It Seems Like Only 8 Years Ago...

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From the Beautiful People Archives: Amy Poehler, Anderson Cooper, Solange and More

By PAPERMAG

For the past 14 years, we here at PAPER have put out an annual Beautiful People issue highlighting up-and-coming actors, musicians, artists, writers, designers, etc. who we feel particularly inspired by, and believe may go on to do great things. To celebrate the April release of our 2011 BP issue, throughout the month we'll be poring through the archives and featuring a few of our favorite Beautiful People of years past. Below, we include the original text and photos from our 2003 BP issue, which included Amy Poehler, Anderson Cooper, Libertine, Solange and Antony Hegarty.

Anderson Cooper

CNN isn't exactly the first place one would look to find a male sex symbol, but that's where we found the man who makes our hearts flutter. Thirty-five-year-old Anderson Cooper is the prematurely gray, ultra-smart, witty and wry anchor and correspondent who's brought a breath of fresh air (not to mention a sense of humor and dignity) to the tabloid world of cable news. Cooper got into the news business thanks to a harebrained scheme that he hatched in 1992. "I just started going to wars," he recalls. "I took a video camera and went to Burma." He later traveled to such charming destinations as Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda and Haiti. "If I had told anyone I wanted to be a reporter, they wouldn't have let me," he explains. After viewing his tapes, Channel One, a daily-news broadcast for high school students, hired Cooper as a correspondent. Since joining CNN last year, he has been creatively rotating his four suits (three Prada, one Ralph Lauren). His potent charms have landed him on the International Best-Dressed List and a place in the hearts of viewers. The adoration leaves Cooper a bit perplexed. "I don't get that. I guess people have a fetish for pale, skinny, gray-haired people." The news sometimes is stranger than fiction. -- Mickey Boardman

2011 Update: Something tells us Cooper now owns more than four suits -- he's the host of his own CNN show, Anderson Cooper 360°, is a regular correspondent on 60 Minutes and has a daytime talk show slated for fall 2011. Someone needs to fill the void when Oprah goes, and Cooper's clearly the man for the job.

This story was published on Apr. 20, 2011