Robert Pattinson

He’s been anointed the successor of Leo-mania (circa Titanic) by 13-year-old girls worldwide (and strangely, grown women too)—not as a stowaway but as a blood sucking vampire who glistens in the sun. But Robert Pattinson almost didn’t get the $10 million vampire gig. The director had all but given up trying to nail down a leading man with the otherworldly beauty and acting chops to pull off the role of Edward. But then they began scouring the archives of Harry Potter for any lean, pale kid believable enough to pass as a vampire. Pattinson, who had just told his parents that he was quitting acting to take his music seriously (aka performing with a guitar in bars), got a call. A reluctant film franchise heartthrob was born.

Twilight, at best, is forgettable (we have no plans of seeing New Moon); however, Pattinson is photographed for Vanity Fair by Bruce Weber wearing a shawl collar Ralph Lauren Purple Label cable knit sweater—thus our R-Patz-mania here.