While beauty lists come and go, there are some famous faces that keep turning up again and again, no matter how many decades have passed.
Her face became the assignment
Iman arrived in New York in 1975. But by 1980, designers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino were already booking her because they couldn’t deny how attractive she really was. Dozens of fashion photographs came shortly after.
They were all built around her long neck and high cheekbones, as they gave her a very striking profile. Iman said that people sometimes told her she was the most beautiful woman they’d ever seen. It’s direct, yes, but also 100% believable.
The face that never left
There’s a reason Audrey Hepburn is still on beauty lists, even though Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s were so long ago. She looked nothing like the heavily styled screen legends around her, and nothing like the modern ones, either.
Her thick brows stayed, and so did her huge eyes. Let’s not forget her short hair and very clean style of makeup, either. Vogue magazine once called her an ‘eternal beauty muse,’ and honestly, that sounds about right, really.
A look with her name on it
Brigitte Bardot’s style was its own look during the 1950s. She had messy blond hair and thick black eyeliner, along with pale lips and very little interest in appearing polished. It all worked. And God Created Woman made her internationally famous in 1956.
People began copying her appearance just as much as they watched the films. She was often called ‘the most beautiful woman in the world,’ and everything about her has remained iconic. People still talk about ‘Bardot hair’ and ‘Bardot eyes’ to this day.
One entrance was enough
All Ursula Andress needed was a few minutes of Dr. No to become part of movie history. She appeared in the 1962 film as Honey Ryder and became famous for a scene where she walked out of the sea in Jamaica. It was one of the most replayed Bond moments ever.
Beyond Bond, however, she became a major beauty figure, alongside women like Brigitte Bardot and Raquel Welch. This was a woman who looked incredible both off and on the silver screen.
Swinging London found its face
There was something so special about Julie Christie’s face, and it was probably how 1960s it looked. She didn’t look overly polished, and that really worked in her favor by making her seem more unique. She won an Oscar for Darling and starred in Doctor Zhivago.
But really, it’s her simple bob that a lot of people remember her for. She was one of the era’s strongest examples of modern femininity. Oxford University students actually once voted Christie ‘The Most Beautiful Woman in the World,’ and really, it’s not hard to see why.
Beauty sometimes got in the way
Sometimes being so beautiful can be a problem. Just ask Vivien Leigh, for example, as critics sometimes focused more on her face than her acting. They didn’t seem to care that she’d won Oscars for both Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire.
Actor and director Laurence Olivier once called her the most beautiful woman on earth, and he wasn’t the only one to say that. Yes, she became globally famous thanks to Scarlett O’Hara. But even before that, those enormous eyes and sharply defined features did a lot of work.
Avedon put it in writing
There was a time before Sharon Tate was tied to one terrible event. That was when she was a rising actress and quite a heavily photographed beauty figure. Photographer Richard Avedon even photographed her for a feature that was literally called ‘The World’s Most Beautiful Women.’
You don’t get much more beautiful than that. Tate’s face circulated quite a lot through magazines and photo spreads when she was alive. Even now, it’s hard to deny just how beautiful she truly was.
The portrait went everywhere
Anyone who was around in the early 1980s will probably remember seeing a very specific poster of Nastassja Kinski somewhere. It’s the one where she’s photographed by Richard Avedon, lying beside a Burmese python.
The poster was so popular that it reportedly sold over two million copies. She truly was that stunning. Kinski herself starred in Cat People and Paris, Texas, and photographers absolutely adored her very soft, almost sleepy-eyed look.
The magazines noticed early
People knew almost immediately that Phoebe Cates was something special, and Harper’s Bazaar included her in its 1984 group of ‘America’s 10 Most Beautiful Women.’ This was right when her movie career was beginning. She appeared in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Gremlins.
Cates had worked as a model before acting, and it makes sense when you see those early magazine photos. One of her co-stars, Jennifer Jason Leigh, once said she felt intimidated before meeting Cates because she thought she was so beautiful.
The lists kept finding her
Diane Lane first caught public attention when she appeared in A Little Romance at age 13. She then worked with Francis Ford Coppola in The Outsiders and Rumble Fish before receiving an Oscar nomination for Unfaithful. Her looks became just as famous as her acting.
People magazine said she was one of the most beautiful women in the world, and Vogue has also called her an American beauty icon. Lane has a natural kind of beauty that really comes out when she’s on camera.
The cover said plenty
Beverly Johnson broke barriers when she appeared on the cover of the August 1974 issue of American Vogue. She was the first Black model to get that spot. Johnson later appeared on over 500 magazine covers because of how incredible she was.
It’s easy to see why photographers loved her so much. She had a major fashion face, with high cheekbones and huge eyes, along with a polished look that photographed incredibly well. It’s almost like she was born to be a model.
It started with a beauty contest
Claudia Cardinale’s movie career began when she won a beauty contest, funnily enough. She won the ‘Most Beautiful Italian Girl’ contest in Tunisia, and it earned her a trip to the Venice Film Festival. That was when she caught the eye of studio execs.
She began making film after film, including 8½, The Leopard, The Pink Panther, and Once Upon a Time in the West. Cardinale’s looks captivated many generations, thanks to her dark hair and strong brows. She was the true package, in every sense of the phrase.
Hollywood grew up with her
America got to see Natalie Wood’s face change in front of it. She started out as the little girl in Miracle on 34th Street, and then suddenly she was opposite James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. West Side Story and Splendor in the Grass came shortly after.
One of the reasons she looked so good is that she never really had one fixed ‘look.’ You didn’t know what to expect. But one thing was clear, and it was that her dark eyes and expressive face would be there throughout. No wonder she photographed so well.
Everyone wanted those eyes
Singer Jane Birkin once said that she wanted to look like Jean Shrimpton, and that’s quite a compliment. Shrimpton was a true beauty icon. She had enormous eyes and heavy lashes, along with thick hair that made many women jealous.
She was a photographer’s darling and had many photos taken by David Bailey, Richard Avedon, and Bert Stern. too. It didn’t take long for her to be in practically every fashion magazine. Birkin called her ‘Divine Jean Shrimpton,’ and you can’t get a bigger compliment than that.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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