Show Notes
People magazine's "World's Most Beautiful" editor Andrea Lavinthal joins Back Row to go behind the scenes of the most coveted — and complicated — cover in celebrity journalism. Anne Hathaway talked to People about The Devil Wears Prada 2, her husband, and her haters. But handing out this prize isn't as easy as it might seem.
Andrea breaks down how the "World's Most Beautiful" franchise has evolved since Michelle Pfeiffer in 1990 (3:28), why "most beautiful" is more fraught for women than "Sexiest Man Alive" is for men (1:51), and how much creative control a star like Anne Hathaway has over the shoot (9:33). Plus: why Gwyneth Paltrow's "Most Beautiful" cover made an editor think it would get her fired (25:54).
Links & Resources
📰 SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row Newsletter for exclusive scoops and bonus podcast episodes: https://www.backrow.net/
📸 Amy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instamyodell/
Mentioned in this episode:
↳ People's Anne Hathaway cover story, photographed by Jonny Marlow
↳ JFK Jr.'s "Sexiest Man Alive" cover story
This episode was edited by Chrissi Harris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Back Row with Amy Odell
*SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter for more coverage like this: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. Go Premium and save three months on an annual subscription.*
SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter for the FULL Fashion Month Awards podcast and get more coverage like this: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. Save three months on an annual subscription.
Mrs. Dow Jones (Haley Sacks) on how to stop impulse buying and why fashion month keeps you broke. Part One of two.
Harry and Meghan are back in the UK, six years after leaving the royal family. In the first part of Back Row's deep dive into Meghan Markle, Amy and former Us Weekly and Hello! editor Justin Ravitz — who has interviewed Prince Harry and worked with the couple's team — trace Meghan's story from her Los Angeles childhood to the night she met Harry.
PJ Smith, director of fashion policy for Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society), has spent almost 20 years getting companies from Gucci to Net-a-Porter to go fur-free.