Ya hay decisión judicial: el Tribunal Superior de Los Ángeles, a través de la jueza que lleva el caso, Shelley Kaufman, ha fallado a favor del actor Olivier Martínez en la batalla legal por la custodia del hijo que comparte con Halle Berry. Según el dictamen, la custodia física principal pasa al actor de 60 años, y según ha relatado la defensa del francés "se prohíbe a la parte contraria pernoctar con el niño". Según los abogados de Martínez, que se felicitan por la decisión, "ahora el pequeño está a salvo y bajo la custodia de nuestro cliente".
El actor, según su defensa, "está muy feliz, porque lo que quería él desde el primer día era proteger a ese niño". Durante el proceso, el padre de Maceo había acusado a la madre de haber intentado estrangular al niño durante una fuerte discusión, a lo que ella respondió que se trataba de un gesto en broma, que en ningún momento intentó hacerle daño real. Por su parte, la actriz habló de manipulación y adoctrinamiento por parte del padre hacia su hijo adolescente.
"Condenada" a asistir a terapia
Halle Berry, que negó todas las acusaciones de maltrato que vertió sobre ella en los tribunales su ex pareja, tendrá que entregar a su hijo Maceo por la noche, no podrá quedarse a dormir con él. Además. entre las medidas que deberá adoptar por mandato de la jueza, está el hecho de que deberá asistir a terapia especializada junto con su hijo". Con esta medida, se pretende que Berry mejore la relación que mantiene con su hijo, y se produzca una reconciliación necesaria con ayuda profesional.
Por su parte, la defensa de Halle Berry ha manifestado estar satisfecha con la revocación de la orden de restricción temporal, asegurando que la actriz "está decidida a seguir centrándose en el bienestar de su familia". En declaraciones a la publicación "Extra", Martínez se muestra conciliador, ahora que la justicia le ha dado la razón: "Espero que madre e hijo puedan tener una mejor relación en el futuro. Bajo ningún concepto quiero que mi hijo Maceo odie a su madre, sino que la ame, que la perdone y que se reconcilien con ayuda externa".
Ashley Graham at Business Insider's The Long Play.
Carl Timpone/BFA
Supermodel turned businesswoman Ashley Graham spoke at Business Insider's The Long Play on Thursday.
Graham has invested in startups and launched her own ventures, including Lucci sparkling wine.
She said that raising money for the alcohol brand was "very, very hard and humbling."
Ten years after making history as the first plus-size model on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Ashley Graham has built a business portfolio spanning skincare and clothing to baby care and alcohol.
The 38-year-old supermodel turned businesswoman spoke at Business Insider's The Long Play event in New York City on Thursday to discuss her breaking barriers in fashion and navigating the difficult world of investment and entrepreneurship.
"I realized quickly that my body is my business," she told Business Insider's Leena Rao. "So how can I scale this?"
That crossover appeal has helped her build a massive social media audience — nearly 30 million followers across platforms — with whom she connects and brings along as she expands her ventures.
Among her latest projects is Lucci, a sparkling Italian Lambrusco wine brand she co-founded in February. Graham said Lucci was started from the ground up and was the first time she had to ask investors to come in.
"Asking people for money is very, very hard, and humbling," she said, adding later that it's been a "great learning curve" as it was the first time she had to answer to investors for the 'why' behind decisions.
From swimsuit model to leading a brand empire
In 2016, Graham appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit issue, becoming the first plus-size model to do so.
The following year, she was named one of TIME's most influential people of the year, had a Barbie doll modeled after her, and released her first book, "A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like."
Ashley Graham at Business Insider's The Long Play in New York City.
Carl Timpone/BFA
Forbes listed her as one of the highest-paid models in 2017, with an estimated income of $5.5 million; she was the first plus-size model to break the top 10. Her namesake JCPenney collection, which launched in October 2025, is made exclusively for customers who wear size 14 and up.
Building beyond the runway
After the SI cover launched her to international fame, Graham said she monetized on the viral moment by releasing swimsuit and lingerie lines. Today, she still regularly releases collaborations with intimate brands like Knix, for which she serves as Global Ambassador and investor.
"When your body is your brand, you're always talking about it," she said.
She's also become an investor: Graham has backed the period-care brand Rif Care, the infant-formula company Bobbie, and the sustainable skincare brand Fig.1 Beauty. In 2022, she joined Fig.1 as both an investor and a partner, saying she wanted involvement beyond a typical celebrity endorsement.
As the years have passed, Graham said she's learned from past mistakes, learned how to say no, and has leaned into being very intentional about building teams around her that she can trust.
Graham also said she was surprised by "just how ruthless [VC] can be," as well as by how much success there can be.
Her most recent exit as an investor was with Wonderbelly, a clean antacid startup, which was acquired by Procter & Gamble in January.
Balancing a business with raising 3 children
Ashley Graham walked the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show runway for the first time two years after giving birth to twins.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Graham has managed to balance that growing career with motherhood. She and her husband Justin Ervin, whom she wed in 2010, welcomed their first child in 2020, followed by twin boys in 2022.
In 2024, she walked the Victoria's Secret runway for the first time. In making the decision to join the fashion show, she said she asked the company about its plans to expand its size range.
"I don't want to just come on as a token," she said. "I don't want to be the one-trick pony."
During the years she was having her children, she said, her investments also took on a family focus, leaning into brands she "felt like they were in [her] zeitgeist at the moment," including babycare and women-led brands. Now, her businesses are growing with her kids.
At Business Insider's event, she teased about her next business venture launching next summer: A home company partly inspired by her children.
Patrick Stewart at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2021.
Rich Fury/Getty Images
Actor Patrick Stewart has died at 86.
His rep announced he died after "a brief and poignant journey" with Alzheimer's and Lewy Body Dementia.
Stewart was known for his stage work and roles in "Star Trek" and "X-Men."
Legendary actor Patrick Stewart, known for his roles in the "Star Trek" franchise and "X-Men" films, has died at age 86.
A post on his official Instagram page announced Steward died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday, "in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia."
"He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all," the post continued. "We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace."
In lieu of flowers, the family requested that memorial contributions be made to Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Fund and Alzheimer's Foundation of America Caregiver Resources.
Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
CBS via Getty Images
Born on July 13, 1940, in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England, Stewart became interested in acting at age 12, when an English teacher introduced him to William Shakespeare's writing.
Although Stewart initially dropped out of school at age 15 to work as a journalist, he quickly abandoned that pursuit and began performing in theater productions. He graduated from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1959.
At 26, Stewart joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he spent much of the 1960s establishing himself as a celebrated stage actor. He made his Broadway debut in 1971 in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and would go on to perform in over a dozen stage adaptations of classics like "The Tempest" and "A Christmas Carol."
"I knew from before drama school that Shakespeare was my great love," Stewart told Playbill in 2010.
Alongside his stage work, the actor also launched his TV career in the '60s — but his big Hollywood break came two decades later, when he landed the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard on the series "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
The sci-fi show lasted for seven seasons between 1987 and 1994. Stewart also reprised his role for an episode of the show "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" as well as several more movies, including "Star Trek Generations" (1994), "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996), "Star Trek: Insurrection" (1998), and "Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002). He also did voice work for "Star Trek" video games.
Stewart would go on to star in another popular franchise, Sony's "X-Men," making his debut as Professor Charles Xavier, a telepathic mutant and founder of the X-Men, in the 2000 movie "X-Men."
Stewart as Charles Xavier in "X-Men."
Twentieth Century Fox
Ian McKellen, who was also a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the '60s and '70s, starred opposite Stewart in the original "X-Men" series as the powerful mutant Magneto.
Despite playing onscreen rivals, the two actors became close friends in real life, with McKellen officiating Stewart's 2013 wedding to singer Sunny Ozell in Reno, Nevada.
"We became good friends as a result of shooting multimillion-dollar adventure movies," Stewart later told NPR of McKellen.
Stewart's most recent roles included voice work for the animated series "American Dad!" and the 2026 movie "The Sheep Detectives." He reprised his role as Jean-Luc Picard from 2020 to 2023 in the series "Star Trek: Picard," and returned as Charles Xavier in 2017's "Logan," 2022's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," and the forthcoming Marvel film "Avengers: Doomsday," out this December. The blockbuster will mark his final onscreen appearance.
Despite starring in multimillion-dollar movie franchises, Stewart returned to the stage throughout his career. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his portrayal of Macbeth in the 2008 Broadway revival and starred opposite McKellen in two-play repertory productions of "Waiting for Godot" and "No Man's Land" in 2013 and 2014.
"I have often heard actors say, 'I can't afford to go back to the theater,'" Stewart told NPR. "I look at a lot of the work that I do in film and television — which I love — but, at the same time, it underwrites and supports the other work that I want to do."
Stewart did not see his onscreen work and his stage work as at odds; on the contrary, he described his two most recognizable roles, Picard and Xavier, as "entirely complementary" to his theater career.
"The techniques are different, and the rhythm and pattern of the work are different, but the approach to how I act doesn't change — the fundamental thing is to pursue the truth," he told Playbill.
Stewart is survived by Ozell and his two children, Daniel Stewart and Sophia Stewart, from his first marriage to Sheila Falconer.
The public seemed a bit split with People's choice.
Still, we've found 33 other celebrities that we think are worthy runners-up.
Noah Wyle has been named the latest People's Sexiest Man Alive.
People doesn't always impress readers with its selections, and this year is no exception. Wyle, 55, has been highly praised as this year's choice by some, while others have decried that he's not even the sexiest man on "The Pitt."
There are several parameters that determine who gets chosen. First, the person has to accept, which not everyone does. That's reportedly why the honor has never been bestowed on Ryan Gosling.
Secondly, the person usually has a project that they're promoting. Wyle, an actor, has had a busy few years. In September, he won his second Emmy for best lead actor in a drama series for "The Pitt." He won the award last year, too.
Still, we've created a list of 33 other talented men who have easily earned the silver medal for Sexiest Man Alive this year — or who could snag the title in the future — from Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams to Pedro Pascal to Sterling K. Brown.
Keep scrolling to see our picks for this year.
We can't talk about sexiness in 2026 without mentioning Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie.
Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams in 2026.
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Do we even need to elaborate? "Heated Rivalry" was the biggest show of the last 12 months, and it comes down to Storrie, 26, and Williams, 25, who perhaps have the best chemistry of anyone on TV, ever. We can't wait for season two of "the gay hockey show."
After years of hiding his face on "The Mandalorian," we're getting to see more of Pedro Pascal than ever.
Pedro Pascal at the Chanel fashion show as a part of Paris RTW Spring/Summer 2027 fashion week on October 05, 2026 in Paris, France. (Photo by Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images)
Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images
Pascal, 51, played easily the sexiest character in "Game of Thrones" history, Oberyn Martell (RIP, we miss you).
After making us all gasp every time he lifts his helmet in "The Mandalorian," it's high time for People to give him the respect he deserves.
Over the last two years, he's starred in "Materialists," "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," "The Last of Us," "Eddington," "The Mandalorian and Grogu," "Behemoth!," and, still to come, "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Avengers: Secret Wars." Please, recognize him while the iron is hot (literally).
We're sure his "Gladiator II" costar Paul Mescal will win one day, too.
Paul Mescal in 2026.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Mescal, 30, has been a sex symbol ever since we saw him on our screens for the first time in 2020's "Normal People." Even his gold chain had its own Instagram account.
His career post-"Normal People" has shown he's anything but a one-hit wonder, though. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in "Aftersun," and played yet more romantic leads in "All of Us Strangers" and "Hamnet."
We'd also be remiss not to mention how great he looked in "Gladiator II."
But since he wasn't named Sexiest Man Alive this year, we can only wait as his career continues to skyrocket.
It is abundantly clear that everyone loves Andrew Garfield.
Andrew Garfield in 2026.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Garfield, 43, has had a wild last few years, between stunning us all with his amazing singing voice in "Tick, Tick... Boom!," somehow making us all nostalgic for his "Spider-Man" movies that are famously mediocre — they live and die by the charm of Garfield and Emma Stone — and his nomination for an Emmy for "Under the Banner of Heaven."
After taking a break, he returned to star in the alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking film "We Live in Time," broke the internet by appearing on "Chicken Shop Date," and took everyone's breath away with his new long hair.
Later this year, he'll play OpenAI founder Sam Altman in the Luca Guadagnino film "Artificial." Not the sexiest role, so maybe 2027.
Keanu Reeves was retroactively named 1994's Sexiest Man Alive, but we think he deserves the honor for real.
Keanu Reeves in 2026.
Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images/Getty Images
Between "Point Break," "John Wick," "The Matrix," "The Replacements," "My Own Private Idaho," "Speed," "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure," "Something's Gotta Give," and even last year's "Good Fortune," Reeves deserves recognition for a lifetime of sexiness.
He's just an overall great person, and for that, he should be rewarded. Also, he's somehow 62 years old and still looks like this.
Daniel Kaluuya meshes amazing style with movie-star good looks.
Daniel Kaluuya in 2026.
Emma McIntyre/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum Foundation
Kaluuya, 37, has been giving teenagers everywhere butterflies since his "Skins" days. But his breakout role in "Get Out" catapulted him to a new level of stardom. Sure, Kaluuya already has an Oscar for "Judas and the Black Messiah," but we can't rest until he's been named Sexiest Man Alive.
Oscar Isaac kissing Jessica Chastain's arm has been living rent-free in our heads for years now.
Oscar Isaac in 2026.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/WireImage/Getty Images
This video went viral, and for good reason. Isaac, our reigning short king, is able to make every single thing he does sexy. It's just who he is.
A quick search on X of "Oscar Isaac short king" yields thousands of tweets. So give this 47-year-old star what he deserves after the disastrous "Rise of Skywalker" and declare him the Sexiest Man Alive.
Plus, he officially entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe with "Moon Knight," which has basically become a prerequisite for the People crown.
Glen Powell is almost too handsome. It's like looking into the sun.
Glen Powell in 2026.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
What a few years it's been for Glen Powell. After stealing our hearts in 2022's "Top Gun: Maverick," the 38-year-old knew he had to capitalize on our love.
And that he did, with "Anyone But You," "Hit Man," "Twisters," "How to Make a Killing," "The Running Man," and "Chad Powers." We'll soon see a true test of his box office power with "The Comeback Kid" next year.
Choosing him seemed like a no-brainer, but alas.
The thirst for Timothée Chalamet showed no signs of slowing down this year.
Timothée Chalamet in 2026.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Victoria's Secret
The love for 30-year-old Chalamet only grows as he continues to take some pretty legendary fashion risks. Remember the shirtless Oscars moment? Or his backless jumpsuit at Cannes?
What else proves that Chalamet inspires a semi-unhinged fervor amongst fans? When footage from the set of "Wonka" leaked, the "Twonka" memes took over the internet, as Vulture reported.
The release of "Dune: Part Two, "A Complete Unknown," and "Marty Supreme" in the last two years proved Chalamet is a movie star, full stop. All three were hugely successful at the box office, and his performances garnered rave reviews — he even secured Oscar noms for two of them.
And who can forget that he was one of the main characters of the Knicks' championship run this year?
We'll be getting more Timmy this year, too; the highly anticipated "Dune: Part Three" hits theaters in December.
The photos of Austin Butler on the set of "Miami Vice '85" are essentially a résumé for People.
Austin Butler in 2026.
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images
Many people were dubious when Butler, at that point best known for "The Carrie Diaries," was cast as Elvis Presley. They were all forced to eat their words when "Elvis" premiered in 2022 and Butler was crowned one of the internet's newest boyfriends.
Just watch him perform in the movie, and tell us we're wrong. He was even nominated for an Oscar.
The 35-year-old continued his hot streak by playing the absolutely unhinged Feyd Rautha in "Dune: Part Two" and a cult leader, Vernon, in "Eddington" before turning right around and playing heartthrobs in "The Bikeriders" and "Caught Stealing."
But the most recent thing that's taken our breath away are the photos taken on the set of "Miami Vice '85," in which Butler will play Detective Sonny Crockett (formerly played by other hotties Don Johnson and Colin Farrell).
Jacob Elordi. That's all.
Jacob Elordi in 2026.
Kevin Winter/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images
Elordi has a sweet spot for playing toxic men — "The Kissing Booth," "Euphoria," "Saltburn," and "Priscilla" all come to mind — which is why it's so endearing to see him act shy in interviews like his 2023 appearance on "The Kelly Clarkson Show."
But we're still not over his turn as Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights." It's been almost a year, and it still has us in a chokehold. The scene when he comes back after becoming rich (and getting an iconic haircut)? Woah.
He's just 29, so we know that Elordi most likely has a long road of sexy roles ahead of him, but Heathcliff will be hard to beat.
Cillian Murphy returned to Tommy Shelby, arguably his sexiest role, this year.
Cillian Murphy in 2026.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Murphy, 50, has long been the thinking person's sexiest man alive, with his Irish accent and his intense on-screen energy.
But after starring in six seasons of the BBC series "Peaky Blinders" and his Oscar-winning performance in the blockbuster "Oppenheimer," Murphy finally seems to be getting what he deserves.
We doubt Murphy would ever actually accept this honor, but we still need to give him his (sexy) flowers.
Sterling K. Brown has been deserving for years.
Sterling K. Brown in 2026.
Kristina Bumphrey/WWD via Getty Images
Anyone who watched "Army Wives" back in the day knew that Brown was going to be big. It took a few years, but "The People vs. OJ Simpson" and "This Is Us" catapulted Brown, 50, onto the A-list. An Emmy win and, later, an Oscar nomination for "American Fiction" just solidified it.
If you're not watching "Paradise," tune in immediately.
Two words: Hot Rabbi. OK, two more words: Adam Brody.
Adam Brody in 2026.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images
As any '90s and 2000s TV viewer can tell you, Adam Brody as Seth Cohen on "The OC" was formative. But since the show ended, it was somewhat quiet for the 46-year-old.
That all changed when "Nobody Wants This" dropped on Netflix, bringing Brody-mania back with a vengeance as he played an achingly romantic rabbi willing to throw his career away for love. He remains amazing in season three, BTW.
The hottest guy in sports this year was Jude Bellingham. Easy.
Jude Bellingham in 2026.
Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Hey, Jude. Remember the World Cup? The nation of England certainly does — and is still fantasizing about the many, many goals the 23-year-old scored for the national team this summer.
It doesn't hurt that he's quite easy on the eyes.
It's a bit shocking that Henry Cavill hasn't already taken the title.
Henry Cavill in 2026.
Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Longines
Remember when Cavill, 43, appeared in a "Mission Impossible" film and appeared to "reload" his fists before punching Tom Cruise? We could never forget.
The last few years have been a bit up and down for Cavill, with a starring role in "The Witcher" for three seasons, which became one of Netflix's most popular shows — though he left the show — and taking on the mantle of Sherlock Holmes in "Enola Holmes" and its sequel.
We thought that his version of Superman was here to stay after a cameo in "Black Adam," but that turned out not to be true. The Sexiest Man Alive honor could be a perfect pick-me-up for Cavill after the back-to-back-to-back flops of "Black Adam," "Argylle," and "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare."
We also can't forget his short, but meaningful, cameo in "Deadpool & Wolverine," where he proved he can make any facial hair work.
Cavill's successor as Superman, David Corenswet, would've also been a worthy choice.
David Corenswet in 2026.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
It's not easy to step into the boots and cape of Superman, but Corenswet, 33, made it look like a breeze. Don't be surprised to see him on the cover whenever "Man of Tomorrow" is released in 2027.
It takes a powerful presence to go up against Brad Pitt, but Damson Idris did.
Damson Idris in 2026.
Monica Schipper/Getty Images
In many ways, "F1" was essentially one former Sexiest Man Alive passing the torch to another future Sexiest Man Alive.
Idris, 35, has a long career ahead of him, including a role in the highly anticipated adaptation of "Children of Blood and Bone" in 2027, so we might need to wait until then.
We're with Elle Fanning: Jack Black is hot!
Jack Black in 2026.
Monica Schipper/Getty Images for CinemaCon
One of our favorite clips to watch when we're in a bad mood is the Vanity Fair Lie Detector Test between sisters Elle and Dakota Fanning, when Elle becomes flustered at the mere mention of Black — and we can't blame her! A sense of humor is hot, and the 57-year-old has one in spades. And he can sing beautifully. What more do you need?
Plus, between "Minecraft," "Jumanji," "Kung Fu Panda," and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," he's done quite well for himself.
Dev Patel's hair alone deserves awards of its own.
Dev Patel in 2025.
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Besides his episode of "Modern Love," which People ranked as the best episode of the season, Patel, 36, has been killing it lately.
One of his most recent films, "The Green Knight," a medieval epic that Patel was top-billed in, was released in 2021. While the film might've left you confused, we definitely walked out knowing one thing: Patel is a star.
Patel also made his Wes Anderson debut on Netflix — hopefully, he'll be in more of Anderson's projects in the future.
In 2024, he starred in and directed the action thriller "Monkey Man." We love a multi-hyphenate.
And we already mentioned his hair.
People was clearly not feeling the "Kenergy" from Ryan Gosling, even if the rest of us did.
Ryan Gosling in 2026.
Kate Green/Getty Images for Sony Pictures Entertainment
It's shocking that he's never won — not after "The Notebook," not after "Crazy Stupid Love," not after "La La Land," not after the "Hey Girl" meme went viral, not after beating up 2022's Sexiest Man Alive (Chris Evans) in "The Gray Man," and not after making us get emotionally invested in a rock in "Project Hail Mary."
However, if playing the most lovable himbo of all time, Ken, in "Barbie" — complete with a song-and-dance sequence — wasn't enough for People, we don't know what is.
Maybe it's joining not only the "Star Wars" universe, but also the MCU in the next two years.
According to ET, the soon-to-be 46-year-old has actually turned it down before, but that humility only adds to the sexy vibe.
Simu Liu made us giggle as one of the Kens in "Barbie," while also showing off his killer dance moves.
Simu Liu in 2026.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
As any "Kim's Convenience" fan could've told you, Liu has always had his admirers. But now that the 37-year-old is in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he's reached a whole new level.
LaKeith Stanfield is hard to look away from when he's on screen.
LaKeith Stanfield in 2026.
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Whether it's in "Knives Out," "Someone Great," "Atlanta," "Judas and the Black Messiah," "The Harder They Fall," "Sorry to Bother You," "I Love Boosters," or even "Haunted Mansion," 35-year-old Stanfield is a magnetic presence on screen.
Jeremy Allen White has people everywhere saying, "Yes, Chef."
Jeremy Allen White in 2026.
ZZHollywood To You/Star Max/Getty Images
White, star of the Hulu sensation "The Bear," has long been a sex symbol — ask any fan of "Shameless."
But the 35-year-old is hitting his stride now, with five seasons as Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto and a recent turn as the Boss himself in "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" under his belt.
Bad Bunny has been worthy of the title for years.
Bad Bunny in 2026.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Benito's 2022 album "Un Verano Sin Ti" was nominated for multiple Latin Grammys and had the biggest streaming week for a Latin album ever. His 2023 album "Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana," was also a huge hit, as was his 2025 album "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" — honestly, People is behind the times on this one.
Even the NFL is on board! He headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show earlier this year.
The 32-year-old's style, good looks, musical talent, and personality all contribute to his sexiness — it's time to get on the Bad Bunny train, if you're not already.
Steven Yeun has had an incredible couple of years.
Steven Yeun in 2026.
Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Christian Dior
Yeun has been popular since he starred on "The Walking Dead," but he's achieved more mainstream success recently. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 2021 for his performance in "Minari." Soon after, he began voicing Mark Grayson in the hit Prime Video series "Invincible."
2023 was even bigger, with the Netflix series "Beef." The 42-year-old won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and a Critics' Choice Award, among others, in 2024 for his performance as Danny. This year, he appeared in "The Rip" and "Animals" alongside Ben Affleck, and voiced Zuko in the new "Avatar: The Last Airbender" movie.
We're all ready for Mahershala Ali to become our new favorite vampire. Hopefully? Maybe one day?
Mahershala Ali in 2026.
Greg Doherty/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios
Ali's giant smile is infectious, and his voice is supremely smooth and soothing. What else can you ask from the Sexiest Man Alive? And, it's becoming clear that Ali, 52, is only going to get better with time.
Chris Pine remains the best Hollywood Chris.
Chris Pine in 2026.
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Audiences had low expectations for "Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves" in 2023. But we all should have known better — any movie that lives and dies by the charisma of Pine, 46, will be fine.
You can have Hemsworth, Evans, and Pratt. Pine will always be No. 1 in our hearts.
We'll always be bitter we only got one season of Manny Jacinto's "Star Wars" series "The Acolyte."
Manny Jacinto in 2026.
Robby Klein/Getty Images for IMDb
We've loved Jacinto, 39, since his days on "The Good Place" as the lovable himbo Jason Mendoza, but his role as The Stranger in "The Acolyte" reminded us how much we need him on screen.
Please see "Freakier Friday" to see how powerful Jacinto is.
Josh Hartnett made an astounding comeback this year.
Josh Hartnett in 2026.
Mike Coppola/THR/Getty Images
Hartnett, 48, was one of the biggest crushes for anyone who was interested in men in the late '90s and 2000s, but he stepped back from Hollywood for years.
That is, until 2023, when he made a grand return in "Oppenheimer" and then kept it up with this year's thriller "Trap," which was one of the biggest hits of the summer.
Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre were quite the duo this year.
Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre in 2026.
Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images
Kyle Chandler, 61, has been a sex symbol ever since he walked onto the set of "Grey's Anatomy" in his bomb squad uniform 20 years ago. He remained one, of course, through "Friday Night Lights," but the HBO series "Lanterns" introduced him to a whole new generation of fans.
His costar, Pierre, is a newer addition to our lives, but is no less sexy. The 32-year-old is set to be a big part of the new DC Universe, appearing in "Man of Tomorrow," and we're quite thankful.
Editor's note: This story was originally published in November 2022 and was most recently updated in October 2026.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with O'Shea Jackson, known professionally as Ice Cube, a 57-year-old rapper, actor, and cofounder of the professional three-on-three basketball league Big3, who is based in Los Angeles. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I started out wanting to be the best rapper in the world. Then John Singleton put me in "Boyz n the Hood" in 1991, and I loved creating at that level. I didn't just want to be an actor; I wanted to be a producer and a writer. I wanted to control my own films and be involved in record company meetings. That thrust me into the business world.
I understand, from the neighborhood I come from in South Central Los Angeles, that if you don't learn the game, you're going to get taken advantage of. I knew that if I really wanted to be a solo artist and didn't want to be a horror story at the end of my career, I needed to learn the business. That's when I started transitioning to working behind the scenes.
In 2016, my cofounder, Jeff Kwatinetz, and I had the idea to start a professional three-on-three basketball league. We spent a year throwing around ideas for it before announcing Big3 in January 2017.
I love three-on-three, and I've always wondered why it hasn't been professionalized. We wanted to elevate it and attract players who still want to play at a high level against their peers in the summer. I also still rap and act, and I haven't looked back.
Here's a day in my life in Los Angeles.
5 a.m. — my goldendoodle wakes me up
My goldendoodle, Luffy, and I wake up at the same time, or one of us wakes the other up. He's a year old, so he's still got puppy energy. My wife, Kimberly, and my four kids watch an anime where the lead character's name is Luffy, which is how he got the name.
I've been an early riser ever since I was young. I like to wake up before everybody — sometimes two hours before my family — to hyper-focus on anything that needs my undivided attention. The East Coast is three hours ahead of us anyway, so I don't want to be late talking to people there.
7 .a.m. — coffee and walking Luffy
I usually make myself coffee at home. I'm a fan of Peet's dark roast. Then I take Luffy for a walk.
I'm not big on working out early in the morning, so I try to exercise in the evenings. To me, the morning is for coffee, enjoying being alive, and being happy that I get another chance to see another day.
I'm not a big breakfast guy, so I usually don't eat until late afternoon.
8 a.m. — thinking in the shower
Most of my ideas come when I'm in the shower. They'll just flood me with everything I need to get done, almost in order: you gotta have that, you gotta have that, stop procrastinating on this, get to that. The shower is where I get a lot of my clarity.
9 .a.m. — prioritizing my schedule from my home studio and office
I don't go into the office — I stopped doing that in 1999. I'm not built to be in the office. I'm a remote kind of guy.
I've got a spot in my house that's a studio and office. A lot of work gets done in there, including new music. It's cool to have it all in one place.
Because I'm splitting my time between Big3, music, films, and other things, I have to really plan the day and prioritize. There are things that have to get done today and things that can wait until tomorrow, so it's about deciphering what needs my immediate attention and focus.
10 a.m. — meetings focused on wherever I am
When I'm traveling, my day can vary a lot. I have a lot of meetings on my iPhone and Zoom, so I plan them around whatever I'm there to do.
If I'm on tour, everything has to come after what I have to do that night and the focus I need to give to the live performance. I've tried to do a movie in the daytime and go to the studio at night, and something suffers.
You don't want to spread the work too thin, either, just because you can. You want everything to still be as top-notch and good as you can make it. That takes discipline.
12 p.m. — ordering lunch and trying not to succumb to burgers
When it's time to eat, the first thing that pops into my head is always burgers. I try to push burgers aside and think of something different, like a Greek salad wrap. Otherwise, I'd go for burgers and fries all the time.
1 p.m. — checking out social media and executing on projects
I look at a lot of social media to figure out my next move. Social media-wise, I still like X, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. I'm not a big-time Facebook guy. I also don't use any AI apps.
I have several projects, and they're each in one of three stages: planning, execution, and follow-through. There's always work to be done. I've been in business for 40 years — I've seen it all. Nothing gets me too high, and nothing gets me too low.
I'm always looking for the most strategic way out of a sticky, complicated, or bad day. I don't really let it stress me, because I always know there's a solution.
6:30 p.m. — shut down business and hang with my family
It's crazy for somebody in the music industry, where mostly everything happens late at night, but it's for my sanity.
When it comes to my off time, people think I'd be out enjoying being Ice Cube, running around and getting the love that's out there, but I like kicking it with my family, hanging out, and not doing too much. A typical dinner is going to a steakhouse with my family, or to a burger joint if I'm on the road.
To unwind, I like to watch sports. Hopefully, there's a game on that I want to see: basketball, football, a Big3 game, or baseball. I'm a Dodgers guy.
11 p.m. — try to get to bed
I don't like to talk about stuff late at night, because then I'll be up all night, and I have to be back up in a few hours. I don't need much sleep, about five or six hours, but I make sure I get it.
Some days, I'm off to do something super cool, like a concert or a movie in France. It's important to balance the craziness with the regular, sensible stuff.
My life can be very exciting and complicated at times, and very simple and normal at other times. It's the best of both worlds.
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Wyle drew on his father’s Russian-Jewish background in helping create Robby, his ER physician character on 'The Pitt,' who wears a Star of David necklace
Treinta años de carrera profesional que ha ido forjando sin estridencias, pero con paso seguro y firme, han llevado al actor estadounidense Noah Wyle a convertirse en pieza clave de las series más exitosas. Concretamente, de las series médicas. Si Noah triunfó con su papel del doctor Carter en "Urgencias", ese profesional errático y muy humano, con una sensibilidad extraordinaria, casi tan grande como sus inseguridades, ahora lo hace en "The Pitt", en HBO, que le ha devuelto al hospital y ha redondeado su merecida fama. Así pues, con una profesión de actor más que consolidada, le llega por sorpresa (según él ha confesado) un título inesperado y no sabe si merecido.
La revista People ha decidido que Wyle es el más indicado para defender el título de "el hombre vivo más sexy del mundo 2026". ¿Su reacción? Considerar que se trataba de una broma pesada y mostrarse absolutamente incrédulo. Menos mal que cerca estaba su esposa, la actriz Sara Wells, para animarle a aceptar semejante reconocimiento.
Un premio más allá del físico
Wells ha confesado en People que tuvo que tirar del buen criterio de su mujer para ponerse en el nuevo rol que le proponían desde la revista. Sara Wells tenía claro que lo merecía: "El título de hombre más sexy del planeta no es solo por su aspecto y su tremendo atractivo, sino por el hombre que es en la intimidad, como marido y como padre". La pareja tiene tres hijos, y hasta la fecha habían conseguido mantenerse bastante alejados del foco mediático con una vida tranquila. A partir de este nombramiento... quizá no sea tan fácil esquivar las miradas.
Tras darse a conocer en los años 90 con la exitosa serie "Urgencias", que planteaba el escenario de un hospital desde un punto de vista completamente novedoso en aquellos tiempos, el actor de 55 años ha forjado su trayectoria en cine, teatro y televisión a partes iguales. Sin embargo, la estela del estudiante de medicina John Carter le ha perseguido, para bien, hasta nuestros días. En el terreno personal, además de haber construido una familia estable y discreta, Wyle es un actor comprometido con varias causas sociales. Entre ellas, las que afectan al sector sanitario al que tan unido se siente. de hecho, él es hijo de enfermera.
Denzel Washington in 1996, George Clooney in 1997, and Noah Wyle in 2026.
Steve Granitz/WireImage; Sven Arnstein/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Jeff Lipsky/People
People magazine has awarded 38 men the coveted title of Sexiest Man Alive.
Mel Gibson was the first to receive the title in 1985. Noah Wyle currently holds the crown.
Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Johnny Depp, and Richard Gere have each been selected twice.
Noah Wyle has been named the Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine.
People published its inaugural Sexiest Man Alive issue in 1985. Since then, 38 different men have received the title, with four of them being named Sexiest Man Alive twice.
The vast majority of the men on this list are white actors; only five men of color have been selected for People's famous cover. They're joined by a few musicians, one star athlete, and one Kennedy.
Continue reading for a list of every man who's received the title, listed in reverse chronological order.
2026: Noah Wyle
Noah Wyle attends a cancer benefit in 2026; Wyle's People cover in 2026.
Chris Frawley/Getty Images; Jeff Lipsky/People
Noah Wyle rose to fame as Dr. John Carter in NBC's medical drama "ER," alongside former Sexiest Man Alive cover star George Clooney.
Wyle was nominated for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series at the Emmys several times in the 1990s, though he never won.
Two decades later, Wyle returned to the world of medical dramas as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch in HBO Max's "The Pitt" — and finally won his first Emmy for outstanding lead actor in 2025. He also won for outstanding drama series as an executive producer.
"You get into this because you are a natural observer. Then that privacy is immediately taken from you if you get any notoriety," Wyle told People of his acting career. "It could be a hard thing to reconcile. It took me a long time. 'The Pitt'gives me the opportunity to do it differently than I did the first time — with a little bit more presence and a little bit more composure."
2025: Jonathan Bailey
Jonathan Bailey attends Time100 Next in 2025; Bailey's People cover in 2025.
Bailey has since received an Emmy nomination for his role in the Showtime series "Fellow Travelers," made his big-screen debut in the 2024 musical hit "Wicked," and landed a leading role in the 2025 summer blockbuster "Jurassic World: Rebirth."
Bailey received the Sexiest Man Alive title ahead of the premiere of "Wicked: For Good," in which he reprises his role as Prince Fiyero. He is the first out gay man to grace People's most famous cover.
"It's a huge honor. Obviously, I'm incredibly flattered. And it's completely absurd," Bailey told People.
"When I was really young, I was very confident about who I was, and maybe I lost that as I grew up," he continued. "We're all sort of trying to get back to the origin, aren't we? But I was swimming in the sea about an hour ago with a good gang, and I felt all right in my skin."
2024: John Krasinski
John Krasinski attends the 2024 Golden Globes; Krasinski's People cover in 2024.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images; People
John Krasinski rose to prominence as Jim Halpert on NBC's hit sitcom "The Office," which wrapped its nine-season run in 2013.
Three years later, Krasinski transitioned from supporting roles in rom-coms like "It's Complicated" and "Something Borrowed" to the leading man in Amazon's action series "Jack Ryan."
"I had to pitch the studio like 54 times before they said yes," Krasinski told People. "I'm pretty sure someone said, 'Sorry, is Jim from 'The Office' going to direct this?' And I went, 'Oh, it's John, but we'll get there.'"
2023: Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Dempsey attends the 2023 Venice International Film Festival; Dempsey's People cover in 2023.
Maria Moratti/Getty Images; People
Patrick Dempsey starred as Derek Shepherd, aka "McDreamy," for 11 seasons on "Grey's Anatomy." The role drew a passionate following, including many supporters of his character's will-they-won't-they relationship with Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo.
Although Dempsey had been featured in People's Sexiest Man Alive issue several times before, he didn't take the crown until 2023, eight years after he left the hit show.
"I'm glad it's happening at this point in my life," he told People of the honor. "It's nice to have the recognition, and certainly my ego takes a little bump, but it gives me the platform to use it for something positive."
The actor founded The Dempsey Center to make comprehensive cancer treatment more accessible. He has also starred in beloved movies like "Sweet Home Alabama," "Enchanted," and its 2022 sequel "Disenchanted."
He has also starred in celebrated films like "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," "Snowpiercer," and "Knives Out."
"This whole thing is tough to be interviewed about. It feels like a weird form of humble bragging," Evans told People of the honor.
"My mom will be so happy," he added. "She's proud of everything I do but this is something she can really brag about."
2021: Paul Rudd
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images; People
Paul Rudd's breakthrough role came in 1995, starring opposite Alicia Silverstone in the popular coming-of-age drama "Clueless."
He rose through Hollywood primarily as a comedic actor, starring in films like "Wet Hot American Summer," "Knocked Up," and "Anchorman." He also portrayed prominent recurring characters in beloved TV shows "Friends" and "Parks and Recreation."
More recently, Rudd is widely known for his role as Ant-Man in the MCU, as well as the critically acclaimed Netflix original series "Living With Yourself."
"I'm hoping now that I'll finally be invited to some of those sexy dinners with Clooney and Pitt and B Jordan," he told the magazine. "And I figure I'll be on a lot more yachts. I'm excited to expand my yachting life."
He continued: "And I'll probably try to get better at brooding in really soft light. I like to ponder. I think this is going to help me become more inward and mysterious. And I'm looking forward to that."
2020: Michael B. Jordan
Michael B. Jordan speaks at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020; Jordan's People cover in 2020.
Rich Fury/Getty Images / People
Michael B. Jordan is the fifth man of color to receive People's honor.
He first rose to fame playing quarterback Vince Howard on NBC's "Friday Night Lights," but his Hollywood breakthrough came in 2013, when he starred in Ryan Coogler's directorial debut, "Fruitvale Station."
That same year, at the age of 26, he was featured in People's first annual Ones to Watch portfolio.
"When my grandmother was alive, it was something that she collected, and then my mom naturally reads it a lot and my aunts as well," he told People. "This is one that they're definitely going to have a special place for."
2019: John Legend
Paras Griffin/Getty Images / People
John Legend is only the fourth man of color to be chosen and the third-ever musician — all three of whom have starred as coaches on NBC's "The Voice."
At the time of his crowning, the "All Of Me" singer had released five critically acclaimed R&B albums, two of which had been certified platinum. His Sexiest Man Alive title came shortly after the release of "A Legendary Christmas Deluxe," the deluxe edition of his sixth studio album and first Christmas album.
Legend's wife, Chrissy Teigen, had an extremely on-brand reaction to her husband's announcement: "all downhill from here," she tweeted.
"She's proud of me," Legend told his fellow coaches on "The Voice." "You know, she makes fun of me almost all the time, but she hasn't even been snarky about this. She's like legit proud of me. I finally impressed my wife!"
2018: Idris Elba
Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage / People
Idris Elba became the third man of color to be given the honor. He rose to fame for his role as Baltimore drug kingpin Stringer Bell on HBO's "The Wire" in the early 2000s.
The actor also appeared in multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe films as the keeper of the Asgardian bridge, Heimdall. There has even been a fan-fueled campaign to crown him as the next James Bond.
"I was like, 'Come on, no way. Really?'" Elba told People about being named Sexiest Man Alive. "Looked in the mirror, I checked myself out. I was like, 'Yeah, you are kind of sexy today.' But to be honest, it was just a nice feeling. It was a nice surprise — an ego boost for sure."
2017: Blake Shelton
Jason Kempin/Getty Images / People
Blake Shelton is the second musician ever to be given People's highest honor.
One person quipped: "I don't think he's even the sexiest man named Blake Shelton."
Still, Shelton's love life hasn't seemed to suffer since he received the Sexiest Man moniker. He and singer Gwen Stefani wed in 2021.
2016: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images / People
Former professional wrestler and current actor Dwayne Johnson became the second man of color to be named Sexiest Man Alive after his celebrated voiceover role in Disney's "Moana."
When he heard of his Sexiest Man title, he told People, "I said, 'That's awesome.' And then what went through my mind was just how cool and exciting it is. And then I thought, 'Wow, we've pretty much reached the pinnacle.' I'm not quite too sure where we go from here. I've done it all, this is it."
2015: David Beckham
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images / People
Despite being the first and only athlete to be honored with the annual cover, David Beckham told People, "I never feel that I'm an attractive, sexy person."
In 2019, the couple's son, Brooklyn Beckham, was also featured in People's Sexiest Man Alive issue.
2014: Chris Hemsworth
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images / People
Chris Hemsworth has stolen hearts as Thor throughout Marvel's "The Avengers" franchise, which made him a natural pick for 2014's Sexiest Man Alive after "Thor: The Dark World" hit theaters the year before.
2013: Adam Levine
Kevin Winter/Getty Images / People
Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine became the first musician and second non-actor — out of only five total — to grace People's Sexiest Man Alive cover.
Levine made headlines in 2022 after Instagram model Sumner Stroh came forward and said that she'd had an affair with the singer. Stroh said that Levine, in fact, had asked her if he could name his next child with wife Behati Prinsloo "Sumner."
Levine denied having an affair with Stroh but admitted that he had "crossed the line."
George Clooney became the third man, after Brad Pitt and Richard Gere, to win People's honor twice.
2005: Matthew McConaughey
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images / People
Matthew McConaughey scored the cover for People's 20th anniversary of Sexiest Man Alive after he became known for starring in popular romantic comedies, like "The Wedding Planner" and "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."
2004: Jude Law
Charley Gallay/Getty Images / People
Jude Law scored People's most famous cover in the early 2000s.
"He's the most beautiful man who ever walked the earth — an absolutely perfect oil painting," Naomi Watts told People in 2004.
2003: Johnny Depp
Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images / People
In 2003, Depp had charmed the world as Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."
"Chicks gravitate to him," Affleck's friend Kevin Smith, a director, told People at the time. "The word on the street is that he's the ideal man, chatty, gorgeous, generous, and intelligent."
2001: Pierce Brosnan
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images / People
Pierce Brosnan was known as James Bond when he landed on People's coveted cover.
2000: Brad Pitt
Jason Kempin/Getty Images / People
In 2000, Brad Pitt was already a movie star — but coming off his wedding to Jennifer Aniston and his iconic role in "Fight Club," People decided to bestow Pitt with his second Sexiest Man Alive title.
1999: Richard Gere
Rich Polk/Getty Images / People
When Richard Gere was named the Sexiest Man Alive in 1999, his ex-girlfriend Diane Von Furstenberg spoke glowingly of the decision.
"He walked like a biker, and that attracted me," she told People. "I knew I was going to get my hands on him."
1998: Harrison Ford
Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images / People
Harrison Ford's 1998 cover recognized his role as a blockbuster heartthrob thanks to "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones."
1997: George Clooney
Kevin Winter/Getty Images / People
Clooney secured his first Sexiest Man title while portraying the brooding Dr. Doug Ross on "ER."
1996: Denzel Washington
Jenny Anderson/Getty Images / People
Denzel Washington became the first man of color — and the first of only five total — to grace the Sexiest Man Alive cover.
In 1993, People forwent the Sexiest Man Alive cover in favor of naming a Sexiest Couple Alive. The magazine chose the newly married couple Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere, who split one year later.
1992: Nick Nolte
Kevin Winter/Getty Images / People
In 1992, People explained Nick Nolte's appeal as his being a "big-lug Adonis with the heart of gold."
1991: Patrick Swayze
Kevin Winter/Getty Images / People
In 1991, Patrick Swayze had become one of Hollywood's most popular leading men, thanks to "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost." The actor died in 2009.
Sean Connery was 59 when he scored the coveted cover, making him the oldest Sexiest Man Alive to date.
1988: John F. Kennedy Jr.
Anne Sherwood/Getty Images / People
John F. Kennedy Jr. — known in 1988 as political royalty, but something of a rebel — is one of only two winners to have died in the years since his cover. Kennedy was killed in a plane crash in 1999 with his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and his sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette.
1987: Harry Hamlin
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images / People
Harry Hamlin made the cover during his five-year stint on the NBC legal drama "L.A. Law" as attorney Michael Kuzak.
Mark Harmon received the second annual honor — largely thanks to his starring roles on two hit shows, "St. Elsewhere" and "Moonlighting."
1985: Mel Gibson
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images / People
Mel Gibson was named People's first-ever Sexiest Man Alive after his star-making turn in the original "Mad Max" trilogy.
In the years since, Gibson has become a controversial figure thanks to rampant antisemitism, racist rants, and a recording of him making a death threat against his ex-girlfriend.
Ahead of his 2025 inauguration, President Donald Trump named Gibson as one of his ambassadors to Hollywood, tasking them with bringing business back to the film industry.
Son of Jewish Russian immigrants to US won hearts with character's authentic accent, stereotypical personality traits; George Takei: 'A writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, and a loyal friend'
La guerra judicial con su ex mujer, Angelina Jolie, ha sido larga y muy ardua. Durante más de 8 años, Brad Pitt ha tenido que hacer frente a innumerables convocatorias en los juzgados, a 300 millones de libras y al hecho de que sus hijos, uno por uno, hayan ido eliminando su apellido de manera escalonada y unilateral. En una entrevista al diario The Sun, el famoso actor ha confesado cómo consiguió salir de lo que él denomina sus "días más oscuros" cuando la actriz lo acusó de abuso físico y verbal.
"Cuando estamos pasando apuros y afrontando muchos retos, lo importante es llegar a la próxima pequeña victoria, ir conquistando poquito a poco. Todos vamos a sufrir derrotas, dolor, pero si nos enfocamos en la siguiente pequeña victoria avanzamos", ha declarado Pitt.
Problemas de salud mental
Durante el proceso de separación, Brad comparte que tuvo serios problemas con su salud mental, su autoestima y la manera en la que debía seguir adelante. Fue precisamente en esas ocasiones cuando el apoyo de determinadas personas se hizo imprescindible para él. Entre las amistades más importantes para el actor se encuentra George Clooney. Ambos son inseparables desde hace muchos años, y sobre él Pitt ha dicho: "Nos mantenemos en contacto siempre, nos veamos o no. Podría decirse que George es quien mejor me entiende. Le llamo en numerosas ocasiones cuando las cosas se complican".
Con respecto a sus problemas con el alcohol, ha confesado en varias ocasiones recientemente que con mucho esfuerzo consiguió mantenerse sobrio durante 7 años, aunque al final volvió a recaer. "Hubo algunas veces en las que me confié demasiado". Afortunadamente, Pitt se encuentra en uno de los mejores momentos de su vida personal en compañía de su novia, de origen español, Inés de Ramón. A modo de conclusión, asegura: "La gente que te quiere y te apoya, y a la que tú quieres también, lo es todo en esta vida".
Taylor Swift sang "I Knew It, I Knew You" at the sixth annual Academy Museum Gala.
Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum Foundation
Taylor Swift's self-titled debut album celebrates its 20th anniversary this week.
It would've been the ideal time to revisit her country roots with "Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)."
Instead, Swift squandered her own momentum by releasing the "Showgirl" deluxe last month.
The stage was set for Taylor Swift to sing her way back into critics' hearts — and back onto the country charts — with nostalgic twang and another picture to burn.
Instead, the curtains raised to reveal a rare strategic misstep.
This week is the 20th anniversary of Swift's debut album, "Taylor Swift." For much of this year, fans had been expecting Swift to mark the occasion by releasing "Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)" and reclaiming her place in the country-star pantheon — especially after "I Knew It, I Knew You," her cowgirl-inspired single for the "Toy Story 5" soundtrack, became a crossover hit in June, topping the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs simultaneously and finishing at No. 2 on the Songs of the Summer chart for 2026.
"I Knew It, I Knew You" suggested an imminent return to Swift's country beginnings, one that would be welcomed with open arms by longtime listeners and Nashville gatekeepers alike. The charm offensive was well underway: Swift gave interviews and exclusive snippets to country radio stations and publicly gushed about honoring her "country roots." Even the song's lyrics seemed to play like a sly Swiftian in-joke, the kind of marketing wink that she's famous for weaving into her work: "I remembered I loved you / Came back when it mattered."
But the "Taylor Swift" 20th anniversary celebration has been interrupted by a flashier, less prudent version of its titular author.
In late September, Swift surprised fans by unveiling the deluxe edition of her 12th album. "The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore" features four new songs Swift said she wrote in an excitable creative burst last year, shortly after the original album's release.
Commercially, this unexpected move has paid off. One of the new "Showgirl" tracks, "Patient Zero," has been No. 1 on the Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks, making "Showgirl" one of just a handful of albums throughout history to yield three chart-topping hits. The album also returned to No. 1, adding hundreds of thousands of additional sales to its already eye-popping total.
Strategically, however, revisiting "Showgirl" in lieu of "Taylor Swift" is far from savvy — especially for a self-described mastermind who is seldom caught in the middle of a PR campaign with a domino out of place. Swift had seemingly arranged her country-music homecoming with care, precision, and pitch-perfect anticipation. Now, that momentum is gone.
'The Encore' disrupted what could have been a perfect rollout to revisit 'Taylor Swift'
After two decades of Swift's solo-written anthems and high-pressure reinventions, the 2025 arrival of "Showgirl" was uniquely disenchanting. Swift had recently wrapped the highest-grossing tour in history, reunited with two of the music industry's most revered producers, and promised the album would contain "the best ideas we've ever had." This was positioned to be her pop opus.
This year's deluxe album was received with much less mercy, earning a 39 out of 100 on Metacritic, a 40-point drop from the original's score. When Swift brought "Showgirl" back to the fore, its shortcomings shifted focus away from the goodwill she'd spent all summer cultivating with "I Knew It, I Knew You."
Even worse, the new batch of "Showgirl" tracks included "Cleveland!" — an egregious attempted kiss-off that indulges all of Swift's worst impulses. Social media exploded with derisive glee, with some going so far as to say Swift had ruined her own songwriting legacy. Even fans who defended the song called it "rage bait" and "not that deep."
Even if the other deluxe tracks are catchy, polished, and well-structured, they were unleashed at a far too precarious time to receive the general public's benefit of the doubt.
Indeed, many assumed that Swift, ever the tactician, would move on from the "Showgirl" era with haste — and what better way to course-correct than by reminding us how she became a household name?
A reminder of Swift's country prowess is long overdue
Back in 2006, critics were charmed by the precocious lyrics and banjo-laden hooks that populate Swift's debut, from "Tim McGraw" and "Our Song" to "Should've Said No" and "Picture to Burn." At 16, Swift had already penned indelible zingers like "You said the way my blue eyes shine put those Georgia stars to shame that night / I said, 'That's a lie.'"
Twenty years later, the highlights on "Taylor Swift" stand as peak examples of Nashville-honed storytelling — the kind that helped pave the way for a new wave of country stars like Ella Langley to dominate the charts.
Of course, Swift may still release "Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)." It could arrive tomorrow, next week, or years from now. While the "Taylor's Version" project was made redundant when Swift bought back her masters last year, she had already rerecorded her debut by the time the purchase went through. "I really love how it sounds now," she told fans, saying it would be released "when the time is right."
But it's hard to imagine a better window than the one Swift just squandered. If "Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)" does end up closely following "The Encore," it will no longer live in its own moment, but in the shadow of a critical flop. The triumphant return-to-country narrative has been muddled. Plus, with "Patient Zero" still performing well on the charts, it doesn't make economic sense to release another album that would siphon away attention and streams.
So why did Swift decide this time wasn't right for her debut to reemerge? We can only speculate, though it's possible that Swift's talent for brand management has distracted us from her primary drive, the very thing that made "Taylor Swift" a sensation in the first place: She's a creative, an artist, a songwriter with something to say. Perhaps this was not a calculated choice, but a personal one. Perhaps she simply wrote new songs and decided to share them. Perhaps she anticipated "The Encore" would face more pushback than "Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)" and decided to do it anyway.
Swift's lyrics offer clues to this effect. "Babylon," the final deluxe track on "The Encore," warns against "using nostalgia as a weapon to hurt yourself" and "missing all the best parts" of the present day. The story is not told from Swift's first-person perspective, but, when read as a meta-narrative, it seems to forestall critiques just like this one — asking listeners not to romanticize the past precisely as she declines the most obvious opportunity to monetize her own.
"Babylon" doubles as a preemptive epilogue to the embattled "Showgirl" era. Swift has recently been accused of devolving, of failing to live up to the heights of her past work — as if her now-beloved albums like "Red" and "Reputation" were never dismissed or ridiculed upon release.
Will "Showgirl" receive the same revaluation? Only time will tell, but it sounds like Swift is feeling optimistic.
"You hate this song," she sings, "but you wake up on the train with your headphones gone / Now that melody is all you want."
Sporting an electric guitar and the perfect smoky eye in a recent promo video, she strums in the stance of a rock star, putting one leg up on a step and whipping her hair to the music. The clip is black-and-white, with the backdrop completely blank, suggesting Cyrus — who now goes mononymously by Miley — is magnetic all on her own.
The 33-second video, simply titled "MILEY," was designed to tease her big comeback shows at the Hollywood Bowl in October. It worked: Cyrus' two-night run sold out in minutes after 1.5 million hopefuls joined the presale ticket queue. Clearly, people were itching to see Cyrus in the flesh.
That demand, however, lately hasn't translated to people purchasing her music. Cyrus' new album, "Bass Persuades," sold only 61,000 units in its first week. For comparison, Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore," the deluxe version of a year-old album, sold 173,000 units the very next week. Earlier this year, Ariana Grande's new album "Petal" sold 295,000 units in the same timeframe. Aside from Cyrus' titular lead single, which peaked at No. 35, only one more song from "Bass Persuades" cracked the Billboard Hot 100: "Let's Get Married" sneaked in at No. 99.
While Cyrus did sell enough to secure a No. 1 chart debut in a non-competitive release week, "Bass Persuades" also earned a less-flattering distinction when it plummeted to No. 157 on the Billboard 200 the following week: the biggest single-week drop for an album ever recorded.
Yet, somehow, when Cyrus appeared onstage at the Hollywood Bowl, numbers and technicalities melted away. Clad in understated, monochromatic looks with no backup dancers or flashy set pieces to speak of, she proved that her name alone is still a powerful draw.
In the last decade or so, Cyrus has become a celebrity whose creative output is tangential to her status, like a vestigial organ she's evolved to no longer need. Sure, Cyrus still makes and releases music, but she rarely engages with the typical cycle of promotion and performance. She hasn't staged an arena tour since 2014, and, with the sole exception of her Grammy-winning song "Flowers," her music over the past decade has struggled to capture the zeitgeist. (Perhaps if her 2020 rock opus "Plastic Hearts" hadn't been released during the pandemic, it could've broken that curse, but I digress.)
But as her sold-out Hollywood Bowl stint proves, Cyrus has a legion of supporters at her fingertips, whether her recent music is resonating or not. Even when Cyrus drew criticism for not singing every word of some of her songs — especially nostalgic hits like "Party in the USA," "The Climb," "We Can't Stop," and "Wrecking Ball" — the backlash underlined just how little she needs to do to keep her A-list position secure.
"I've learned now through the queue that my calculations are correct and people will come to me," she previously told Apple Music's Zane Lowe of the mini-residency. "I don't need to drive to you."
Miley Cyrus is a pop diva without the pop
Miley Cyrus attends the world premiere of "Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special."
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Even as Cyrus' music since her last No. 1 album, 2013's "Bangerz," has failed to achieve widespread relevance and popularity, as a name, she remains as relevant and popular as ever.
Part of this is thanks to her longevity. Cyrus has been famous since she was the tween star of "Hannah Montana," a role that led to her being named the youngest-ever Disney Legend in 2024. Earlier this year, Cyrus celebrated the show's 20th anniversary with a Disney+ special, in which Chappell Roan told her, "You literally walked so I could run."
Cyrus and her blonde alter ego have also been cited as major influences by artists like Sabrina Carpenter and this year's breakout star Adéla, whose viral hits like "Ain't in LA" and "Nicole Kidman" have drawn comparisons to "Bangerz."
"Watching 'Hannah Montana' was my introduction to pop stardom," Adéla told Dazed.
As members of pop's new guard look to Cyrus' early work for inspiration, Cyrus remains positioned as a tastemaker and a reference point. The success of her newer albums is a secondary concern.
In recent years, Cyrus has deliberately been out of touch — both figuratively, from trends, and literally, from her audience. Despite fans clamoring for more live performances, Cyrus has declined to satisfy the demand, telling British Vogue that she doesn't want to live her life for "anyone else's pleasure or fulfillment." Cyrus has also been open about her "unhealthy" relationship to touring; she experienced job burnout at a young age and never quite recovered. As a result, she seems wholly unconcerned with chart positions or sales figures. She is more interested in building a legacy that will endure than in instant gratification.
"My life is so beautiful. It never feels like I'm swimming upstream anymore," Cyrus told Variety in March. "I like the way people see me. And when I first left 'Hannah' and put out 'Bangerz,' I did not feel that way."
Cyrus is acting like a legacy artist, not a modern star
Cher wrapped her farewell tour at the Hollywood Bowl in 2005.
Barry King/WireImage
Videos from the Hollywood Bowl show the crowd singing every word to Cyrus' decade-old favorites. For newer songs like "Orbit" and "Something Beautiful," Cyrus did most of the singing herself.
The gap between her past and present impact has never been more glaring. Cyrus may not have liked her public image as a teenager and young adult, but fans were gratified — and future phenoms were taking notes.
At 33, Cyrus has become a premature legacy act. The way she's navigating her career today resembles that of long-established divas like Cher, who remains a cultural touchstone but hasn't scored a hit in decades, or Madonna, whose most recent album is a callback to her earlier career heights. "Confessions II," the sequel to 2005's dance-pop blockbuster "Confessions on a Dance Floor," has thus far failed to spawn a top-40 hit. Still, Madonna's devoted fan base is ready to swarm a concert venue at a moment's notice.
Leaning on legacy and nostalgia is not necessarily a sign of failure. In fact, for Cyrus, it may be the goal.
With "Bass Persuades," her 10th studio album, Cyrus has dropped her surname in marketing materials. As her dad pointed out, this is a time-honored tradition in the music industry.
"I told @miley yesterday I felt good about her going with her first name," Billy Ray Cyrus wrote on X. "I mentioned Dolly and Cher. Thinkin about it more and more … Elvis .. Prince …and so on. It's a natural progression for an iconic superstar legend."
Like her forebears, Miley is in a league of her own — neither in the lower nor upper echelons of the music industry, but a secret third space, detached from standard markers of success.
In the end, a mononym is less a branding choice than a vote of confidence: the audience already knows exactly who you are.
Actors James Van Der Beek, Hayden Panettiere, Robert Duvall, Chuck Norris, Patrick Stewart, and Eva Marie Saint died in 2026.
So did musicians Dolly Parton and Duncan Sheik.
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, activist Gloria Steinem, and NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka also died this year.
Below, we look back at the celebrities we lost in 2026, listed in alphabetical order.
Scott Adams, 68
Scott Adams.
Michael Macor/Getty Images
Scott Adams worked at a telephone company in the 1980s. The experience inspired his beloved comic strip, "Dilbert."
By the end of the decade, the character and his satirical office humor began appearing in comic strips.
At its peak, "Dilbert" was syndicated in over 2,000 newspapers. A cartoon series debuted in 1999, running for two seasons.
Adams gained notoriety when he began writing blog posts praising Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential run. In 2023, "Dilbert" was pulled from newspapers across the US following racist comments made by Adams.
The lead singer of 3 Doors Down, Brad Arnold launched the group into fame with the 2000 rock anthem "Kryptonite," which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year.
The success led to other hits like "Loser," "Here Without You," and "When I'm Gone." Arnold's vocal range and lyrics focused on love and love lost, which fueled the group to stardom.
Arnold died on February 7 from a type of kidney cancer.
Afrika Bambaataa, 68
Afrika Bambaataa.
Paul Natkin/WireImage/Getty
A hip-hop pioneer during the 1970s and 1980s, Lance Taylor, known professionally as Afrika Bambaataa, first gained attention as a DJ in the Bronx.
He signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1981 and released landmark songs like "Jazzy Sensation" and "Planet Rock." He would go on to influence the likes of Queen Latifah and A Tribe Called Quest throughout his career.
Bambaataa founded the hip-hop awareness group, Universal Zulu Nation, in the 1970s to steer kids away from gang life. Bambaataa stepped down as the head of the organization in 2016 after accusations of sexual abuse.
One of the icons responsible for bringing hip-hop to the mainstream, Rob Bass crafted the iconic track "It Takes Two" alongside DJ E-Z Rock.
The track, released in 1988, reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs chart and later went certified platinum. In 1989, it was voted the greatest single of all time by Spin magazine.
Nicholas Brendon was a television actor, best known for playing Xander Harris in all seven seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
He also starred in "Criminal Minds" and "Kitchen Confidential."
Brendon died in his sleep on March 20 due to natural causes, according to his family's statement.
In 2023, Brendon suffered a heart attack and was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. He also had cauda equina syndrome, which led to several spinal surgeries.
"While it's no secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications and treatment to manage his diagnosis, and he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing," the statement to The Hollywood Reporter read. "Our family asks for privacy during this time as we grieve his loss and celebrate the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination, and heart."
Peabo Bryson, 75
Peabo Bryson.
ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images
Two-time Grammy winner Peabo Bryson is best known for his classic love ballads.
Bryson began releasing music in the late 1970s, but one of his first major hits was opposite Roberta Flack on the 1983 duet, "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love." He continued hit-making a year later with the smash "If Ever You're in My Arms Again," and in 1991, he topped the R&B charts with "Can You Stop the Rain."
Bryson found global stardom with his renditions of two Disney classics. In 1991, he released the pop version of "Beauty and the Beast," alongside Céline Dion, and a year later, he duetted with Regina Belle on "A Whole New World" from the 1992 release of "Aladdin."
Bryson died on June 2. No cause was given.
James Burrows, 85
James Burrows.
Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images
An 11-time Emmy winner and co-creator of "Cheers," director James Burrows helped shape modern TV comedy through his work on iconic sitcoms including "Will & Grace," "Friends," and "Frasier."
Known for his comedic timing and elaborate blocking, Burrows got his start directing episodes of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Throughout his career, he directed episodes of "Frasier" (winning an Emmy for the pilot episode), "Will & Grace," "Friends," and "The Big Bang Theory." He directed over 50 pilot episodes.
Burrows died on June 19. No cause was given.
Kyle Busch, 41
Kyle Busch.
Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Busch was considered one of the greatest racers of all time.
Busch was hospitalized on May 21, before two upcoming races. Hours later, he was pronounced dead.
Robert Carradine was best known for his roles as Lizzie McGuire's dad and as the iconic geek Lewis Skolnick in the 1980s franchise "Revenge of the Nerds."
As a member of Hollywood's famed Carradine family, Robert was destined for an onscreen career.
He received one of his first screen credits starring in his brother David Carradine's popular 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" and went on to land roles in everything from Samuel Fuller's World War II classic "The Big Red One" to the "Lizzie McGuire" series.
Carradine's family shared statements with Deadline that emphasized being open about his struggles with mental illness.
"We are bereft at the loss of this beautiful soul and want to acknowledge Bobby's valiant struggle against his nearly two-decade battle with Bipolar Disorder," Carradine's family said. "We hope his journey can shine a light and encourage addressing the stigma that attaches to mental illness."
If you or someone you know is experiencing depression or has had thoughts of harming themself or taking their own life, get help. In the US, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Help is also available through the Crisis Text Line — just text "HOME" to 741741. The International Association for Suicide Prevention offers resources for those outside the US.
Bud Cort, 77
Bud Cort.
CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images
Most famous for his role as Harold in the 1971 cult-classic "Harold and Maude," Bud Cort became the epitome of 1970s counterculture thanks to his baby-faced looks, wit, and sophisticated persona.
The dark comedy starred Cort as Harold, a man in his 20s who is obsessed with suicide until he meets 79-year-old eccentric Maude (Ruth Gordon).
Before that, Cort scored bit parts in Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H*" (1970) and "Brewster McCloud" (1970).
After "Harold and Maude," Cort worked steadily for the rest of his life, occasionally showing up in hit movies like Michael Mann's "Heat" (1995) and Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (2004).
Curry is best known for playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult-classic musical "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," after originating the role in the original stage production.
Over six decades, Curry carved out a niche playing outlandish villains like Rooster Hannigan in the 1982 film "Annie" and Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries "It." Other notable roles include Wadsworth the Butler in "Clue" (1985) and Mr. Hector in "Home Alone 2: Escape from New York."
Curry suffered a major stroke in 2012, which required brain surgery. He said in 2025 that he was "still recovering."
Curry died at his Los Angeles home on August 26. No cause was given.
Eric Dane, 53
Eric Dane
Pief Weyman/NBC via Getty Images
Long before becoming one of TV's most recognizable heartthrobs, Eric Dane was building his career with guest roles on series like "Saved by the Bell" and "Married… with Children."
He later gained wider attention with appearances on "Charmed" before landing his breakout role as Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan on "Grey's Anatomy." He most recently starred in HBO's "Euphoria," where he played Cal Jacobs, the father of Jacob Elordi's character, Nate Jacobs.
Dane has two children with his wife, Rebecca Gayheart. In April 2025, the actor said that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
Dane died on February 19 at age 53, his publicist confirmed in a statement to Business Insider.
"He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world," his publicist said.
Clive Davis, 94
Clive Davis.
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
A legend in the music world, Davis was responsible for elevating pop music to unthinkable heights by discovering talents like Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Whitney Houston, and Alicia Keys, to name a few.
Over his 50-year career, along with being an executive behind millions of album sales, he also won five Grammys, including two for Album of the Year ("The Bodyguard" soundtrack and "Supernatural" by Santana).
Davis died on June 22. No cause was given.
Mike Ditka, 86
Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka gets carried off the field after they defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX on January 26, 1986.
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Mike Ditka was the first tight end ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As a coach for the Chicago Bears, he led the team to its only Super Bowl win to date in 1986.
Ditka's success turned him into a celebrity who showed up in commercials, TV shows, and movies in cameo roles.
One of his most famous was starring opposite Will Ferrell in the 2005 comedy "Kicking and Screaming."
His persona became the long-running "Saturday Night Live" sketch called "Bill Swerski's Superfans," in which cast members dressed up as Ditka and spoke about their love for "Da Bears."
Ditka died on October 9; no cause was given.
Robert Duvall, 95
Robert Duvall.
Jack Mitchell/Getty Images
Robert Duvall starred in a plethora of timeless classics, including "The Godfather," "The Godfather Part II," "Apocalypse Now," "THX 1138," "The Natural," "Days of Thunder," and "The Apostle."
Duvall will be best remembered for starring in three of director Francis Ford Coppola's iconic films: playing Tom Hagen in the first two "Godfather" movies and Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now," in which he delivers one of the most memorable lines in movie history: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."
Duvall was lauded for his acting talent, from not saying a word while playing Boo Radley in his first big screen role in the 1962 classic "To Kill a Mockingbird" to his portrayal of a country singer dealing with alcoholism in 1983's "Tender Mercies," which earned him an Oscar.
He died on his ranch in Virginia on February 15. No cause was given.
Brenda Fricker, 81
Brenda Fricker in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York."
20th Century Fox
This Irish actress was a fixture on the stage and screen for six decades. But she's most known for showing up in the "Home Alone" sequel.
As The Pigeon Lady in 1992's "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," Fricker has become a fixture for families during the holiday season for decades (and in 2020 became the subject of a popular meme).
But Fricker's acting talents go beyond playing a spooky wanderer of Central Park.
In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award, as she was given the best supporting actress Oscar that year for her performance in "My Left Foot."
Fricker died on July 16; no cause was given.
Mark Fuhrman, 74
Mark Fuhrman.
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images
Fuhrman cemented his place in popular culture as one of the lead LAPD detectives on the 1995 murder case of O.J. Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Fuhrman found the famed bloody glove on the Simpson estate, and during the trial, he gained infamy when Simpson's defense team used his past racist language to discredit him as a witness.
Fuhrman retired from the LAPD after the Simpson trial and moved to Idaho, where he wrote true crime books.
For over six decades, one name has been synonymous with women's high fashion: Valentino.
The Italian designer launched his fashion business in Rome in 1960 and never looked back. Soon, every star wanted to be seen in his creations. They've been worn by icons like Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins, Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana, Sharon Stone, and more.
Though Garavani retired from designing in 2008, his label is still a red carpet staple, as is his famous shade of bright red dubbed "Valentino Red."
No one defined a bully for a generation more than Gibb's hulking fraternity character Ogre in the "Revenge of the Nerds" movies of the 1980s.
Since the original raunchy comedy was released in 1984, Gibb's intimidating size and loud yells of "NERDS!" have become as memorable as the pocket protectors worn by the movie's geeks.
Gibb went on to star opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in his classic 1988 action movie "Bloodsport." He also landed guest star roles through his career on shows like "Quantum Leap," "Magnum P.I.," "MacGyver," "Night Court," and "Cheers."
Gilbert was the guitarist and backing vocalist for the punk band New Found Glory.
The band's hit albums include 2002's "Sticks And Stones" and 2004's "Catalyst." Both showed up in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Gilbert died on September 20; no cause was given, but Gilbert told People in April he was battling stage 4 adrenal cancer.
Glen Hansard, 56
Glen Hansard.
Frank Hoensch/Redferns/Getty
Irish singer-songwriter Hansard was the frontman of the rock band The Frames and one-half of the band The Swell Season. But he was perhaps best known for writing and starring in the hit 2007 indie film "Once," in which he and his Swell Season bandmate Markéta Irglová play two struggling musicians who fall in love. The duo won an Oscar for best original song for the film's standout track, "Falling Slowly."
Hansard also embarked on a solo career; his 2015 album, "Didn't He Ramble," was nominated for a Grammy for best folk album.
For those who grew up in the '90s, Dennis Haskins was your favorite high school principal, Mr. Belding.
Starring in the hit TV series "Saved By The Bell," Haskins' Belding character traveled the halls trying to be a step ahead of the hijinks inflicted by Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and his friends. But unlike many school principals in pop culture who were mean and seemed to hate kids, Haskins played his authority role with a playful, good-natured style.
He was on the show's full four-season run from 1989 to 1993, and also starred in the spin-off, "Saved By The Bell: The New Class," from 1993 to 2000.
Haskins' other credits include "The Bold and the Beautiful," "Mad Men," "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and "New Girl."
Haskins died on September 27; no cause was given.
Anthony Head, 72
Anthony Head.
James Quinton/WireImage/Getty
Rising up through the UK stage scene in the 1980s, Head found fame when he was cast as Rupert Giles, who became a father figure to Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy Summers in all seven seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Most recently, he played the bitter former owner of AFC Richmond on "Ted Lasso."
Head's death was announced by his family on June 5. They stated the cause was "complications due to pneumonia."
David Hockney, 88
David Hockney at home in Los Angeles in 1987.
Anthony Barboza/Getty Images
British painter David Hockney was renowned for his striking portraits and figurative pop art. Many of his best-known paintings, including 1966's "The Splash" and 1972's "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)," were inspired by the bright colors and sun-dappled pools of Los Angeles.
Hockney moved to Los Angeles in the late '60s, and his work became synonymous with the warmth and leisure of Southern California. He was also one of the few popular artists at the time to depict openly gay scenes, and Hockney was outspoken about anti-gay censorship.
Throughout his career, Hockney split time between California, England, and France. He died at his home in London on June 12 at age 88, his publicist confirmed to The New York Times. No cause of death was given.
Jesse Jackson, 84
Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks at Operation PUSH in Chicago, Illinois in December 1989.
Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
The Rev. Jesse Jackson was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, a minister, and an activist icon who twice ran for president.
Born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson experienced Jim Crow segregation on public buses and at school firsthand. It would shape the rest of his life.
His fight for civil rights began in the 1960s, when he helped organize protests and demonstrations across the US and worked closely alongside civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
His decadeslong career as a leading civil rights activist included support for modern national movements, such as the push for voting rights, the fight against racism, and a higher minimum wage.
Jackson ran for president twice, both times as a democrat. He placed third for the party's nomination in 1984 and second in 1988. This marked the most successful presidential runs of any Black candidate prior to Barack Obama.
Jackson announced in 2017 that he'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In November 2025, Jackson was treated in a Chicago hospital after complications from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurodegenerative condition.
Jackson died on February 17.
Walter Koenig, 90
Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov in season 2 of "Star Trek."
CBS/Getty Images
As the boyish Russian crewman Pavel Chekov on "Star Trek," Walter Koenig left an indelible mark in the minds of sci-fi fans for generations as one of the key crew members of Captain Kirk's ship, the USS Enterprise.
First appearing in the show's second season, Koenig played Chekov in 36 of the 50 episodes that aired in 1967-68 and 1968-69. He also starred in the first seven releases of the movie franchise, from 1979 through 1991.
Yayoi Kusama presented an "Infinity Room" installation in Paris.
Alain Nogues/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images
Kusama was a famed Japanese pop artist who often used polka-dot motifs in her work, initially rising to prominence in Japan in the 1950s.
In 1959, Kusama presented her first solo exhibition in New York: a collection of abstract paintings that an ARTnews review praised as "strong, advanced in concept and realized."
Kusama later branched into sculptures, performances, and immersive installations. She continued to expand her influence and relevance into the social media era, when her mirrored "Infinity Room" installations became Instagram-friendly attractions that inspired many copycats.
As one of Hollywood's most renowned costume designers, Bob Mackie's eye set the style for decades.
Known as the Sultan of Sequins, the Rajah of Rhinestones, or the Guru of Glitter, a signature of Mackie's work was its use of sparkle, which made everyone from Cher to Elton John to Dolly Parton to Sabrina Carpenter shine on stage.
He also was the costume designer on "The Carol Burnett Show" for all eleven seasons through the 1970s. He won nine Emmys, a Tony Award, and was nominated for three Academy Awards for his work.
Mackie died on September 14; no cause was given.
RJ Mitte, 34
RJ Mitte.
Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic/Getty
Mitte was best known for playing the son of Bryan Cranston's Walter White in the hit series "Breaking Bad."
Mitte, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was 3 years old, became a disability rights activist after finding fame with "Breaking Bad."
His other credits include the 2021 movie "Triumph," in which he played a high school student with cerebral palsy who tries out for the wrestling team. He also starred in the 2024 thriller "Love Me Dead" opposite Dove Cameron.
In the 1990s, you couldn't escape the piercing eyes of Patrick Muldoon.
He played Austin Reed on "Days of Our Lives" for most of the decade, and when he wasn't on the soap, he was over on "Melrose Place" playing the villain role of Richard Hart.
If being on two iconic shows wasn't enough, he also showed up on "Saved by the Bell" and had a role in the cult classic movie "Starship Troopers."
With a career spanning more than five decades and including countless memorable performances in movies and television, Sam Neill was one of the most versatile actors of his generation,
The New Zealand actor starred opposite Nicole Kidman in the 1989 thriller "Dead Calm," played the loyal first officer opposite Sean Connery in 1990's "The Hunt for Red October," played the lead in John Carpenter's 1994 horror "In the Mouth of Madness," and most recently starred in the hit series "Peaky Blinders."
But Neill is best known for playing the brave and all-dinosaur-knowing Dr. Alan Grant in the "Jurassic Park" franchise.
Neill died on July 13; no cause was given. Neill was battling a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer, but was cancer-free at the time of his death, according to a post on his Instagram account announcing his passing.
Tom Noonan, 74
Tom Noonan.
Mike Albans/New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images
Standing at a towering 6' 5", Tom Noonan was born to play the bad guy. And he did just that, starring as the villain in movies like "Manhunter," "RoboCop 2," and "Last Action Hero."
But this actor had more to show off. He showcased his comedy chops as Rodney Dangerfield's degenerate gambling friend in the 1983 comedy "Easy Money," and set up the heist for Robert De Niro in Michael Mann's 1995 classic "Heat."
His knack for storytelling also translated behind the camera. Noonan wrote, directed, and starred in the drama "What Happened Was," which won the grand prize at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival.
Noonan died on February 14; no cause was given.
Chuck Norris, 86
Chuck Norris.
Frederic Meylan/Getty
Few action stars have Chuck Norris' credentials.
Before he ever stepped in front of a camera, he was a martial arts champion and a black belt in Karate, judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo, and Tang Soo Do.
His talents would become known the world over in 1972, when he faced off against Bruce Lee in "The Way of the Dragon."
Through the 1980s, Norris became one of the biggest action stars in the world thanks to movies like "A Force of One," "The Octagon," and the "Delta Force" and "Missing in Action" franchises.
In the 1990s, he took over the small screen, playing the lead in the "Walker, Texas Ranger" TV show, which aired in over 100 countries during its run from 1993 to 2001.
Norris was hospitalized on March 19 in Hawaii and died the following day, according to his family. No cause was given.
Catherine O'Hara, 71
Catherine O'Hara at the 2024 Oscars.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
O'Hara, who was best known for her roles in "Beetlejuice" and "Home Alone," got her start in the Canadian comedy scene, appearing in the now-legendary cast of "SCTV."
It would mark the beginning of a fruitful partnership with fellow actor Eugene Levy, who became her frequent costar and collaborator in memorable appearances in Christopher Guest films like "A Mighty Wind" and "Best in Show" and television series like "Schitt's Creek," which earned her an Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress in 2020.
O'Hara's representative confirmed her death to Business Insider on January 30. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed in a death certificate viewed by People that O'Hara died of a pulmonary embolism, with rectal cancer listed as an underlying cause.
Hayden Panettiere, 36
Hayden Panettiere.
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Panettiere began acting as a child, landing one of her earliest major roles as Sarah Roberts on the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live," on which she appeared from 1994 to 1997.
As her career progressed, she became best known for portraying Claire Bennet on "Heroes" and Juliette Barnes on "Nashville."
Over the years, Panettiere had spoken openly about her struggles with alcoholism and postpartum depression. She detailed those experiences in her memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," which was released in May.
Panettiere died on August 16. A final autopsy report by the Greenville County Coroner's Office ruled her death an accident caused by the toxic effects of fentanyl and other drugs.
Dolly Parton, 80
Dolly Parton poses for a portrait session in 1978.
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Parton released her debut album, "Hello, I'm Dolly," in 1967 and went on to pen country hits like "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene," both of which were released as singles in 1974.
In addition to her music, Parton was beloved for her flamboyant style and her philanthropy. She founded the Dollywood Foundation in 1988, a charitable organization focused on education and community initiatives in her home state of Tennessee. She continued to fund scholarship programs and donate to hospitals, public health initiatives, and disaster relief programs throughout her life.
Parton is known as the best-selling female country music artist of all time. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Parton's 49th and final solo studio album, "Rockstar," was released in 2023. The tracklist included both original material and covers of classic rock songs, featuring an array of guests like Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sting, Joan Jett, and Parton's goddaughter, Miley Cyrus.
News broke on August 25 that Parton died following unspecified health issues. She was 80.
Vincent Pastore, 80
Vincent Pastore.
Lawrence Lucier/FilmMagic/Getty
This character actor found fame appearing in a string of mob movies in the 1990s, like "Goodfellas," "Carlito's Way," and "Men of Respect." But Pastore truly became a star when he was cast in the hit HBO series "The Sopranos."
As Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, Pastore was part of the main cast for the first two seasons of the show, playing Tony Soprano's mob enforcer-turned-FBI informant. Bonpensiero's shocking death was one of the most famous in the show's history and proved that no one was safe from getting whacked.
Pastore died on August 1. No cause was given.
Valerie Perrine, 82
Valerie Perrine.
Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images
Perrine found herself cast alongside the biggest stars of the 1970s.
She played the love interest opposite Jeff Bridges in 1973's "The Last American Hero" and Robert Redford in 1979's "The Electric Horseman." She earned an Oscar nomination for starring alongside Dustin Hoffman in 1974's "Lenny."
For most, she'll be remembered best for sharing the screen with Gene Hackman as the secretary to his evil Lex Luthor in 1978's "Superman." She also starred in the sequel. As Ms. Teschmacher, her loyalty to Luthor is questioned when she rescues Superman (Christopher Reeve) after he's chained with Kryptonite.
A prolific character actor, Riehle has over 400 screen credits, appearing in everything from "Casino" to "Bridesmaids" over his career.
He's best known for playing the worker in "Office Space" who, after being laid off, wins a large payout from a lawsuit after a suicide attempt.
Other credits include "The Fugitive," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," and "Transformers: Age of Extinction."
Riehle died on October 15; no cause was given.
Sonny Rollins, 95
Sonny Rollins.
Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images
One of the most influential jazz musicians in history, Rollins recorded more than 60 albums over his seven-decade career.
His live album, "A Night at the Village Vanguard," is considered one of the greatest jazz albums ever made.
Rollins died on May 25; no cause was given.
Eva Marie Saint, 102
Eva Marie Saint.
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An Oscar and Emmy winner, Eva Marie Saint appeared in classic movies in Hollywood history.
She made her film debut starring opposite Marlon Brando in Elia Kazan's 1954 classic "On the Waterfront," which won her the Oscar for best supporting actress. In 1959, she heated up the screen with Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock's defining thriller "North by Northwest."
In 1990, she won an Emmy for her work in the miniseries "People Like Us."
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Saint James was a fixture in television from the late 1960s through the 1980s, starring in "The Name of the Game," "McMillan & Wife," and "Kate & Allie."
She was Emmy-nominated eight times and won an Emmy for lead actress in 1985 for "Kate & Allie."
Saint James' movie credits include "Outlaw Blues" (1977), "Love at First Bite" (1979), and "How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980).
Sedaka is responsible for some of the biggest pop songs of the 1960s and 1970s.
The Brooklyn native wrote over 500 songs, including classic hits like "Laughter in the Rain," "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," "Bad Blood" and the Captain & Tennille song, "Love Will Keep Us Together."
Sedaka died on February 27; no cause was given.
Gene Shalit, 100
Gene Shalit.
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Before there was Rotten Tomatoes or even Siskel & Ebert, movie lovers got their recommendations from Gene Shalit.
The iconic movie critic could be seen sporting his signature look of glasses, bushy hair, and big mustache as a staple on the "Today" show from 1973 to 2010. If he wasn't interviewing the biggest movie stars, he was reviewing movies with incredible puns ("'Ishtar' is Ish-terrible.")
His larger-than-life presence left a mark on pop culture: he was parodied as a Muppet and on countless episodes of "SCTV" and "Saturday Night Live."
Shalit died on June 12; no cause was given.
Duncan Sheik, 56
Duncan Sheik.
J. Vespa/WireImage/Getty
Sheik found success in the late 1990s with his hit song "Barely Breathing." He later pivoted from alt-rock to a career on Broadway, composing the music for the Tony-winning musical "Spring Awakening." His other stage credits include "American Psycho" (2013) and "The Secret Life of Bees" (2019).
A beloved actor in Hollywood for over six decades, Tom Skerritt appeared in some legendary movies and television.
Robert Altman gave Skerritt his big break when he cast him as the womanizing and sarcastic surgeon Captain "Duke" Forrest in the classic 1970 movie "M*A*S*H." Skerritt followed it up with a string of hits, including Altman's "Thieves Like Us" (1974), "The Turning Point" (1977), and a hilarious cameo in Cheech & Chong's classic debut movie "Up in Smoke" (1978).
Then, Skerritt went sci-fi when Ridley Scott cast him as Captain Arthur Dallas in 1979's "Alien." Skerritt also scored a memorable role as Tom Cruise's flight instructor "Viper" in 1986's "Top Gun."
On the small screen, Skerritt earned an Emmy for playing Sheriff Jimmy Brock on the hit series "Picket Fences," which ran from 1992 to 1996.
An icon in the women's liberation movement of the 1970s, Steinem dedicated most of her life to fighting sexism.
Starting her career as a journalist, she became a columnist for the newly founded New York Magazine in 1968. She cofounded Ms. magazine in 1971, which focused on women's issues. She also helped launch the Women's Action Alliance, which focused on tackling sexism.
Steinem was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.
In a career spanning over 60 years on stage and screen, Stewart is responsible for some of the most memorable characters in the biggest franchises.
After getting his start with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the late 1960s, he found acclaim on the stage, performing Shakespearean classics like "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Hamlet," both of which earned him Laurence Olivier Awards.
Hollywood soon came calling, leading him to star in epics like "Excalibur" (1981) and David Lynch's "Dune" (1984). But he would get his big break in 1987 when he was cast as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Fans quickly gravitated to this new captain of the USS Enterprise, and the show ran until 1994. He also reprised the Picard role in four movies in the franchise: "Star Trek Generations" (1994), "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996), "Star Trek: Insurrection" (1998), and "Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002), as well as in the TV series "Star Trek: Picard" (2020-2023).
In 2000, he joined the comic-book world when he was cast as mutant Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men in the Marvel Comics. Stewart portrayed Xavier in several more "X-Men" films, and will reprise the role in the forthcoming MCU film "Avengers: Doomsday," out this December.
Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr became a legend in the arthouse world for his unflinching work featuring several-minute-long takes.
With movies like "Family Nest" (1979) and "The Turin Horse" (2011), Tarr showcased his slow cinema style while focusing on marginalized characters living bleak lives. Tarr pushed the envelope with his style when he made "Sátántangó" in 1994, which had a run time of 450 minutes.
His work influenced several arthouse filmmakers, including Jim Jarmusch and Gus Van Sant's "Death Trilogy" ("Gerry," "Elephant," and "Last Days").
You might not recognize the name, but if you're a movie fan, you know the face.
Tolkan's tough-guy persona made a mark on movie history in films like "Top Gun" and the "Back to the Future" franchise.
In "Top Gun," he played Commander Tom "Stinger" Jardian, who famously gives Tom Cruise's character a tongue lashing, saying, "Your ego is writing checks your body can't cash."
In "Back to the Future" and its sequels, he played Principal Strickland, who had zero tolerance for "slackers."
Other credits include "Serpico," "WarGames," "Masters of the Universe," and "Dick Tracy."
Tolkan died on March 26; no cause was given.
Ted Turner, 87
Ted Turner.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Ted Turner changed the television landscape thanks to his maverick maneuvers to harness the 24-hour news cycle.
After taking over his father's advertising company in the 1960s at the age of 24, Turner embarked on a path to change the media landscape by buying up radio and TV stations around the South. He even bought sports teams including the Atlanta Braves MLB team and the Atlanta Hawks NBA team.
All of that programming would eventually become part of TBS, a "super station" that showed old movies, reruns, and Braves and Hawks games.
Turner then set his sights on the news. He founded CNN, the first 24-hour news channel, in June of 1980.
Over the decades, Turner gained celebrity status, particularly after marrying Jane Fonda, a union that lasted from 1991 to 2001. In 1991, he was named Time's "Man of the Year." He sold his networks to Time Warner for $7.5 billion in 1996.
Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler became one of the biggest artists of the 1980s thanks to her legendary power ballads.
Tyler was behind hits like "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Holding Out for a Hero," which was also featured on the 1984 "Footloose" soundtrack. Both songs were chart-toppers that have since become two of the best-selling singles of all time.
Over her career, Tyler was nominated for three Grammys and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
Tyler died on July 8 in Portugal, where she was being treated for an illness, according to a statement posted on her social media.
James Van Der Beek, 48
James Van Der Beek.
Keith Torrie/New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images
Van Der Beek was beloved all over the world for his role as the titular teen Dawson Leery on the WB series "Dawson's Creek."
The series, which ran from 1998 to 2002, turned Van Der Beek into a star and a teen heartthrob. While "Dawson's Creek" was still airing, he'd cement his stardom playing the lead role of high school quarterback "Mox" Moxon in the 1999 coming-of-age drama "Varsity Blues."
Van Der Beek found steady work the rest of his career in movies like "Texas Rangers" and "The Rules of Attraction, and memorably played a fictional version of himself on the TV series "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23," and performed on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2019.
Van Der Beek previously told Business Insider that the news came as a shock, given the subtleness of his symptoms and his efforts to stay as healthy as possible.
"I was doing everything," he said. "I was doing sauna, cold plunge, weightlifting, Pilates. I would dance and also do football training."
Weir was one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead.
The singer-songwriter wrote and/or sang on songs like "Sugar Magnolia," "Playing in the Band," "Truckin,'" "I Need a Miracle," and "The Other One."
After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir went on to form several other bands, including Kingfish, Bobby and the Midnites, RatDog, The Other Ones, and, alongside John Mayer, Dead & Company.
In the summer of 2025, Weir was diagnosed with cancer.
Willis was the lead singer of the iconic disco band the Village People.
Along with being the lead vocalist and dressing as the police officer (and sometimes naval officer), Willis was also the cowriter on many of the band's hits, including "In the Navy," "Macho Man," and the song that will keep the Village People in pop culture lore until the end of time, "Y.M.C.A."
Willis left the band to embark on a solo career in 1979, then re-formed the Village People in 2017.
Willis died on June 30 following a "short but aggressive illness," according to the Village People Facebook page.
Frederick Wiseman, 96
Frederick Wiseman.
Loic Venance/AFP/Getty
For over five decades, Wiseman's brand of non-fiction storytelling put a spotlight on everyday people.
From high schoolers to hospital workers to Air Force cadets training for nuclear war, Wiseman's close to 50-film catalogue is an unvarnished reflection of America over the last half century.
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