The 30 Hottest MTV VJs

Back in the day, MTV used to loyally stand for Music Television. It still does, but 30 years ago yesterday, when the network first aired in the U.S., it was all about music videos. In fact, MTV's goal of being the primary music video channel was so clear that it aired its first video with exceptional and almost prophetic confidence: The Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star."

Nowadays, people might take shots at the network for its questionable, non-music related programming. For instance, SNL refers to it as "Maternity Television," obviously for its Teen Mom marathons. But regardless of what it is now, MTV has always had one thing remain consistent throughout the past three decades: a stream of sexy female VJs.

From MTV's House of Style correspondents to its TRL staples, these girls were hosts to our kind of afterschool specials. So, in the spirit of celebration for the network's long-running history, countdown the network's hottest VJs after the jump.

These days, people love to take shots at MTV for its questionable, non-music related programming. SNL even refers to it as "Maternity Television," for its ubiquitious Teen Mom marathons. Regardless of what it is now, MTV has kept one thing consistent throughout the past three decades: sexy female VJs.

From MTV's House of Style correspondents to its TRL staples, these girls were hosts to our favorite type of afterschool specials. In celebration of the network's 30th anniversary, we're counting down MTV's 30 Hottest VJs.

China was one of the youngest VJs to appear on MTV during the late '80s. "I want my MTV!" fely more like "I want my China Kantner!" the more we watched her work.

It's hard to beat the original. As one of the first five VJs, Rolling Stone voted Quinn "MTV's Best-Ever VJ." The girl-next-door even inspired Allure to dub the 80's as the "Martha Quinn Years." Her departure from MTV may have been the day the music video died, but you can still bust out that Members-Only jacket and rock out to Martha Quinn Presents on Sirius radio.

In 1999, one girl beat out 6,000 for the chance to become MTV's newest VJ. DaCosta's poise and music knowledge gave her the victory, the sweet gig, and a new car.

The former reporter for MTV News was the face and voice of the "Choose or Lose" campaign to encourage MTV viewers to get out and vote. A much more friendly option to Diddy's "Vote or Die."

Nothing fires up our interest more than a spunky redhead on TV, and Julie Bowen's hit MTV show, Just Say Julie, kept us glued to the tube.

We love a woman with diverse taste in music, and former MTV VJ and Alternative Nation host Lisa Kennedy was right up our alley. Not to mention, she's got that sexy Velma look going on, too.

Before becoming an MTV correspondent, Diva was also a Def Jam poet and a part of the musical group Floetry. Since her gig at the network, Diva landed her own radio show on Sirius entitled the Hip Hop Nation Show.

Since joining MTV News as a corrospondant in 2001, Pak has gone on to host some of the biggest award shows and interview some of the biggest stars. She's even hosted her own documentary, My Life (Translated) about multicultural youths. And ever wonder whose melodic, beautiful voice it is that narrates MTV Cribs? It's Suchin Pak explaining the cost of things you can only dream about owning.

With big, curled bottle-blond hair, and smoky eyes, a girl couldn't get hotter than Blackwood in the 80's. She was one of the five original video jockeys and, if you're ready for a flashback, you can catch her on Sirius XM Radio hosting The 80's on 8 and The Big '80s Top 40 Countdown with other original VJs.

Ananda Lewis was arguably the most recognizable face in MTV during the late 90s. And thanks to her beauty, brains and impeccable on-air charm, no one was complaining. Now the most recognizable face in MTV now is probably Snooki—where do we file a complaint?

In a modern day Cinderella story, Burton was plucked from the streets, entered in a contest, and won a guest commentator job for one segment on TRL. After impressing the MTV Gods, they gave her a permanent job on the music video countdown show. Her big break at MTV lead her to a small role in Dawson's Creek, which lead her to playing Peyton Sawyer on One Tree Hill, which somehow lead to her having actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan's babies.

Possibly one of the most memorable models from America's Next Top Model, due to a certain limousine kiss with another contestant, Stolz has moved on to be a VJ for mtvU's The Freshmen and a correspondent for MTV News. If you feel uncomfortable getting your news from a model and MTV, consider the fact her senior thesis was "The Impact of Exit Strategies on United States Intervention Abroad in the Post-Cold War Era" and she's interviewed political hard-hitters from Obama to Huckabee.

The sexploitation star got her humble start in 1987 on MTV's Remote Control, MTV's first, of many, non-musical programs. She may have gotten her start as the sexy hostess on the trivia game show, but to sci-fi geeks everywhere she'll always be the busty Captain Maggie Beckett of Sliders.

After skipping across the pond to the states, Chung presented MTV's It's On with Alexa Chung. The show combined music, interviews, and web content. It was meant to replace TRL but it only lasted seven months. Regardless, Chung's hotness lives on. Just check out the additions to her resume: in January 2011, she co-hosted NBC's Golden Globes Arrival Special and she was announced to be the model for the Italian sneaker brand Superga.

You may tell yourself, "Serena Al-wha?," in attempt to pronounce her last name, but upon seeing her, you'll say, "Ah yes, that's her". Ms. Altschul was not only an astounding VJ in MTV, but also a prominent figure altogether for the channel, eventually producing episodes of True Life along with her hosting gigs. She later expanded her journalistic prowess with CNN and CBS News.

In 2002, Moore hosted her own MTV talk show, The Mandy Moore Show. She was already known for her charming, happy attitude and good looks, so it was natural for the network to give her a half-hour spot where she could woo guests and viewers. The show only lasted one season, but we could've watched Moore. Puns!

DeLeon wasn't just a pretty face to put in front of a camera. Before she started as a VJ in 1994, she tried her own luck in the music industry as a member of the girl group Seduction. Following her run introducing videos on MTV, DeLeon reported for VH1, Fox Sports, and Access Hollywood. Nowadays, you can catch her as an actress in reruns of Burn Notice and Six Feet Under.

Carly Henderson is currently a correspondent for all MTV networks but a full-time VJ on mtvU, a.k.a. the MTV sister station that plays the most music videos in a day. That's right, you won't catch her introducing Jersey Shore reruns here. We don't know what's more refreshing, seeing her face or watching back to back to back music videos.

The former Miss USA and MTV VJ, has gone on to help launch MTV's bi-lingual channel, MTV Tr3s, and co-host School Pride as well as pursuing an acting career.

From standing outside TRL, freezing and trying to see Aguilera sing "Genie in a Bottle", to co-hosting the show while she was in the band 3LW, to Disney fame in The Cheetah Girls, Bailon never lost the feeling of "home" MTV provided. Now, she's the co-host of New Afternoons on MTV, and picking up in the same studio where TRL left off.

The dean of Charm School with Ricki Lake didn't get her call back from her MTV audition until a year later. She co-hosted Direct Effect and TRL, which lead her to other hosting gigs on another music network, VH1. You can now catch her own reality TV show on that network, showing her life as a newlywed in LaLa's Full Court Life.

We could tell you that Carmen Electra, actress and former Playboy model, was a host of MTV's Singled Out during its last season, but you probably don't care. Go ahead, just gawk at her image, we don't mind.

If you remember MTV in the early 90's, then you remember "Duff". Right as her fame was rising, she was diagnosed with a chronic illness, sarcoidosis, which left partially paralyzed. She has since written a book about her illness, and dealing with it with humor, Model Patient: My Life As an Incurable Wise-Ass

Though MTV's House Of Styles may have featured compelling behind-the-scenes stories about models, nothing was more compelling than the beauty of former host Molly Sims. She was also a former CoverGirl model, and, in 2006, she appeared in a SI: Swimsuit Edition photo donning a $30 million bikini made of diamonds. In our opinion, the diamonds were a bit of an excess...and so was the bikini. Just saying.

After Downtown Julie Brown made her appearance on the pan-European music channel, Music Box, she moved on to become a MTV VJ, and later hosted Club MTV in the late 80's. With her big hats perfectly perched on her big hair, her catch phrase "Wubba wubba wubba" still rings in fans' ears. After MTV took a turn away from actual music television, Brown tried to her hand in movies and even showed Playboy customers what actually was going on downtown, when she posed for them in 1998.

Ever have those thoughts of "the one who got away" from your former lovers? Well, that's how we felt when former beauty queen and VJ Vanessa Minnillo got married to singer Nick Lachey. Yeah, we remember those times when we watched her host MTV's Total Request Live, hoping she would turn around and read our sign on the Times Square sidewalk.

Rodrigues had everything a VJ needs: a sense of humor, an extensive knowledge of music and pop culture, and an incredibly set of legs. Unfortunately, if you're feeling nostalgic for the former TRL host, you're going to have to catch a flight to Australia, where she works as a presenter for BigPond Entertainment.

She's probably one of the most recognizable supermodels of all time, but in 1989 she added MTV personality to her resume. Crawford was the first host of House of Style, rocking a leather jacket for six successful years and helping to encourage America's interest with the supermodel lifestyle.

After posing for Playboy and leaving their show Hot Rocks, where she presented uncensored music videos, McCarthy became the host of Singled Out. The potty-humored Jenny left the dating game show for her own sketch comedy show on MTV, The Jenny McCarthy Show. The show was successful on MTV, so NBC picked up the short lived sitcom Jenny, however audience outside of MTV's demographic of young men didn't really appreciate the art of a good boob joke.

The Cuban goddess shattered the racial barriers when she became the first Latina VJ on MTV and MTV Latina America. She may have also broke our necks as they snapped to catch her whenever she was on TV.