Who won the Sexiest Man Alive 2025? Jimmy Fallon announces this year’s winner
The latest recipient of People magazine’s long-running accolade was announced on Monday, on ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’.
Jonathan Bailey is the new Sexiest Man Alive, after the British actor was on Monday confirmed as this year’s winner of the People magazine award.
Bailey succeeds fellow screen star John Krasinski as Sexiest Man Alive, having been announced as the 2025 choice on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
“Completely absurd”
Bailey, an Emmy nominee for his performance in the 2023 TV series Fellow Travellers, becomes the first openly gay man to hold the title.
The 37-year-old, also best known for his roles in Bridgerton and Wicked, told Fallon that he is “thrilled” at People’s decision to “bestow this honor on someone who can really cherish the value of a sexy man”.
In an interview with People, Bailey added: “It’s a huge honor. Obviously I’m incredibly flattered. And it’s completely absurd. It’s been a secret, so I’m quite excited for some friends and family to find out.”
Watch the moment the 2025 Sexiest Man Alive was revealed:
The 36th recipient of People’s award, Bailey joins a list of Sexiest Men Alive that began with two-time Oscar winner Mel Gibson 40 years ago.
Sexiest Man Alive - every winner:
- 1985: Mel Gibson
- 1986: Mark Harmon
- 1987: Harry Hamlin
- 1988: John F. Kennedy Jr.
- 1989: Sean Connery
- 1990: Tom Cruise
- 1991: Patrick Swayze
- 1992: Nick Nolte
- 1993: Cindy Crawford & Richard Gere (Sexiest Couple Alive)
- 1994: Keanu Reeves (retrospectively)
- 1995: Brad Pitt
- 1996: Denzel Washington
- 1997: George Clooney
- 1998: Harrison Ford
- 1999: Richard Gere
- 2000: Brad Pitt
- 2001: Pierce Brosnan
- 2002: Ben Affleck
- 2003: Johnny Depp
- 2004: Jude Law
- 2005: Matthew McConaughey
- 2006: George Clooney
- 2007: Matt Damon
- 2008: Hugh Jackman
- 2009: Johnny Depp
- 2010: Ryan Reynolds
- 2011: Bradley Cooper
- 2012: Channing Tatum
- 2013: Adam Levine
- 2014: Chris Hemsworth
- 2015: David Beckham
- 2016: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
- 2017: Blake Shelton
- 2018: Idris Elba
- 2019: John Legend
- 2020: Michael B. Jordan
- 2021: Paul Rudd
- 2022: Chris Evans
- 2023: Patrick Dempsey
- 2024: John Krasinski
- 2025: Jonathan Bailey
How is the Sexiest Man Alive chosen?
Each year, the recipient of People’s Sexiest Man Alive award is decided by the editorial staff at the celebrity-gossip magazine.
Has anyone won Sexiest Man Alive more than once?
Bailey is the latest star of the show business industry to hold the title. Indeed, only two non-entertainers have won the award in its four-decade history: John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1988 and David Beckham in 2015.
The only multiple winners of the Sexiest Man Alive accolade are George Clooney (1997 and 2006), Johnny Depp (2003 and 2009), Richard Gere (1993 and 1999) and Brad Pitt (1995 and 2000).
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