# Funny and sexy at the same time
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [February 9, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098 "2009-02-09T17:51:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/1 "2009-02-09T17:51:57Z")
Is there a more difficult combination for an actress to do well? Comediennes seem like they have to be abrasive, abusive, or stupid (or all three), and while I can usuallly see the humor, those are also instant turn-offs. Is this an American trait; is it the nature of our comic tradition that to be funny you have to be unappealing? Or is it just for women; can the doperettes run off a long list of funny, sexy actors?
A few who have managed to pull it off:
Teri Garr in _Young Frankenstein_
Maura Tierney and Vicki Lewis on _NewsRadio_
Megan Mullally on _Will & Grace_ (gets a pass on the abusive/abrasiveness, because it’s such an caricature it makes me think the actress must have a great sense of humor to play it so over-the-top)
Any other nominations for the funny and sexy list, or musings on why it’s so rare?
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### Author:  [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/2 "2009-02-09T18:00:01Z")
Something about Julia Louis-Dreyfus makes me think she’d have mad funny & sexy skillz.
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### Author:  [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/3 "2009-02-09T18:01:54Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> Any other nominations for the funny and sexy list…
Marilyn Monroe, Some Like It Hot
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/4 "2009-02-09T18:07:48Z")
Where to begin?
Writers who can’t write for female characters, funny or not. Screenplays wherein the men are the funny ones and women are there for eye candy or to project upon (see the thread about The Girl).
Casting actresses in comedies for looks rather than a background in stand-up or improv.
Christopher Hitchens.
Acting like a lady.
What is considered attractive in a woman versus a man.
The assumed qualities of very attractive women.
What men find funny versus what women find funny (and who gets the final re: what’s ‘really’ funny).
In addition to the ladies listed above, comedians I both enjoy and find attractive include Amy Sedaris, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate, Monica Keena, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Joanna Lumley, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Wanda Sykes…
> [@](#):
>
> Is this an American trait; is it the nature of our comic tradition that to be funny you have to be unappealing?
Certainly not. With average or downright ugly male comedians, just being funny hides a multitude of flaws.
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### Author:  [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/5 "2009-02-09T18:08:46Z")
Markie Post, best known from Night Court.
Goldie Hawn.
Reese Witherspoon.
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### Author:  [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/6 "2009-02-09T18:13:15Z")
**Mary Tyler Moore** , in either the Dick Van Dyke show or her own.
Or, in her current incarnation: \*\* Tina Fey\*\*
What do I win?
ETA: yeah, I know they are different kinds of Funny, but I do think Tina is carrying the sitcom torch in the way that MTM did when her self-titled show ruled the airwaves…
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### Author:  [@HolyFreakingMoly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HolyFreakingMoly)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/7 "2009-02-09T18:39:37Z")
Meg Ryan comes to mind.
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### Author:  [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/8 "2009-02-09T18:40:43Z")
Kristen Wiig is hot and funny – she’s hunny.
I’d like to see her in something else besides an SNL sketch or a brief movie role where she plays an SNL-type chracter.
Amy Sedaris is very funny and pretty good looking. She tries so hard to not look good though.😉
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### Author:  [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/9 "2009-02-09T18:40:45Z")
Jaime Presley on “My Name is Earl”. A good-looking woman who has no problem looking utterly ridiculous, mugging like hell, and has real comedy chops.
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### Author:  [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/10 "2009-02-09T18:44:43Z")
Second on Jaime Pressly. Simply amazing.
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### Author:  [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/11 "2009-02-09T18:48:18Z")
I believe that Tina Fey actually gets hotter the more comedic she’s being. God, I love that woman.
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### Author:  [@HolyFreakingMoly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HolyFreakingMoly)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/12 "2009-02-09T18:56:05Z")
Oh, and Candace Bergen, who I think is very hot, was hysterical as Murphy Brown. I still think she’s beautiful and funny on Boston Legal.
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### Author:  [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/13 "2009-02-09T18:58:23Z")
> [@HolyFreakingMoly](#):
>
> Oh, and Candace Bergen, who I think is very hot, was hysterical as Murphy Brown. I still think she’s beautiful and funny on Boston Legal.
Oh yeah. Stunning and has a great sense of humor…
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### Author:  [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/14 "2009-02-09T19:01:11Z")
How has Jane Krakowski not been mentioned? She’s very pretty, & while perhaps more “actress” than “comedienne,” good at a kind of whimsical sexiness / sexy comedy.
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### Author:  [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/15 "2009-02-09T19:02:56Z")
I agree with lots of the above, and I’ll add **Téa Leoni** on _The Naked Truth_ back in the 90’s. She was better than the show.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/16 "2009-02-09T19:12:34Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#):
>
> Writers who can’t write for female characters, funny or not. Screenplays wherein the men are the funny ones and women are there for eye candy or to project upon (see the thread about The Girl).
That’s sort of what I meant about the comedy tradition. How many TV comedies have there been where the lead character is a buffoon, who is kept in check (and belittled) by a wise, long-suffereing spouse. Usually the lead is a man, but not always; there was _I Love Lucy_. Neither character comes out looking all that good.
> [@](#):
>
> Casting actresses in comedies for looks rather than a background in stand-up or improv.
You go on to mention a few _Saturday Night live_ cast members. One change I’ve noticed on that show over the years is how they’ve embraced the stand-up comedy style of performance. Compare the Aykroyd/Curtin _Weekend Update_ with the Fey/Poehler era. The new play-to-the-audience approach doesn’t work for me like the old, deadpan style did. A background in stand-up seems to bring with it a particular stand-up personality.
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### Author:  [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/17 "2009-02-09T19:19:31Z")
Barbara Stanwyck in _The Lady Eve_ & _Ball of Fire_
Myrna Loy in _The Thin Man_ & _Love Me Tonight_
Miriam Hopkins & Kay Francis in _Trouble in Paradise_
Veronica Lake in _Sullilvan’s Travels_
Joan Blondell in _Golddiggers of 1933_ and _Footlight Parade_
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### Author:  [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/18 "2009-02-09T19:22:39Z")
Madeleine Kahn in any Mel Brooks movie
Jan Hooks and Victoria Jackson, 1986-1991ish. I know they hated each other in real life, but man wotta combination!
Jamie Lee Curtis in the 80s.
Joan Cusack in **Addams Family Values**
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### Author:  [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/19 "2009-02-09T19:23:42Z")
Bernadette Peters!
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-and-sexy-at-the-same-time/485098/20 "2009-02-09T19:30:22Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#):
>
> Barbara Stanwyck in _The Lady Eve_ & _Ball of Fire_
> Myrna Loy in _The Thin Man_ & _Love Me Tonight_
> Miriam Hopkins & Kay Francis in _Trouble in Paradise_
> Veronica Lake in _Sullilvan’s Travels_
> Joan Blondell in _Golddiggers of 1933_ and _Footlight Parade_
In that case:
Carole Lombard in _My Man Godfrey_ (A little clueless and manipulative, but her heart was in the right place. And extra points for having the funniest closing line in movie history.)
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