# Let's list persons who are beautiful but not sexy. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936 "2012-07-01T20:00:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/41 "2012-07-02T22:15:10Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/42 "2012-07-02T23:11:36Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/43 "2012-07-02T23:51:52Z")
> [@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! ---
**Author:** ![coolbyrne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bc79bd/32.png) [@coolbyrne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coolbyrne)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/44 "2012-07-03T00:11:25Z")
Someone’s already mentioned [Tilda Swinton](http://cdn.blogs.sheknows.com/celebsalon.sheknows.com//2010/09/tilda-swinton-hairstyle.jpg) I’d add [Ralph Fiennes](http://i2.listal.com/image/1047435/600full-ralph-fiennes.jpg) and (an albeit little-known) English actress, [Mandana Jones](http://www.mandanafc.com/photos/pic8.jpg). Beautiful, all of them. Not sure they’d be considered “sexy”. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/45 "2012-07-03T03:22:25Z")
> [@coolbyrne](#): > > (an albeit little-known) English actress, [Mandana Jones](http://www.mandanafc.com/photos/pic8.jpg). 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. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/46 "2012-07-03T04:17:04Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/47 "2012-07-03T22:15:26Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/48 "2012-07-03T23:19:27Z")
Michelle Pfeiffer. I could stare at her for hours, but she doesn’t really exude sexual allure. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/49 "2012-07-04T05:09:37Z")
> [@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](http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/13800000/Nicole-Kidman-Dead-Calm-Press-Conference-nicole-kidman-13829771-430-581.jpg)\* Dead Calm\* days. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/50 "2012-07-04T11:51:53Z")
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:Robin\_Batman\_Forever.jpg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robin_Batman_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… ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/51 "2012-08-17T16:04:34Z")
Sexy was something Nicole Kidman never did well. She is an amazingly beautiful woman, but sexy? Hard to see it. Natalie Portman’s beauty seems to be more because you see her and you see that you might actually enjoy her company. Kiera Knightly; not so much. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/52 "2012-08-17T16:22:11Z")
Agree with Jessica Biehl, and my pick would be Sandra Bullock. Beautiful but not in any way sexy at all. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/53 "2012-08-17T16:28:23Z")
> [@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. Snap, I was going to mention her. She was very attractive, but even playing a prostitute in _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_ I never had the impression that she actually… _did it_, you know. I never had a sense that Audrey Hepburn felt lust A lot of film stars from the past were attractive but not really _sexy_, although that might be because the photography and the films had to allude to sexiness without being too risque. In the modern era, er, Amanda Peet? Nice, but she looks like someone you’d take out to dinner or something wishy-washy like that, rather than _the other thing_. Pam Dawber, from Mork & Mindy? Looked nice in jeans, always smiling, not really sexy. Sorry, if you’re reading this. Lots of television actresses ditto. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/54 "2012-08-17T18:07:34Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > 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. The British Royal Family has been of German lineage ever since George I inherited the throne back in the early 18th century. (He spoke no English, as I recall.) Even the Duke of Edinburgh, who was born in Greece, is of German and Danish descent. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/55 "2012-08-17T18:10:40Z")
Thinking of the last movie I’ve seen (The Avengers). Samuel Jackson. Very attractive man, does nothing for me. Chris Evans. Very classically attractive. No sex appeal to me. Compare him to Nathon Fillion, who has the same sort of look, but is much sexier. Chris Hemsworth, same sort of look, same effect. And then there’s Tom Hiddleston, who isn’t terribly attractive, but YUM. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/56 "2012-08-17T19:36:59Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The British Royal Family has been of German lineage ever since George I inherited the throne back in the early 18th century. (He spoke no English, as I recall.) Which makes me think of [Kate Middleton, now Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine,_Duchess_of_Cambridge). Very pretty girl, downright stunning sometimes, but I’ve never seen her in any context that suggests “sexy” to me. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/57 "2012-08-17T19:39:36Z")
> [@coolbyrne](#): > > I’d add [Ralph Fiennes](http://i2.listal.com/image/1047435/600full-ralph-fiennes.jpg) See, Ralph Fiennes is kind of the opposite for me. I’ve never really considered him all that good-looking; there’s something about his face that seems a little off. But he has a smoldering quality that is sexy as hell, even when he was playing a shy, introverted character in **The Constant Gardener**. There’s a sensuality to him that’s always bubbling beneath the surface, and I find that incredibly sexy. Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett were the first two people I thought of. Lovely, but not particularly sexy, particularly Blanchett. ---
**Author:** ![Greekfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@Greekfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greekfreak)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/58 "2012-08-18T01:41:04Z")
Anne Hathaway. Like Rachel McAdam, I find her cute beyond belief, but not necessarily sexy. Scarlett Johanssen, on the other hand, I’d eat her shit with a knife and fork. ---
**Author:** ![Greekfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@Greekfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greekfreak)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/59 "2012-08-18T01:46:44Z")
Anne Hathaway. Like Rachel McAdam, I find her cute beyond belief, but not necessarily sexy. Scarlett Johanssen, on the other hand, I’d eat her shit with a knife and fork. Sexy: (Play with time a little, here) Jamie Lee Curtis Sophia Loren Ava Gardner Mariska Hargitay Jane Seymour Dina Meyer Greta Scacchi Elizabeth Perkins Helen Mirren Lena Olin Christina Hendricks Unsexy Drew Barrymore Cameron Diaz Halle Berry Catherine Deneuve Kelly McGillis Elizabeth Taylor Gwenyth Paltrow (completely sexless) January Jones ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936/60 "2012-08-18T01:50:26Z")
> [@Greekfreak](#): > > Gwenyth Paltrow (completely sexless) I agree but I can’t put my finger on exactly _why_. Can you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-persons-who-are-beautiful-but-not-sexy/626936.md?page=4)