rough good looks in the Mad Max trilogy. 

The inaugural title has been held by dozens of heartthrobs in music and film, as well as in other fields.

In 1988, John F. Kennedy, Jr, a notorious posh party boy and the son the US President, won the cover as Sexiest Man Alive, with a girlfriend at the time crediting is ‘pensive sadness’ for his rugged good looks.

Though John F. Kennedy, Jr, is the youngest to have won the title, aged just 27, with most winners having been in their forties when they made the cover.

Year on year, the publication has surprised eagerly awaiting fans. In 1993, it decided that there would be a Sexiest Couple Alive instead of a man, with Cindy Crawford the first woman to take the title alongside Richard Gere.

The following year, 1994, was the only year since the annual cover began, that People hasn’t awarded a winner – though in in 2015, the publication selected Keanu Reeves as the 1994 winner. 

Of all those declared Sexiest men, three has sadly passed away, including John F. Kennedy Jr., Patrick Swayze and Sean Connery.

This year’s hotly anticipated title had been half a dozen potential hunks predicted to take the win, including Selena Gomez‘ boyfriend Benny Blanco who sent fans into a frenzy after revealing on social media that he would feature in the 2024 issue.

Krasinski admitted he thought he was being ‘punked’ when he found out that he was taking this year’s title. 

Though his wife, Emily Blunt was delighted by the news, with Krasinski revealing she was ‘very xcited’ to learn he was named Sexiest Man Alive, adding, ‘There was a lot of joy involved in me telling her.‘