Sexiness can mean so many things to so many people, but for our money, a dad who excels at the job and has fun doing it is pretty high up on the list. These current and former Sexiest Men Alive also wear the mantle of “dad,” whether that’s to brand-new babies or teens old enough to give their pops grief for being given the Sexiest Man Alive Honor.
Scroll on for the cutest photos of the guys who make fatherhood look foxy — and read the sweetest things they’ve said about their kids.
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Patrick Dempsey
The Sexiest Man Alive of 2023, Patrick Dempsey, is a dad to three (daughter Talula and sons Tristan and Darby) with his wife Jillian Dempsey — and when he won the title, the kids were all at an age where they would tease their dad about it.
“They’re just going to make fun of me and pick on me and figure out every reason why I shouldn’t be,” he told PEOPLE at the time. “Which is good, they keep me young.”
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Paul Rudd
2021’s Sexiest Man Alive shares children Jack and Darby with his wife of nearly twenty years, Julie Yaeger.
The father of two told PEOPLE that despite his vibrant career, he’s most happy when he’s with his family.
“When I think about myself, I think of myself as a husband and a father, like I’m that,” he says. “I just hang out with my family when I’m not working. That’s what I kind of like the most.”
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John Legend
The 2019 Sexiest Man Alive is so heart-stoppingly sweet with his kids Luna and Miles that it’s hard to pick one favorite moment; we even had a tough time narrowing it down to 10! He and wife Chrissy Teigen are parents to Luna, Miles, Esti and Wren.
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Idris Elba
“Being witness to the birth of my children is the biggest and best thing ever,” Elba, who has a teen daughter, Isan, and young son, Winston (both from previous relationships), told PEOPLE in his Sexiest Man Alive 2018 interview. “I’m super doting, big hugs, kisses, lots of love-yous. I’m sure my daughter’s like, ‘All right Dad, chill out.’ My son is still at that age where he loves a cuddle.”
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Blake Shelton
The 2017 honoree officially became stepdad to Gwen Stefani’s kids Kingston, Zuma and Apollo in 2021.
“I take it very serious. But I also have a blast with it, I’m not gonna lie,” Shelton said on KFROG’s The Ride with Kimo & Heather in 2020. “I don’t take it so serious that I’m not enjoying this time because I really am, especially now that we’re five years into this thing. I can’t imagine my life without these kids now.”
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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Our 2016 Sexiest Man Alive also happens to be our unofficial Dad of the Year, every year. The Moana actor told PEOPLE that it’s his relationships with his wife Lauren Hashian, their daughters Jasmine and Tiana and his daughter Simone (with ex-wife, producer Dany Garcia), that keep him grounded and humble.
“I’ve made big sweeping changes in my career over the years, which have served me nicely,” he told PEOPLE. “But I feel that the big sweeping changes that happened in my life, in my relationships, of being a dad, of being a partner, and the things that I was and the things that I am, has really lent itself to a confidence.” Swoon.
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David Beckham
Our 2015 Sexiest Man Alive is a superstar dad – he’s the proud father to Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper. (Though not all of his kids were super-impressed by his title: “Brooklyn was the one who was like, ‘Are you sure it’s not me that’s meant to be there today?’ ” he joked to PEOPLE.)
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Chris Hemsworth
From walking on the treadmill with his son in his arms to whipping up dinosaur birthday cakes, our 2014 Sexiest Man Alive is basically Super Dad to children Tristan, Sasha and India. (And wouldn’t you be excited if your dad was Thor?)
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Adam Levine
In 2013, the former Voice coach was named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive, and since then he has welcomed daughters Dusty Rose and Gio Grace, and a son welcomed in 2023, with wife Behati Prinsloo.
“It’s awesome. I embrace the chaos,” Levine has said, adding that he was in the process of trying to convince Prinsloo to get a minivan. “You can make a minivan whatever you want it. It doesn’t have to be your mom’s Chrysler Town & Country. It can be this spectacular spaceship and fun.”
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Channing Tatum
Sharing a rare shot of daughter Everly in 2021, the 2012 victor called his daughter “my world and my heart.”
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Bradley Cooper
“Having a child, and having a family of my own — which is a miracle and something I’ve always dreamt of — has opened me up even more, I guess, to the day, and to be present,” the 2011 Sexiest Man Alive said in an interview with NPR after welcoming daughter Lea with then-girlfriend Irina Shayk.
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Ryan Reynolds
Before Reynolds welcomed daughter James with wife Blake Lively in 2014, the actor was just your standard super-hot actor, nabbing the Sexiest Man Alive title in 2010. But in 2016, PEOPLE upgraded his title to Sexiest Dad Alive following the birth of second daughter Inez. “What?! I mean come on! I mean scientifically speaking, what’s sexier than a man that fornicates, producers children and then looks surprised about it,” he joked about his cover to Jimmy Fallon.
In 2019, the couple welcomed baby No. 3, Betty, and in Feb. 2023 they announced that son Olin joined the crew.
Are more in the works? “The more the merrier. As many as possible. As many little heartbeats as possible, just running around, wrecking stuff in the house. I love it. Let’s have more!” Reynolds joked to E!
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Hugh Jackman
Jackman was named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2008 and shares daughter Ava Eliot, and son Oscar with ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness.
In 2018 he spoke to PEOPLE about the greatest life lesson he’s taught his children.
“My kids have so many advantages,” he said. “And I want them to know that they have a responsibility to use those advantages to help others.”
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Matt Damon
Here is what PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive 2007 has to say about fatherhood: “The only way I can describe it – it sounds stupid, but – at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know how his heart grows like five times?” he told PARADE. “Everything is full; it’s just full all the time.”
The actor shares Isabella, Gia, Stella and Alexia with wife Luciana, and recently shared that he is “just marveling at how quickly it’s passing … It’s like suddenly your kid’s going to college, and it’s at a blistering pace,”
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George Clooney
The two-time Sexiest Man Alive (1997 and 2006) — and dad to twins Ella and Alexander, with wife Amal — has high hopes for his little ones. “I want them to be happy,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “I want them to have a sense of humor. I want them to be interested in things. I want them to be compassionate about other people’s plights. Because that’s the thing, you know? You have to have some sort of empathy.”
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Matthew McConaughey
The 2005 victor, who has sons Levi and Livingston and daughter Vida with wife Camila Alves, told GQ that being a father is “the one thing he’s always wanted” to be. “Never is a man more of a man than when he is the father of a newborn,” he said. “You know what’s important. I definitely got more selfish. And at the same time, I think I got more compassionate.”
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Jude Law
2004’s Sexiest Man Alive is the father of six!
In 2020, he and his wife, Phillipa Coan, welcomed their first child together; Law is also dad to daughters Ada, Sophia and Iris as well as sons Rudy and Rafferty from previous relationships.
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Ben Affleck
Twenty years after Affleck was named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2002, he’s a dad through and through.
Affleck co-parents children Violet, Seraphina and Samuel with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
In 2021, the Oscar winner said that no matter how much chatter surrounds him, his children’s opinions of him matter first and foremost.
“The only biography that needs anything is written on the hearts of your kids,” Affleck told Good Morning America.
He continued, “I will be long dead and someone will ask my kids what was your dad like and that is when I will know what my life was worth.”
Source: People
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