I was curious who had won People Magazine’s “Most Beautiful Person” award in years past, and so I surfed over to People’s archives to check it out.  Here is 1998′s winner, for example:


Looking over the list of past winners, a few things jumped out: 

* Michelle Pfeiifer has won twice!  First in 1990 (first ever Most Beautiful issue!), then again in 1999.
* Julia Roberts has won four times — by far the most!  Her winning years: 1991, 2000, 2005, and 2010.
* Only 3 guys have ever won, and strangely they all won three years in a row: Mel Gibson (1996), Tom Cruise (1997), and Leo (1998).
* Oh yah, Mel Gibson used to be a movie star.
* Courteney Cox won in 1995, and then Jennifer Aniston won in 2004.  It’s hard to remember a world where Courteney was more famous than Jen, but such was the 1990s.
* Only one celebrity couple has had both members deemed Most Beautiful: Tom Cruise (1997) and Nicole Kidman (2002).  By 2002 though, they were divorced.
* Cindy Crawford won in 1993.  You used to be able to be famous for just being a model.  Now you have to be an actress.  At least, to be one of People’s Most Beautiful People.
* Two African-Americans have been named Most Beautiful: Halle Berry (2003) and Beyonce Knowles (2012).
* To win People Magazine’s Most Beautiful award, it helps to have name that starts with the letter J: Julia, Jodie, Jennifer (or Jolie or even Zeta-Jones).
* In 2010, Julia Roberts won yet again but her picture was bumped to the corner for Sandra Bullock’s adoption (and confirmation of her divorce). You can see the cover here.


We’ve compiled a gallery of all the past winners, starting in 1990 and going all the way to 2011.  Spoiler alert: Beyonce wins in 2012.

Which winner is your favorite?