For 40 years now, People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive issue has tried to capture who embodies the peak of masculine appeal year-by-year.

With 37-year-old English actor Jonathan Bailey now holding the 2025 title, it’s the perfect time to look back at the last 25 winners and ask what everyone was really thinking when they were crowned.

From Brad Pitt’s Fight Club physique to John Legend’s divisive spot on the list, and Michael B. Jordan’s universally praised reign, here’s every winner since 2000, with readers answering who deserved it, who didn’t, and who stands at the top.

To say the country-music star Shelton’s win was divisive would be an understatement. To this day, online threads discussing the winners are full of comments questioning the choice.

Levine became the first band frontma

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