# "A great beauty" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2006, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369 "2006-10-05T10:54:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/21 "2006-10-05T17:55:39Z")
In terms of perfection of features, there is (was? haven’t seen a pic recently) Connie Selecca – but she lacked the spark of intelligence/personality that women like Isabella Rossellini, Catherine Deneuve, and some of the others seem to have. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/22 "2006-10-05T17:59:31Z")
I catch glimpses of it in Drew Barrymore. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/23 "2006-10-05T18:01:28Z")
First in here with Ashley Judd? It’s all in the eye of the beholder to be sure, but I’d agree there are some standards, and Grace Kelly definitely fits the mold. Ingrid Bergman too, I still get a chubby watching Casablanca. Not really. Ok, yeah. Sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/24 "2006-10-05T18:01:54Z")
[QUOTE=mack] I catch glimpses of it in Drew Barrymore. [/QUOTE] I don’t know. I can’t handle the way the one corner of her mouth is slightly slack, like Sylvester Stallone or a stroke victim. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/25 "2006-10-05T18:22:32Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] 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. [/QUOTE] I think it had to do with the fact that I read your comment and then shortly afterwards I saw her on the Actor’s Studio and I was reminded of what you said. It is indeed very difficult to know what someone really looks like when you’ve only seen them on film or in print. I haven’t seen very many famous folks in the flesh, but many years ago when my boyfriend was working as a cameraman for the local TV news, there was a big difference between how the on-camera personnel looked on television and IRL. IRL, people are almost always thinner, shorter and have darker skin tones than you’d think by seeing them on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/26 "2006-10-05T18:25:25Z")
I’d say Kate Winslet is definitely a great beauty, as are Scarlett Johanssen, Jennifer Connelly (I can’t believe I’m the first to mention her!), and Catherine Zeta-Jones. I’d have to say Rhona Mitra, Elizabeth Banks, Gina Gershon, Angelina Jolie, and Alyson Hannigan should be up there too, but not everyone would agree with me on them. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/27 "2006-10-05T19:15:53Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] I can’t handle the way the one corner of her mouth is slightly slack [/QUOTE] She makes up for any of that by rising from the ashes of her youth, in my book. Besides, it’s the odd little imperfections that set the stunners apart from the ordinary. A mole, a crooked smile, a slight overbite… [QUOTE=Trunk] Modern day: I might call Scarlett Johanson a great beauty. [/QUOTE] Yes she is. Good for her that she’s navigating the waters between precocious adolescence and adulthood so well. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/28 "2006-10-05T19:18:31Z")
Like **WhyNot** , I think Audrey Hepburn earned a “great beauty” designation. I just saw \*Spanglish \* on DVD, and I think Paz Vega is a very strong contender to join this exclusive list. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/29 "2006-10-05T20:59:53Z")
Kate Winslet definitely counts as a great beauty in my book. I’ll go ahead and jump on that Grace Kelly bandwagon. I’d also like to nominate [Irene Jacob](http://images.google.com/images?q=Irene+Jacob&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images). ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/30 "2006-10-05T23:52:29Z")
Current great beauties: Jennifer Connelly, Kate Winslet, and Scarlett Johanssen, no question. All of the women that I consider great beauties rather than just beautiful have see to have some quality–I can’t quite put it into words–a tranquility, a stillness about them. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/31 "2006-10-06T00:02:37Z")
Today is Ms. Winslet’s 31st birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/32 "2006-10-06T00:02:40Z")
I’d say, as is the case with all actresses, she is a great beauty whenever her stylist/costumer is [on](http://www.kinoweb.de/film2001/Quills/pix/qu3.jpg). What’s the male equivalent of ‘great beauty’? ---
**Author:** ![Ragiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6de8d8/32.png) [@Ragiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ragiel)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/33 "2006-10-06T00:31:54Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Fight] I’d say, as is the case with all actresses, she is a great beauty whenever her stylist/costumer is [on](http://www.kinoweb.de/film2001/Quills/pix/qu3.jpg). What’s the male equivalent of ‘great beauty’? [/QUOTE] “Classically handsome” if spoken in admiration; “movie-star” or “male-model” if a lesser degree of warmth is intended. All adjectives, though. I’m still trying to think of an equivalent noun. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/34 "2006-10-06T00:32:28Z")
My nominees are below. I listed what I consider to be some of the most beautiful women and then looked at the list and decided who was actually “great”: Great Beauties: Catherine Zeta Jones Catherine DeNeuve Ingrid Bergman Elizabeth Taylor Runner’s Up: Kate Winslet Sharon Stone Audrey Hepburn ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/35 "2006-10-06T00:41:46Z")
Two great beauties: Michelle Pfeiffer in Ladyhawke and Alice Krige in Ghoststory. Meg Ryan has that cute-as-a-button thing down cold, but I wouldn’t call her a great beauty. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/36 "2006-10-06T00:52:09Z")
Additional great beauties of days gone by: Katharine Hepburn Myrna Loy ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/37 "2006-10-06T01:20:08Z")
I’ll third Salma Hayek and add in some classic Dawn Wells. And I’ll add Hyapatia Lee, who although a pornstar, had a remarkably beautiful face. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/38 "2006-10-06T01:32:39Z")
[QUOTE=gytalf2000] I nominate Lynda Carter! [/QUOTE] She was been #1 on my list since I was 4 years old. I also nominate [Vivian Leigh](http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/488753/index.html) although most of the pictures I found don’t seem to do her justice. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/39 "2006-10-06T02:41:33Z")
I’d rather have Kate Winslet than Cathrine Zeta-Jones _and_ Salma Hayek at the same time! C Z-J and SH are definitely beautiful, and very sexy, but I’m not sure I’d say either one is “great”. C Z\_J in particular just looks too airbrushed and perfect to me; it’s like she’s hardly even human. (Obviously, I agree with **mack**. I also have a longstanding crush on Drew Barrymore, who can at times look truely beautiful.) But Kate…I’m not sure how anyone could look more perfect. And for crying out loud, she’s practically the only woman in Hollywood with real curves any more! I especially like her in that Visa commercial. (Or is it AmEx?) She’s divine. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369/40 "2006-10-06T03:05:32Z")
Damn, I’ve been watching an Avengers ep tonight and I didn’t even SEE it! Diana FRICKING Riggs, motherfuckers!!! Absotively noptotch! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-great-beauty/375369.md?page=3)