Sexiest Stars of 2021... So Far

15. LIL NAS X - the 22-year-old, hip hop artist made a name for himself in 2019 when his song "Old Town Road" spent 19 weeks as number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. It became the longest running, number-one song in history. He came out as gay during this reign, becoming the first artist to do so. He received six nominations at the 62nd Grammy Awards, becoming the most nominated male artist in 2020. He won two Grammys, including Best Music Video. When it comes to music videos, he'll probably win the award for the sexiest, if not the most Satan-loving video since the 2020 Match.com commercial, with his video for "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)." He sent the Internet on fire, literally, when that video dropped. The video features him scantily-clad, giving the devil a lap dance. His TV performances of that song since then have continued to set the web aflame. He had a wardrobe malfunction at Saturday Night Live and his same-sex kiss at the 2021 BET Awards blew people away.

 

 

14. ZENDAYA - the 24-year-old actress was a child star on the Disney Channel before she finally hit it big in 2017 when she landed roles in Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Greatest Showman. She then rocketed to fame. In 2019, she starred in HBO's Euphoria, which made her an Emmy winner for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, becoming the youngest winner of that award and only the second Black person to do so. Some people were prognosticating that she could get an Oscar nomination for her role in Netflix's Malcolm & Marie (2021). Her role in that Netflix flick would get her on this list, but she also has three other projects this year, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Dune (2021) and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

 

 

13. ALEX LANDI - the 28-year-old of Korean and Italian descent has been melting hearts or sending them aflutter since he appeared on the small screen about three years ago. What put him on the map is his role in Season 15 of Grey's Anatomy where he plays Dr. Nico Kim, the orthopedic surgeon and gay boyfriend to Levi Schmitt. His sexiness is off the charts on that show, but he continued his sex appeal on Netflix's Insatiable in which he played a stripper. He also takes it off in the music video Kiss Me More (2021) by Doja Cat and SZA in which he plays an astronaut who gets seduced by aliens. He currently plays a gay boyfriend on CW's Walker (2021).

 

 

12. DUA LIPA - the 25-year-old from London won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2019. I usually don't recognize musicians but I've made an exception for Lil Nas X and I'll make an exception for her because she's exceptional, not only in her beauty, but also in her political views. She's a progressive who supported Bernie Sanders. She's also Albanian and of Muslim heritage, and has been critical of the Israeli government as well as an ally to the LGBTQ community.

 

 

11. TAHAR RAHIM - the 39-year-old French actor was first recognized for A Prophet (2009) where a played a man who is sent to prison and has to navigate the dangerous culture inside. He won the César Award for Best Actor for it. He's worked steadily since then, but hasn't caught in the United States until this past year. His role in Kevin Macdonald's The Mauritanian (2021) opposite Jodie Foster has gotten Rahim a Golden Globe and BAFTA nomination in a role that's full circle because in The Mauritanian, he again plays a man who is sent to prison and has to navigate the dangerous culture inside. This year, he also played a sexy serial killer in Netflix's The Serpent (2021), based on a true story.

 

 

10. VANESSA KIRBY - the 33-year-old English actress was nominated for an Academy Award this year for Best Actress for her role in Netflix's Pieces of a Woman (2021). She was also up for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. She didn't win, but she also had a very sexy role in the lesbian drama The World To Come (2021). Some might know her for her Emmy-nominated role of Princess Margaret in The Crown (2016). You'll see her again in the upcoming Mission: Impossible film in 2022.

 

 

9. JOSEPH LEE ANDERSON - the 28-year-old, Black actor from Kansas City is probably the least famous person on this list. He's had small roles in movies and TV shows, starting in 2015. One of his most notable was in 2018 where he played Wendell Scott, one of the first African-American drivers in NASCAR in the second season of the NBC series, Timeless. He played Harriet Tubman's brother in Harriet (2019), but what gets him on this list is his role of Dwayne Johnson's father in NBC's Young Rock (2021). He plays Rocky Johnson, one of the first Black champions in WWE history, a man with a lot of swagger and braggadocio who is constantly flexing his extremely muscular physique.

 

 

8. H.E.R. - the 24-year-old R&B singer just released her first studio album, much like Lil Nas X, and is already making worldwide headlines. Namely, she actually won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. She won for "Fight for You" from the film Judas and the Black Messiah (2021). She was nominated for three Grammy Awards this year. Last year, she was nominated for five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year for her song "Hard Place." She also did a catchy rendition this year of George Michael's "Freedom! '90" for an Old Navy ad.

 

 

7. FRANK GRILLO - the man is nearly 60 and his body is more in shape than most men half his age. He started as a soap stud in the late 90's on CBS' Guiding Light. He bounced around doing various cop shows from The Shield (2002) to Prison Break (2005) to The Gates (2010). Things really kicked into gear following that when he appeared in films like The Grey (2011) and Warrior (2011). He's mainly done action films since then. It makes sense being that he grew up wrestling, boxing and becoming a martial artist. Since 2011, he's been appearing in two to three films a year, sometimes as many as five in one year, which he did in 2017 and 2019 in which he appeared in two of the highest-grossing films of all-time, that of Wolf Warrior 2 and Avengers: Endgame. 2021 will be another busy year for Grillo as he has five films on the slate. His most bad-ass role this year, in which he shows the most of his ripped physique, is Hulu's Boss Level.

 

 

6. PRIYANKA CHOPRA JONAS - I'm a little behind the times when it comes to this 38-year-old actress. 2019 was really the year to spotlight her. She had just married pop star Nick Jonas. People magazine and Time magazine had both spotlighted her. She was already a well-established, Bollywood star with an incredible social media following. However, this year could be a good one for her as well. She was in the Oscar-nominated film The White Tiger (2021) earlier this year. She's also slated to be in Matrix 4 at the end of the year.

 

 

5. LAMON ARCHEY - the 40-year-old actor is a definite soap stud. He started on CBS' The Young and the Restless in 2012, but his current role is Eli Grant on NBC's Days of Our Lives, which he started in 2017. Last year, he made history as being one-half of the first, on-screen, African-American wedding on that daytime drama. His beauty is undeniable as the show has taken frequent opportunities to get him shirtless or practically naked. His objectification even became a running gag on the show. He recently got a recurring job on All American this past year. It's only a shame that he hasn't been recognized with an Emmy nomination. Hopefully, he will be.

 

 

4. ELIZABETH OLSEN - the 32-year-old actress hit the scene a decade ago. What put her on the map was her role in Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), which garnered a lot of critical acclaim, including a Spirit Award nomination. She began playing the comic book character, Wanda Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015. This role would become her most iconic role, a role that she would play off and on, including this year in the series WandaVision (2021).

 

 

3. TEYANA TAYLOR - the 30-year-old started out as a choreographer for Beyoncé. She entered into the music industry when she was a teenager. In 2010, she even started acting. She's been steadily acting ever since then, but her singing career has been bubbling underneath the surface. She's been collaborating with or working for Kanye West and his label. She released her third studio album last year, The Album (2020), which became her first album to debut in the top ten. It was one of the best albums of 2020, even though it was mostly ignored. What put her into frame this year is her role in Coming 2 America (2021) in which she played a very sexy princess.

 

 

2. SIMU LIU - the 32-year-old, Chinese Canadian has a business degree and started out working as an accountant. After getting laid off, he decided to become a stuntman, given he had a background in martial arts and gymnastics. He was popping up in things here and there, particularly in TV shows filmed in Canada. He's probably most known in Canada for his role in the sitcom Kim's Convenience (2016). He started writing, producing and directing his own short films, but, like Elizabeth Olsen, and a lot of other actors, what is putting him on the map is his role in the upcoming super-hero movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). It's a role that has catapulted his fame. He certainly has a larger social media following. He did a very sexy "Got Milk" ad and he also showed off his beautiful fitness on the cover of Men's Health magazine.

 

1. REGÉ-JEAN PAGE - the 31-year-old British actor is having quite the year, probably the best year any actor has ever had. He first appeared here in the United States on the miniseries Roots (2016), playing Chicken George. TV producer, Shonda Rhimes then hired him for her short-lived For the People (2018). The show didn't last long but apparently Rhimes' memory of him did. She decided to place him in a prominent part on Netflix's Bridgerton (2020). From there, he just exploded or rather he started making women all over America explode. His role of Simon Bassett, Duke of Hastings, London's most eligible bachelor had everybody swooning. It's not simply for all the rear nudity. It's the passion in his eyes every time he said, "I burn for you," which might be a Mandela Effect that he repeated when he hosted Saturday Night Live earlier this year, causing yelling and screaming in the audience.

 

 

*Honorable mention to Anthony Ramos from In the Heights and In Treatment.