Vanity Fair’s Most Inclusive Hollywood Issue Yet

Vanity Fair's special Hollywood issue features six black actors for the first time in 20 years, according to NBC News.

The Annie Leibovitz-lensed shoot features actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Idris Elba, George Clooney and Julia Roberts on the main cover. The inside flap includes other buzzworthy names, such as Jared Leto, Margot Robbie and Lupita Nyong'o. The glamorous cover is mostly being praised by both critics and Twitter users for its inclusivity.

BET, for example, said the magazine "seems to be making up for lost time," and Buzzfeed called it "refreshingly different."

Before this issue, Thandie Newton, Djimon Honsou and Chris Rock were the only people of color that made the front fold. (Barack Obama was featured on the cover when his inauguration story overtook the Hollywood issue.)

A spokeswoman for Vanity Fair said that "it was difficult to narrow the cover cast down to 12" because of the "spectacular year of distinguished films." She didn't further explain how Vanity Fair reached its final decision.

Aside from being racially inclusive, it's also evenly divided between the sexes, with six men and six women being featured.

The Hollywood issue usually features an all-female cast.

It was launched in April 1995 by Graydon Carter who wanted to mark the 100th anniversary of the moving picture by talking all things Hollywood. In his Editor's Letter he said, "It is something we have just always been good at. Indeed, it can fairly be argued that moviemaking is the one artistic endeavor in which America has always led the world, and probably forever will."

Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman were included in that first issue. Sandra Bullock, who was unknown, also made the issue.

Featuring white females continued throughout the years, resulting in the all-white female cover in 2010 that was met with much critcism. Kristen Stewart, Anna Kendrick and Carey Mulligan were some of the "fresh faces" covering the magazine that year.

The 2014 Hollywood issue hits newsstands on Feb. 7.