8 Things You Might Not Know About ‘People’ Magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ Honor

It may fall short of the Nobel or Pulitzer, but the honor of being named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine is nonetheless noteworthy. Since 1985, the periodical has bestowed the title on celebrities—primarily actors—who editors feel capture the zeitgeist of the moment. (And who, frankly, will get ogling fans to pick up the magazine.)

As the world awaits 2024’s selection later this year, take a look at some interesting notes about the history of this oft-maligned honorific.

Mel Gibson was the first Sexiest Man Alive—but it wasn’t flattering.

In 1985, Gibson was still two years away from a breakthrough role in Lethal Weapon but had won acclaim for the Mad Max films as well as quiet dramas like Mrs. Soffel. When People dispatched writer Michelle Green to profile the actor, she made an off-handed reference to his sex appeal, writing that “the sexiest man alive” was bidding her goodbye.

Another creation story has it that a staffer blurted out the phrase while having a meeting about the issue. “Everyone loved Mel Gibson at that moment ... and someone pretty much jokingly blurts out, ‘the sexiest man alive,’ ” onetime executive editor Cutler Durkee said in 2010. “And he was kind of astonishingly hot at that moment. So we did it. There was a bit of [jokiness] to it, but what the heck, we put it out there.”

Whatever the case, editors liked the phrase and stuck it on the cover, but the profile itself was far from flattering. Green seemed to chafe against Gibson’s dour mood and characterized him as a bit of a reluctant movie star. Gibson, she wrote, “spits into the sand and exudes hostility.”

Gibson, in turn, scoffed at the title, which was also handed to him by a poll in Nippon that same year. “That implies there are a lot of dead guys who got more points than I did,” he said.

Did the honor help his career? Not exactly. Mrs. Soffel was a box office disappointment when it was released around the time of the People cover. It was the third bomb in a row for Gibson following The Bounty (1984) and The River (1984).

The Sexiest Man Alive skipped a year.

Following Gibson, People bestowed the Sexiest Man Alive honor to Mark Harmon (St. Elsewhere). Harmon was seemingly unaware he was about to appear next to the caption on newsstands everywhere. “Who votes on something like that?” he said. “I mean, come on! I think it’s all pretty silly … I started laughing hysterically.”

Harmon was followed by Harry Hamlin (L.A. Law), John F. Kennedy Jr., and others through 1993. In 1994, the magazine skipped the ritual before settling into an annual schedule beginning in 1995.

But People fixed their gap year. Sort of. In 2015, the then-Editor-in-Chief Jess Cagle said that had the magazine not skipped the 1994 recognition, it would have gone to Keanu Reeves, who was then starring in Speed.

The Sexiest Man Alive selection isn’t overly scientific.

Various media outlets have tried probing People’s editors over the years to see if they can uncover how the Sexiest Man Alive is chosen. Rarely do they get anywhere. People typically assesses pop culture for someone they feel is experiencing their time in the sun and goes with their collective editorial gut. They’ve also been known to poll female celebrities for their picks as well as discuss potential candidates with focus groups.

The phrase Sexiest Man Alive was trademarked in 2002.

Plenty of publications declare performers to be the sexiest man alive, but depending on how exactly they present it, there could be legal issues. In 2002, People trademarked the Sexiest Man Alive title, describing it for the stuffy U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as an “annual feature of a magazine highlighting male allure.” Subsequently, they took a shot across the bow at Us, another weekly that dared use the verbiage. In 2019, The New York Post reported People made some legal overtures that resulted in Us taking down its “real sexiest men alive” content.

There was a Sexiest Couple Alive.

In 1993, People broke from tradition to declare actor Richard Gere and wife Cindy Crawford the Sexiest Couple Alive (they later divorced). Gere was named the solo Sexiest Man Alive in 1999.

There’s no (direct) money in being the Sexiest Man Alive.

The title may bring lots of publicity and resulting business for an actor’s movie or career, but they’re not paid to participate. “People has never paid anybody for anything,” then-Editor-in-Chief Dan Wakeford told CNN in 2019.

Ryan Gosling turned down being the Sexiest Man Alive.

According to Wakeford, the vast majority of celebrities approached with the honor wind up agreeing to it. Some, he said, even have their representatives pitching them as potential candidates knowing the ensuing buzz might elevate their public profile. Others may accept but without agreeing to a photo shoot and interview. (John F. Kennedy Jr., the 1988 choice, opted out of a conversation about his sex appeal.)

Ryan Gosling is an apparent exception. The actor reportedly declined the title in 2011 as well as in 2014. According to TheWrap, Gosling’s team has repeatedly brushed aside the overtures, possibly in a bid for Gosling to maintain his serious actor credentials; People countered that he simply hadn’t been selected yet, a claim that was rebuffed by Gosling devotees who once picketed outside the publication’s offices in Manhattan.

Sean Connery was the oldest Sexiest Man Alive.

Most of People’s Sexiest Men Alive are in their thirties and forties. In 1989, People handed Sean Connery the title. At the time, Connery was 59, making him the oldest honoree. His record still stands, though in 2023, Patrick Dempsey flirted with an upset: the Grey’s Anatomy actor was 57. (Tom Cruise and JFK Jr. were the youngest recipients at 27.)

There may also be an association between being the Sexiest Man Alive and longevity. Since 1985, 19 of the 22 winners are still, well, alive.

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