Turns out being named the world's sexiest man and being a hands-on dad go together more often than you'd think.
PEOPLE published a feature on October 27, 2026, titled "All the Sexiest Men Alive Who Are Also Dads," showing that most recent Sexiest Man Alive winners, including new 2026 honoree Noah Wyle, are fathers who juggle Hollywood fame with school runs and bedtime stories.
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Sexiest Men Alive dads span generations of Hollywood fathers
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Noah Wyle, best known for playing a doctor on ER and now The Pitt, became a father back in 2002 when he and his then-wife Tracy Warbin welcomed son Owen. Wyle now has three kids total, Owen, Auden and Frances, according to PEOPLE's companion photo feature on his family life. His 2026 win makes him the latest name added to a growing list of Sexiest Man Alive honorees who are also raising children.
Patrick Dempsey, who won the title in 2023, brings his own family story to the mix. He and wife Jillian Dempsey have three kids, daughter Talula Fyfe, born in 2002, and twin sons Sullivan Patrick and Darby Galen, born in 2007. PEOPLE notes the twins were old enough by 2023 to tease their dad about getting the honor, a detail that captures how the title has aged alongside its winners.
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Which Sexiest Men Alive are fathers across the decades
The list of famous dads goes well beyond Wyle and Dempsey. Paul Rudd, the 2021 winner, shares kids Jack and Darby with wife Julie Yaeger. John Legend, honored in 2019, is dad to Luna and Miles with wife Chrissy Teigen. David Beckham, recognized in related PEOPLE coverage as a father of four, raises Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper. Hugh Jackman is father to Oscar and Ava, while Dwayne Johnson has three daughters, Simone, Jasmine and Tiana.
Ryan Reynolds adds an interesting twist to the pattern. He won Sexiest Man Alive back in 2010, years before he became a dad. After he and Blake Lively welcomed daughter James in 2014, and then Inez in 2016, PEOPLE actually rebranded him "Sexiest Dad Alive." That shows the title isn't frozen in time. A bachelor winner can become a devoted father years later, and PEOPLE keeps tracking that evolution.
Noah Wyle credits fatherhood and marriage for his 2026 honor
Wyle spoke about what fatherhood means to his new title in an interview picked up by the Detroit News. "She thinks I'm a good guy and that the kind of person that I am and the kind of father I am, the kind of husband I am, is worth promoting," he said, referring to his wife's view of him. It's a quiet, personal quote, but it ties his public honor directly to his private family role.
Wyle follows a line of recent winners that includes Dempsey in 2023, Chris Evans in 2022, Michael B. Jordan in 2020, and Idris Elba before them. Nearly every name on that list turns out to be a father too, which is exactly the pattern PEOPLE's dads feature set out to highlight.
PEOPLE expands the franchise into family-focused spinoffs
This isn't the first time PEOPLE has leaned into the fatherhood angle. Back in 2015, the magazine called Justin Timberlake its "Sexiest New Dad" right after he became a father, while also praising David Beckham's parenting style that same year. The dads theme has clearly been part of the franchise's DNA for over a decade, not just a 2026 invention.
PEOPLE has also built out related spinoff content, including a 2026 Readers' Choice Poll that crowned Travis Kelce "Sexiest Cat Dad" after his marriage to Taylor Swift, and a separate feature tracking eight former winners whose grown sons, including those of Mark Harmon, Denzel Washington and Richard Gere, might become future contenders themselves. Together, these pieces turn a simple annual ranking into a multigenerational story about fame running in the family.
What the dads club says about the franchise going forward
The Sexiest Man Alive title has run since 1985, and the dads angle shows no sign of slowing down. With nearly every recent winner either already a father or becoming one soon after their win, PEOPLE's editorial team seems to have found a storyline that keeps readers coming back year after year.
There's no confirmed date yet for a 2027 honoree, but based on the pattern established over four decades, odds are good that whoever wins next will eventually join this same dads club, whether he's already a father on stage at the announcement or becomes one a few years down the road, just like Reynolds did.
