20 years of pop culture, in 20 striking photos

Beyoncé and Jay-Z, the very first iPhone, and more

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Beyonce and Jay-Z.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings sits in a cart full of DVDs in San Jose.
(Image credit: (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, January 2002))

Halle Berry wins Best Actress for her role in Monster's Ball, becoming the first Black actress to win the award.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/GaryHershorn, March 2002))

Kelly Clarkson celebrates her victory in the first season of American Idol.
(Image credit: (Kevin Winter/ImageDirect, September 2002))

Beyoncé and her then-boyfriend Jay-Z watch a tennis match in Flushing, New York.
(Image credit: (Mark Mainz/Getty Images, September 2003))

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the iPhone at the MacWorld Conference in San Francisco.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File, January 2007))

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at the company's headquarters in Palo Alto, California.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File, February 2007))

Harry Potter fans at a release party for the final book in New York City.
(Image credit: (AP Images/Clark Jones/Courtesy of Scholastic, Inc., July 2007))

Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Favreau, and Robert Downey Jr. attend the premiere of Iron Man in Berlin.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Johannes Eisele, April 2008))

Kanye West jumps onstage after Taylor Swift won the "Best Female Video" award during the MTV Video Music Awards in New York City.
(Image credit: (Christopher Polk/Getty Images, September 2009))

Lady Gaga wears a dress made of meat at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni, September 2010))

Rovio CEO Mikael Hed poses with two "Angry Birds" characters at the company's headquarters in Espoo, Finland.
(Image credit: (MARTTI KAINULAINEN/AFP via Getty Images, January 2011))

Author George R.R. Martin arrives at the premiere for the third season of HBO's Game of Thrones.
(Image credit: (Matt Sayles /Invision/AP, File, March 2013))

A mural, presumably painted by Banksy, is seen in the Gaza Strip.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Suhaib Salem, February 2015))

Sarah Koenig, host and executive producer of the podcast Serial, poses with a Peabody award in New York City.
(Image credit: (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Peabody Awards, May 2015))

Caitlyn Jenner makes one of her first public appearances since coming out as transgender in Los Angeles.
(Image credit: (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Nederlander, July 2015))

Lin-Manuel Miranda during the curtain call following the first performance of Hamilton in New York City.
(Image credit: (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, August 2015))

A replica of a Prince memorial at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his death.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Jeff Baenen, November 2016))

Chaos onstage after La La Land was wrongly declared Best Picture over Moonlight at the Academy Awards.
(Image credit: (Kevin Winter/Getty Images, February 2017))

Harvey Weinstein leaves court in New York City after being charged with rape and sexual assault.
(Image credit: (Kena Betancur/Getty Images, January 2020))

A livestreamed classical concert during the COVID pandemic in Munich.
(Image credit: (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images, June 2020)**See the past 20 years, in 20 striking photos**)

Jacob Lambert
Jacob Lambert

Jacob Lambert is the art director of TheWeek.com. He was previously an editor at MAD magazine, and has written and illustrated for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Weekly, and The Millions.