Each year, American popular culture and current affairs bible Vanity Fair emblazons their in-demand cover with the faces of stars tipped to be the new guard of Hollywood royalty.

In the past, these sprawling, perfectly constructed scenes have featured Jessica Chastain, Rooney Mara, Jessie Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield, all of whom have, unsurprisingly, gone on to do great things in showbiz.

But despite their keen eye for talent, the magazine has oft been criticised for their selection of actors: of the last four Hollywood issues, only two cover stars have been black.

Oh, how things have changed. This year, of the twelve people featured on the cover, six are black. Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chadwick Boseman are all featured, adding a much-needed pop of diversity to a cover frequently criticised for being an all white, thin and young female affair.

In fact, this year’s cover is a celebration of all things multicultural, featuring French actress Lea Seydoux and Australian former Neighbours star Margot Robbie. Robbie has experienced a swift rise to fame in her role alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street and her inclusion confirms that her success is set to continue.

Some familiar faces also appear, including magazine cover regulars Julia Roberts, George Clooney and Jared Leto, plus young American ingenue Brie Larson.

This issue also includes the much-discussed Gwyneth Paltrow tell-all, which editor Graydon Carter recently revealed will not be nearly as telling as first expected. Despite reports that Paltrow was desperately trying to quell a scandalous takedown article about her lifestyle site Goop and her extra-marital affairs, Carter recently opened up in his editor’s letter, telling readers, “The fact is the Gwyneth Paltrow story, the one we ordered up, as delightfully written as it was, is not the one the anti-Gwynethites expect.”

The full 2014 Hollywood Issue cover spread:

Compared to the 2012 cover: