"A great beauty"

Cafe Society
1

Last night I was reading the interview with Kate Winslet in the current Entertainment Weekly, and in the scene-setting opening, the interviewer says something along the lines of “blah blah blah, she is, of course, a great beauty, despite her charmingly down-to-earth presentation of self…”

Okay, I’m paraphrasing like mad here, but the author definitely described Winslet as “a great beauty.”

Except she isn’t.

Let alone “of course, a great beauty.”

Now, I’ll give you “a beautiful woman” – though even that isn’t beyond debate (there’s something very, very weird about her mouth, esp. her upper lip) – but she’s not “a great beauty.”

Because, like porn, “a great beauty” may be hard to define, but you know it when you see it.

So, question one is “what does ‘a great beauty’ mean?”

And question two is “who, past or present, would you consider ‘a great beauty’?”

I’ve got no answer to either one, but I’ve got an hour drive ahead of me on which to meditate on these issues.

2

She has a fantastic rack tho’ :smiley:

3

Modern day: I might call Scarlett Johanson a great beauty. She’s about the only actress I can think of right now who I just can’t look away from when she’s on screen. But, she’s so far from classically beautiful that that choice is hard to defend.

I’d call Jessica Biel a great booty.

4

[QUOTE=twickster]
Last night I was reading the interview with Kate Winslet in the current Entertainment Weekly, and in the scene-setting opening, the interviewer says something along the lines of “blah blah blah, she is, of course, a great beauty, despite her charmingly down-to-earth presentation of self…”

Okay, I’m paraphrasing like mad here, but the author definitely described Winslet as “a great beauty.”

Except she isn’t.

Let alone “of course, a great beauty.”

Now, I’ll give you “a beautiful woman” – though even that isn’t beyond debate (there’s something very, very weird about her mouth, esp. her upper lip) – but she’s not “a great beauty.”

Because, like porn, “a great beauty” may be hard to define, but you know it when you see it.

So, question one is “what does ‘a great beauty’ mean?”

And question two is “who, past or present, would you consider ‘a great beauty’?”

I’ve got no answer to either one, but I’ve got an hour drive ahead of me on which to meditate on these issues.
[/QUOTE]

It’s the opposite of an insignificant beauty. Like Paris Hilton, for instance. (I may have used the word “beauty” too liberally here.)

I agree, she may be pretty, but she’s no “great” beauty.

Examples of great beauties:

Sophia Loren
Catherine Deneuve

5

I’d call Winslet a great beauty, Earth Mama division. They come in all flavors, not just apple cheeked, big-eyed blondes with no waist and big racks.

6

She put the tit in Titanic.

7

[QUOTE=twickster]
Because, like porn, “a great beauty” may be hard to define, but you know it when you see it.

So, question one is “what does ‘a great beauty’ mean?”
[/QUOTE]
I’m a firm believer in the whole eye-of-the-beholder thing. “A great beauty” means different different women to different people. Would many people call Angeline Jolie a great beauty? She doesn’t do a thing for me.

8

Oh, yeah, I think Winslet is a great beauty. Nicole Kidman, when she eats something, is a great beauty. I think her best look was Moulin Rouge, but she’s too skinny these days and I sense she’s not going to age well - the skinny ones rarely do. Morena Baccarin, definitely. Audrey Hepburn, Isabella Rossellini (who isn’t aging at all, clearly she’s a vampire), and I second Loren and Deneuve…these are the women that make my stomach ache for their beauty.

Yeah, I have a thing for big eyes.

9

Two words: Grace Kelly.

Everyone’s gotta agree on that one, right?

10

Yeah, Grace Kelly (my homegirl – seriously, she grew up in my neighborhood in Philly).

And Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge is a great beauty.

Seriously, though? Kate Winslet? Who knew! (I saw her a few days ago in All the King’s Men and she was seriously meh. IMHO.)

11

[QUOTE=Winston Bongo]
Two words: Grace Kelly.

Everyone’s gotta agree on that one, right?
[/QUOTE]

Right up to the point where she opens her mouth.

12

[QUOTE=Winston Bongo]
Two words: Grace Kelly.

Everyone’s gotta agree on that one, right?
[/QUOTE]

Oh definitely.

13

Gina Lollobrigida was beautiful and the following were or still are

Catherine Zeta Jones
Debbie Harry
Catherine Deneuve
Brigitte Bardot
Elizabeth Taylor
Susan George
…and my all time fave…Meg Ryan…swoon

14

[QUOTE=twickster]
Seriously, though? Kate Winslet? Who knew! (I saw her a few days ago in All the King’s Men and she was seriously meh. IMHO.)
[/QUOTE]

Well, Rick Jay, in this post from an earlier thread, saw her in person at the airport and apparently she is quite beautiful IRL.

15

I think Catherine Zeta Jones & Salyma Hayek are both beautiful.

16

[QUOTE=romansperson]
Well, Rick Jay, in this post from an earlier thread, saw her in person at the airport and apparently she is quite beautiful IRL.
[/QUOTE]

She was jaw-dropping. If Kate Winslet isn’t a great beauty, nobody is. The camera does her no justice.

On another note, it just amazes me people can remember stuff I wrote. I can’t remember stuff like that.

17

I nominate Maureen O’Hara, with her gorgeous features, perfect figure and that incomparable red hair. Accompanying the glorious physical attributes are her obvious intelligence, strength of character and just plain niceness. A magnificent woman in every respect.

I know the OP asked for examples only of physical beauty, but I mention character and brains because true beauty doesn’t exixt without them. Without these traits, you have Paris Hilton, pretty but empty.

18

I’ll nominate Jean Simmons as “a great beauty.”

Note that this is Jean Simmons, not Gene Simmons, who is “a great ugly.”

19

Kate Winslett is an attractive woman, beautiful even but I wouldn’t rank her as one of the greats.

Isabella Rossalini, Grace Kelly and others mentioned above would fit that catergory.

20

I nominate Lynda Carter!