# Not conventionally pretty, but attractive nonetheless **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384 "2010-04-16T19:32:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/1 "2010-04-16T19:32:04Z")
What actresses are not pretty like most are, but are very attractive nonetheless? I thought of this while watching the 2005 miniseries Bleak House (a great one, by the way). The main character is played by Ana Maxwell Martin [http://verdouxtv.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/anna-maxwell-martin-bleak-house.jpg](http://verdouxtv.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/anna-maxwell-martin-bleak-house.jpg), who is just wonderful in it. She isn’t pretty in any normal way, but very attractive anyway. (that isn’t the best picture, but the only one I could find) Who else? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/2 "2010-04-16T21:24:50Z")
I have to disagree with your assessment of this particular actress. Although I don’t swing that way (so my judgment may be suspect) she does not seem to me to be even remotely attractive. She is as plain, as the saying goes, as a mud fence, and she had to be for that role. It seems a lot of the lead actresses in various Masterpiece Classics and similar updates of classic movies are not conventionally beautiful. In the 1996 “Jane Eyre” they certainly made [Charlotte Gainsbourg](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1228381440/nm0001250) look rather plain, again necessary for the role. I recently watched a 2008 miniseries of “Sense and Sensibility”, with the lead role of Elinor played by someone named Hattie Morahan (never heard of her before). [This](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4122317824/nm0602455) is kind of a glammed up photo, she didn’t look anything like this good in the production. (Side note: interesting to me that, if I looked away from the screen, I often could not tell her voice and accent from the one used by Emma Thompson in the '95 movie version). Roddy ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/3 "2010-04-16T21:36:02Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I recently watched a 2008 miniseries of “Sense and Sensibility”, with the lead role of Elinor played by someone named Hattie Morahan (never heard of her before). [This](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4122317824/nm0602455) is kind of a glammed up photo, she didn’t look anything like this good in the production. (Side note: interesting to me that, if I looked away from the screen, I often could not tell her voice and accent from the one used by Emma Thompson in the '95 movie version). Good lord! That photo, “glammed up” or not - looks EXACTLY like the singer in my band! I am totally sending a link of that out to my bandmates…very weird. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/4 "2010-04-16T21:43:14Z")
Sigourney Weaver. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/5 "2010-04-16T22:46:28Z")
I would have said: [Claudia Black](http://cdn.mademan.com/chickipedia/images/5/5d/Claudia_black_full_8.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/6 "2010-04-17T04:44:23Z")
[Ellen Barkin](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3946811136/nm0000289) - not conventionally pretty, but set the screen on fire in _The Big Easy_. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/7 "2010-04-17T05:05:13Z")
Thus far, with the exception of the OPs link, all the women look conventionally pretty to me. I bet even the OPs example looks conventionally pretty in other photos. I’m reminded of the Suicide Girls website touting themselves as something other than conventional beauties when almost every one of them I’ve seen are conventionally beautiful. They just happen to have more tattoos and piercings than most other women. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/8 "2010-04-17T05:11:21Z")
[Kristen Schaal](http://www.google.com/images?num=100&hl=en&q=kristen+schaal) ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/9 "2010-04-17T05:13:18Z")
I don’t think any of these girls match what the OP is looking for. The one linked in the OP doesn’t look attractive at all. The others are all either attractive or they’re not. None of them are “Hm… I can’t put a finger on why, but GAWD she’s attractive!” ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/10 "2010-04-17T05:53:12Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I don’t think any of these girls match what the OP is looking for. The one linked in the OP doesn’t look attractive at all. The others are all either attractive or they’re not. None of them are “Hm… I can’t put a finger on why, but GAWD she’s attractive!” Well, part of the problem is that what makes someone attractive is so subjective anyway, that limiting it to “unconventionally attractive” begs the question, “What is conventional attractiveness?” I’d put Kristen Schaal in the “unconventionally attractive” category, but I could easily understand why someone else might find her beautiful or not at all attractive. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/11 "2010-04-17T05:57:41Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > Well, part of the problem is that what makes someone attractive is so subjective anyway, that limiting it to “unconventionally attractive” begs the question, “What is conventional attractiveness?” I’d put Kristen Schaal in the “unconventionally attractive” category, but I could easily understand why someone else might find her beautiful or not at all attractive. What’s funny is I had opened up that reply window and let it sit for a while before responding. Once I had, I just closed the tab. Coming back to see your response, I saw **Guano** ’s suggestion of Kristen Schaal. I think she is perfect for what the OP is looking for. Sorry for having missed it. She isn’t beautiful, really, but a part of me is attracted to her. Almost exactly what I’d said this thread was lacking. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/12 "2010-04-18T00:57:30Z")
I agree, Melon\*. She’s the first woman I saw that wasn’t traditionally beautiful. The OP in particular just looks like she’s not wearing makeup. My pick:[Pauly Parrette](http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/events/CSH-046977.jpg) as [Abby Sciuto](http://theloveofivy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/pauleyperrette.jpg). Does that meet with Melony approval? \*Got a better shortened name? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/13 "2010-04-18T01:13:34Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Got a better shortened name? Most places where I use AClockworkMelon as my user name people either call me Melon or ACM. Lol, call me whatever you’d like. > [@](#): > > My pick:[Pauly Parrette](http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/events/CSH-046977.jpg) as [Abby Sciuto](http://theloveofivy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/pauleyperrette.jpg). Does that meet with Melony approval? I just _knew_ someone would link to her! I fucking knew it. All my friends are gaga for this chick. Don’t get me wrong, I’d do her, but I’m not very attracted to her. To illustrate, I think she has more markers that would define a woman as being traditionally beautiful than Schaal, but I find Schaal far more attractive. Maybe it’s the overexposure I’ve experienced at the hands of my friends that’ve developed a hatred for Parrette in me, so YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/14 "2010-04-18T01:41:32Z")
Christiane Amanpour? I always thought she was oddly attractive, partly because of the way she talks. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/15 "2010-04-18T02:51:42Z")
I would have said [URL=“[Krysten Ritter - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1269983/)”]Kyrsten Ritter as she appeared in Gilmore Girls, but she’s now so much more conventionally pretty that I guess she no longer qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/16 "2010-04-18T03:51:27Z")
at one point in time [alyson hannigan](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sZ0_qnDDsFI/RnA0h1c0jyI/AAAAAAAAAeU/La4HjBPPMY0/s400/Alyson+Hannigan+in+American+pie.jpg) also [megyn price](http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x18/rikerdonegal/Rules%20Of%20Engagement/mp101.jpg) and the obligatory [renee zellweger](http://patrishka.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/renee-zellweger-nomakeup.jpg) and the teacher (first one) from malcolm in the middle [catherine loyd burns](http://l.yimg.com/l/tv/us/img/site/22/61/0000002261_20060919154213.jpg) but my main contribution is a 2-parter. [the silverman sisters](http://www.wmur.com/2007/0518/13344556.jpg) [sarah](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoNPq6yrMQI/Sxg796FNUdI/AAAAAAAACVk/E2OQRrXlELs/s400/sarahsilvzm8.jpg) and [laura](http://www.comedycentral.com/press/images/thesarahsilvermanprogram/seasontwo/laura_silverman.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/17 "2010-04-18T04:15:47Z")
I nominate Felicia Day. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/18 "2010-04-18T04:36:32Z")
How about Laura Dern? Unconventional for sure with that beak but still attractive. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/19 "2010-04-18T04:42:44Z")
Wow. Some of you must have very strict limits on what constitutes “conventionally pretty” if those are your suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Scruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Scruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruff)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384/20 "2010-04-18T05:01:05Z")
Just saw Christina Ricci on the Graham Norton show. I think she counts as attractive, but somewhat unconventionally pretty. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-conventionally-pretty-but-attractive-nonetheless/536384.md?page=2)