Let's list persons who are beautiful but not sexy.

[Skald the Rhymer]

I really can't think of a clearer way to explain this thread idea than the subject line. I'm sure every person listed will be the subject of disagreement, but that's kind of the point.

I'll start with Cobie Smulders from How I Met Your Mother. Quite lovely, but not even a little sexy. I don't know why; she just doesn't do it for me.

Next?

[Alessan]

It's funny - I agree with you about Smulders as Robin Sherbatsky; however, as Maria Hill she was positively smoking. Maybe it's the hair.

[Skald the Rhymer]

Originally Posted by Alessan

It's funny - I agree with you about Smulders as Robin Sherbatsky; however, as Maria Hill she was positively smoking. Maybe it's the hair.

No, she wasn't sexy to me in Avengers either. Gwyneth Paltrow was smoking, though.

[Slow Moving Vehicle]

Completely agree with both of you; Cobie Smulders just doesn't do it for me. (Allyson Hannigan, on the other hand....)

I would add a young Elizabeth II to your list. Very very pretty, in a classically English way; but definitely not a sexpot.

[John DiFool]

You guys need to check your pulses-she is my type to a T (esp. with the short hair).

[CatherineZeta]

I've heard of Nicole Kidman being described this way, but as a straight female I wouldn't be able to accurately gauge her sexiness. I do think she's beautiful in a very stiff and cold way though (if that makes sense) which could make her "unsexy."

I'm assuming she's supposed to look sexy in this picture.

[WhyNot]

Cate Blanchet
Tilda Swinton
Hilary Swank

I know this will infuriate Skald, but since I'm on the Short List, I'll be the one to say it: Natalie Portman. She's beautiful, absolutely beautiful, but just not sexy. Even when she tries overtly sexy - especially when she tries overtly sexy - I just literally squirm in discomfort. I want to find a shawl and cover her with it and bring her hot chocolate and a teddy bear to cuddle.

[Gagundathar]

Originally Posted by CatherineZeta

...
I'm assuming she's supposed to look sexy in this picture.

Gulp. <blush>
Well... uh... yeah.
I 'suppose'.

[Nunzio Tavulari]

re: Cobie Smulders

She's got a man's chin & cheekbones, but women's lips. Throw out the unnaturally colored contacts and ditch the make up, add a little five o'çlock shadow, and you've got Tom Cruise. I prefer the short hair.

[CatherineZeta]

Originally Posted by Gagundathar

Gulp. <blush>
Well... uh... yeah.
I 'suppose'.

Ha, don't get me wrong, I think she's a beautiful woman, it's just hard to find a picture in which she looks genuinely happy (I think looking like one is enjoying oneself contributes a lot to sexiness), but maybe she's just a reserved person.

[Skald the Rhymer]

Originally Posted by Nunzio Tavulari

re: Cobie Smulders

She's got a man's chin & cheekbones, but women's lips. Throw out the unnaturally colored contacts and ditch the make up, add a little five o'çlock shadow, and you've got Tom Cruise. I prefer the short hair.

I know I brought her up, but I don't see any of that. I think she has a very pretty face and quite nice legs; I'd ever call her beautiful. But she does not incite sexual desire in me the way that Alyson Hannigan (who is not nearly as pretty) does. To use a term from her show, she's the sexless inkeeper.

Originally Posted by WhyNot

Cate Blanchet
Tilda Swinton
Hilary Swank

I know this will infuriate Skald, but since I'm on the Short List, I'll be the one to say it: Natalie Portman. She's beautiful, absolutely beautiful, but just not sexy. Even when she tries overtly sexy - especially when she tries overtly sexy - I just literally squirm in discomfort. I want to find a shawl and cover her with it and bring her hot chocolate and a teddy bear to cuddle.

I think I myself once charactertized Portman as, at best, only mildly hot (though incredibly beautiful), so I shan't unleash the bees on whoever I am using as your scapegoat this month.

Hilary Swank, by contrast, is the very opposite of what I had in mind for this thread. She has a face that is just shy of homely, but is quite hot overall.

Originally Posted by CatherineZeta

I've heard of Nicole Kidman being described this way, but as a straight female I wouldn't be able to accurately gauge her sexiness. I do think she's beautiful in a very stiff and cold way though (if that makes sense) which could make her "unsexy."

I'm assuming she's supposed to look sexy in this picture.

In Kidman's case, I think it's the role. In To Die For, she was made of sex, but in The Golden Compass my only thought was, "My god, I'm glad there's no reason for her to take her clothes off in this role."

[Gagundathar]

Yes, I agree with Skald's assessment of Ms. Kidman.

Let's pop back in time a few decades and take a look at Barbara Bain.
She was quite beautiful, but not really sexy.

For the youth-impaired people, Ms. Bain was in Mission: Impossible and Space 1999 among other shows. Back in the 20th century.

[Raskolnikov]

Originally Posted by Slow Moving Vehicle

Completely agree with both of you; Cobie Smulders just doesn't do it for me. (Allyson Hannigan, on the other hand....)

I would add a young Elizabeth II to your list. Very very pretty, in a classically English way; but definitely not a sexpot.

she's German actually and has a classic German face, best indicator is her nose and to a lesser degree cheeks. She in no way has a classic English/British face.

and there is no way a majority of men in this country would prefer , either on the sexy or beautiful scale, Allyson over Cobie

Originally Posted by WhyNot

Cate Blanchet
Tilda Swinton
Hilary Swank

I know this will infuriate Skald, but since I'm on the Short List, I'll be the one to say it: Natalie Portman. She's beautiful, absolutely beautiful, but just not sexy. Even when she tries overtly sexy - especially when she tries overtly sexy - I just literally squirm in discomfort. I want to find a shawl and cover her with it and bring her hot chocolate and a teddy bear to cuddle.

Hillary Swank isn't sexy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_ITvG2ccYA


if you saw her like this in a Victoria's Secret commercial she'd fit right in. (now go and tell me VS models aren't sexy)

[MrDibble]

Originally Posted by Alessan

It's funny - I agree with you about Smulders as Robin Sherbatsky; however, as Maria Hill she was positively smoking. Maybe it's the hair.

Naah. But as Robin Sparkles....


...what?

But seriously, Smulders as Sherbatsky was hot. Hannigan OTOH, has never been hot.

But I agree about Kidman, and I think Uma Thurman belongs as well.

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by Skald the Rhymer

Hilary Swank, by contrast, is the very opposite of what I had in mind for this thread. She has a face that is just shy of homely, but is quite hot overall.

Really. Huh. Taste, there is no accounting.

I've been trying to think of men to add, and for some reason that's harder for me.

Ryan Reynolds, for me, but I know he's a sex symbol, so I'm in the minority.

Will Farrell, while not quite what I'd call "beautiful," even for a male application of the term, is the unsexiest handsome man in the universe.

"Sexy but not handsome/beautiful" is a much easier list.

[JimmyFlair]

January Jones?

I'm a straight woman, so maybe not the right audience, but "so very pretty but completely unsexy" is exactly how I describe her. Maybe it's just the soulless icy Betty Draper character, though. I haven't seen her in anything else (except for her disastrous SNL appearance. That was painful)

[SurrenderDorothy]

Audrey Hepburn. She's really, really beautiful. Or she was. I suppose she's probably less attractive at the moment. But I wouldn't say she's sexy. She's like art.

[Pai325]

Originally Posted by Raskolnikov

she's German actually and has a classic German face, best indicator is her nose and to a lesser degree cheeks. She in no way has a classic English/British face.

Isn't she more Scots than German? She seems to have a lovely British complexion.

[Little Nemo]

As a completely heterosexual man, every man falls into this category for me.

Now among women, I would disagree with the OP about Smulders. I think she's sexy.

I would have agreed about Portman for a long time. I just never really got the attraction. But somehow this changed in the last couple of years and I now think Portman is very sexy. I don't know if it's my tastes that changed or if there was some subtle change in her appearance that caused her to "click" for me. Or maybe it's that she started doing nude scenes.

Jessica Biel is somebody who still doesn't work for me. I know a lot of people think she's amazingly hot but I don't see it.

[Tangent]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

As a completely heterosexual man, every man falls into this category for me.

You think all men are beautiful?

[Filbert]

For the male types, I'd have to say Orlando Bloom.

I mean, I'd quite like a pet one, but for decorative purposes only.

[bump]

I always thought Brooke Shields had an unearthly beauty in her younger years, but wasn't ever what I'd call sexy. However, now that she's older and (seems to be) more comfortable in her own skin, wow... that sexy switch has flipped!

Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman fall into the beautiful, but not sexy category these days.

[well he's back]

Elijah Wood = beautiful but not sexy

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by Tangent

You think all men are beautiful?

I like to look for the inner beauty that's inside of everyone. That or I should have put more thought into my post.

What I meant was that every man falls into the "not sexy" category for me.

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by bump

Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman fall into the beautiful, but not sexy category these days.

As I wrote above, there was a long time I didn't find Portman particularly sexy. But I always thought Knightley was sexy. Which is weird because I recognize how similar the two women look to each other.

[Tangent]

I am currently rewatching all of Star Trek: TNG, which I first watched in its initial run when I was a teenager. I am reminded that I've always thought that Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher) was very beautiful, but not sexy at all.

Marina Sirtis, on the other hand, makes my pants go crazy.

[don't mind me]

For me, Hugh Jackman. (Sorry, Eve.) He's a perfect specimen of manliness and seems like an all around swell guy, but... nothing. Wouldn't mine having a beer with him, though.

[Sage Rat]

Watching Fringe, I was always impressed by how little sex appeal Anna Torv has, for being a very beautiful woman.

[It's Not Rocket Surgery!]

To me the best example of high beauty/low sex appeal is Jennifer Aniston. She just doesn't do it for me.

Ditto for Emily Deschanel (Zooey is hot, though),

When I was growing up, Blair and Jo on The Facts Of Life were supposed to be hotties, but they left me cold. Tootie was the only one on that show with any sex appeal at all.

[MrDibble]

Originally Posted by JimmyFlair

January Jones?

Oooh, yes. Just rewatched X-Men: First Class and yes, even in lingerie, no sexy.

ETA: So far, it looks like it's often the Nordic Ice Princess type that gets the beautiful-not-sexy label, or is that just me?

[PandaBear77]

Jodie Foster.

[Interrobang]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

Hilary Swank

I gotta say, I see her as totally the opposite. Hilary is kind of the classic butterface (though she has a really nice smile)...but that body is unreal!

Someone mentioned January Jones, and I think she's a great example. No heat there at all. Also, and I know this will be controversial, but I have to with Charlize Theron.

[DrDeth]

Beyonce Knowles for the win. They push her as sexy but you know at the end of the nite you'd get nothing but a polite handshake so as not to muss her perfect makeup.

[Tapiotar]

Interesting, applying this to men from my hetero female POV. There are many men beautiful to look at (Matthew Bomer, Hugh Jackman, Orlando Bloom), but the more beautiful a man is, the less sexy. I'd have an easier time listing men who are not handsome or beautiful, but who are very hot.

Exception: Viggo Mortesen as Aragorn. The scruffy hair and beard, the warrior role, the swordsmanship, made him very hot.

[gytalf2000]

I have heard people describe Olivia Newton-John with the phrase that you used -- "beautiful but not sexy"! Same thing with Lynda Carter. I, on the other hand, thought that they qualified as both! Opinions?

[Skald the Rhymer]

Originally Posted by Tangent

I am currently rewatching all of Star Trek: TNG, which I first watched in its initial run when I was a teenager. I am reminded that I've always thought that Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher) was very beautiful, but not sexy at all.

Marina Sirtis, on the other hand, makes my pants go crazy.

I can see your point about McFadden, but I think she didn't come off as sexy because she neither played the character that way nor was costumed in a catsuit or sundress. I recall an early episode in which she joined Picard in one of his hard-boiled mysteries on the holodeck. Dressed as a femme fatale and showing off her legs, she was extremely sexy.

Marina Sirtis never did it for me, for some reason. Not even her clavicles.

[Skald the Rhymer]

Originally Posted by PandaBear77

Jodie Foster.

Now that is simple madness. That woman is made of sex appeal. Even momming it up in Panic Room and Flight Plan, she was quite hot. I love her nose in particular.

Originally Posted by gytalf2000

I have heard people describe Olivia Newton-John with the phrase that you used -- "beautiful but not sexy"! Same thing with Lynda Carter. I, on the other hand, thought that they qualified as both! Opinions?

No opinion on Newton-John, but Lynda Carter was quite hot on Wonder Woman.

[gytalf2000]

Originally Posted by Skald the Rhymer

Now that is simple madness. That woman is made of sex appeal. Even momming it up in Panic Room and Flight Plan, she was quite hot. I love her nose in particular.



No opinion on Newton-John, but Lynda Carter was quite hot on Wonder Woman.

I certainly thought so! I was very surprised to hear that some guys thought differently.

[Skald the Rhymer]

Originally Posted by gytalf2000

I certainly thought so! I was very surprised to hear that some guys thought differently.

I recall when WW changed both networks and time settings. When they moved to the current day, they ditched Wonder Woman's invisible plane in what even the 12-year-old Skald recognized as a transparent ploy to force Lynda Carter to do more cross-country runs. I knew I was being manipulated; we all did. No one cared.

[StusBlues]

Originally Posted by bump

Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman fall into the beautiful, but not sexy category these days.

Keira Knightley was the first person I thought of when I saw the thread title--but only in the Pirates movies. Between the wardrobe, lighting, and makeup, she is uncannily beautiful, but not someone I find sexy at all.

The candid shots of her that I've seen, on the other hand, are neither remarkably beautiful or sexy. I've seen some pics where she's more pretty than average, but not someone you look at and say "wow".

ETA: I really have to wonder about anyone who doesn't find Lynda Carter sexy.

[Irishman]

Originally Posted by Nunzio Tavulari

re: Cobie Smulders

She's got a man's chin & cheekbones, but women's lips. Throw out the unnaturally colored contacts and ditch the make up, add a little five o'çlock shadow, and you've got Tom Cruise. I prefer the short hair.

How much crack have you been smoking? There's nothing that looks masculine about her. She was the hottest thing in The Avengers. Yes, hotter than Scarlett Johansen.

[Slow Moving Vehicle]

Originally Posted by Raskolnikov

she's German actually and has a classic German face, best indicator is her nose and to a lesser degree cheeks. She in no way has a classic English/British face.

German? How on earth is she German? Her great-great grandfather Albert was from Germany, yes, but my great-great grandfather emigrated from Sligo; doesn't make me Irish.

[PapSett]

Originally Posted by Filbert

For the male types, I'd have to say Orlando Bloom.

I mean, I'd quite like a pet one, but for decorative purposes only.

I would be more than happy to take your share then. Yes, to me, VERY seXy!

[coolbyrne]

Someone's already mentioned Tilda Swinton
I'd add Ralph Fiennes
and (an albeit little-known) English actress, Mandana Jones.

Beautiful, all of them. Not sure they'd be considered "sexy".

[planetcory]

Originally Posted by coolbyrne

(an albeit little-known) English actress, Mandana Jones.

Never heard of her before just now, but she's totally doing it for me. Maybe she loses something in action.

For the question at hand, I offer a controversial nominee: Jessica Alba. Very pretty, but... nothing.

[Balance]

Originally Posted by Skald the Rhymer

In Kidman's case, I think it's the role. In To Die For, she was made of sex, but in The Golden Compass my only thought was, "My god, I'm glad there's no reason for her to take her clothes off in this role."

After reviewing image search to compare reference photos, I think her hairstyle makes a totally unreasonable difference. The more it's swept back, the more she turns into the Ice Queen. Frankly, though, she didn't strike me as particularly sexy in any of them.

My tastes are admittedly a bit eccentric, though. The classically beautiful Hollywood types don't rank especially high with me, and the more they're trying to look sexy, the more the hotness factor drops. "Sexy" is rarely sexy. Happiness is sexy. One of the sexiest women I've ever known was flat as a board, gifted with a generous sprinkling of freckles, and utterly artless in pose...but she positively bubbled over with happiness, and that made all the difference.

[Skald the Rhymer]

Originally Posted by planetcory

Never heard of her before just now, but she's totally doing it for me. Maybe she loses something in action.

I'd never heard of Mandana Jones either, but judging strictly from the linked picture, she's a definite hottie. Hits a specific button of mine.

For the question at hand, I offer a controversial nominee: Jessica Alba. Very pretty, but... nothing.

I too have never seen the big deal about Alba. She'd be pretty if she gained some weight, but as of the last thing I saw her in (Fantastic Four, a zillion years ago now), she's not to my taste either beauty or hotness wise.

[Chefguy]

Michelle Pfeiffer. I could stare at her for hours, but she doesn't really exude sexual allure.

[Alessan]

Originally Posted by Balance

After reviewing image search to compare reference photos, I think her hairstyle makes a totally unreasonable difference. The more it's swept back, the more she turns into the Ice Queen. Frankly, though, she didn't strike me as particularly sexy in any of them.

I concur - which is why she was sexiest back in her curly-haired Dead Calm days.

[PunditLisa]

Sexiness is just another word for x-factor, no?

IMO, the poster man for this is Chris O'Donnell. Objectively speaking, he's a good looking man. But he doesn't have any x factor at all. It's like someone cloroxed his personality. Even trying to give him Mark Wahlberg abs doesn't help:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ro...an_Forever.jpg

For the women, I nominate Victoria Beckham, though I'm not sure you can call her beautiful at this point. She used to be beautiful, back when she ate, but her rail thin appearance and sucked-on-a-lemon expression have ruined her.

Many of the women who've appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" fall into this category IMO: Brooke Burke, Melissa Gilbert, Jennifer Grey, Kristin Cavalerri, Kelly Monaco....