Many women are beautiful, but not all have achieved icon status. Some women just have "it" - the attitude, the allure and the enchanting looks that make them unforgettable and endlessly fascinating.
Meet the iconic beauties of yesterday and today that we just can't get enough of...
LAUREN BACALL
(born Betty Joan Perske)
Trademark looks: husky voice and “The Look” - chin down, eyes up
Most known for: "The Big Sleep," "How to Marry a Millionaire" (& famous lessons in whistling)
Husbands: Humphrey Bogart, Jason Robards
LUCILLE BALL
Trademark looks: red hair, heart-shaped lips
Most known for: impeccable comedic timing, hit TV show "I Love Lucy"
Husbands: Desi Arnaz, standup comedian Gary Morton
BRIGITTE BARDOT
Trademark looks: smoky eyes, pouty lips, the Bardot updo hairstyle
Most known for: popularizing the bikini, the original "sex kitten," many French films, animal rights activism (& disgustingly blatant racism)
Husbands: Roger Vadim, Jacques Charrier, Gunter Sachs, Bernard d'Ormale
INGRID BERGMAN
Trademark looks: Film critic Wanda Hale said of Ingrid: "She has a combination of rare beauty, freshness, vitality and ability that is as uncommon as a century plant in bloom."
Most known for: "Casablanca," "The Bells of St. Mary's" (& scandalous affair with Roberto Rossellini, which caused her to leave the U.S.)
Husbands: Petter Lindstrom, Roberto Rossellini, Lars Schmidt
HALLE BERRY
(Born Maria Halle Berry)
Trademark looks: beauty-queen looks and the official face of Revlon and Versace
Most known for: "Jungle Fever," "Monster's Ball," Bond girl, first African-American woman to win the Best Actress Oscar
Husbands: baseball player David Justice, Eric Benet
CYD CHARISSE
(Born Tula Ellice Finklea)
Trademark looks: great gams
Most known for: dancing with Gene Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain" (& million-dollar legs – although MGM was reputed to have insured her legs for a million dollars each, Charisse later revealed that the claim had been an invention of the MGM publicity machine)
Husbands: Nico Charisse, Tony Martin
CLEOPATRA
Trademark looks: Plutarch wrote of her: "what ultimately made Cleopatra attractive were her wit, charm and sweetness in the tones of her voice."
Most known for: last pharaoh of Egypt, affair with Mark Antony, suicide by asp
Husbands: royal consorts, including Julius Caesar and Marc Antony
CINDY CRAWFORD
Trademark looks: mole above her upper lip, all-American girl
Most known for: supermodel status
Husbands: Richard Gere, Rande Gerber
DOROTHY DANDRIDGE
Trademark looks: sultry, flirtatious style, dark eyes and beauty mark on her chin
Most known for: singer-dancer-actress, "Carmen Jones," "Porgy and Bess," first African-American woman to earn Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
Husbands: Harold Nicholas, Jack Denison
BETTE DAVIS
(Born Ruth Elizabeth Davis)
Trademark looks: those pretty peepers
Most known for: "Jezebel," "All About Eve," "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?," first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Husbands: Ham Nelson, Arthur Farnsworth, William Grant Sherry, Gary Merrill
CATHERINE DENEUVE
(Born Catherine Fabienne Dorléac)
Trademark looks: flawless Gallic features
Most known for: "Repulsion," "Belle de Jour," being one of France’s most successful actresses
Husband: British photographer David Bailey, relationship with Marcello Mastroianni produced a daughter
PRINCESS DIANA
Trademark looks: short blond hair, shy demeanor, glamorous gowns
Most known for: fairy-tale wedding, two princely sons, charity work, international style icon, paparazzi frenzy, untimely death
Husband: Prince Charles
MARLENE DIETRICH
(Born Marie Magdalene Dietrich)
Trademark looks: blue eyes, arched eyebrows; her New York Times obituary observed that "Her masculinity appeals to women and her sexuality to men."
Most known for: "The Blue Angel" (German), "Morocco," (& penchant for donning menswear)
Husband: Rudolf Sieber
GRETA GARBO
(Born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson)
Trademark looks: A New York Times film critic once wrote of her: "Set in the face of classic structure were large, sad, luminous eyes that expressed a limited but intense emotional range;" (& once voted by The Guinness Book of World Records as the most beautiful woman who ever lived)
Most known for: "Anna Karenina," "Anna Christie" and the nickname "Swedish Sphinx"
Husbands: none, though reportedly had liaisons with both men and women
AVA GARDNER
Trademark looks: her "earthy femininity" (more of a sultry, exotic beauty, but whatever...)
Most known for: "Mogambo," "The Barefoot Contessa," using colorful language, femme fatale status, tumultuous relationship with Frank Sinatra
Husbands: Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, Frank Sinatra
JEAN HARLOW
(Born Harlean Harlow Carpenter)
Trademark looks: platinum-blond hair, she was the "original blond bombshell"
Most known for: "Hell's Angels," "Dinner at Eight"
Husbands: Charles McGrew, Paul Bern, Harold Rosson, William Powell (she died before they wed)
RITA HAYWORTH
(Born Margarita Carmen Cansino)
Trademark looks: Red hair, radiant smile
Most known for: dancing with Fred Astaire; the films "Gilda," "The Strawberry Blonde," "You'll Never Get Rich," (& World War II pin-up girl, nickname “The Love Goddess”)
Husbands: Edward Charles Holmgren Judson, Orson Welles, Prince Aly Khan, Dick Haymes, James Hill
HELEN OF TROY
Trademark looks: the face that launched a thousand ships
Most known for: overwhelming beauty that triggered the Trojan War; daughter of Leda and Zeus
Husband: Menelaus
AUDREY HEPBURN
(Born Audrey Kathleen Ruston)
Trademark looks: angelic face, poise, elegance
Most known for: Holly Golightly, "Roman Holiday," the little black dress, UNICEF ambassador
Husbands: Mel Ferrer, Andrea Dotti
KATHARINE HEPBURN
Trademark looks: "a lithe, horsey beauty with a haughty voice" (American Theater Guide)
Most known for: "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "The Lion in Winter," "African Queen," "The Philadelphia Story"
Husband: Ludlow Ogden Smith, lifelong affair with Spencer Tracy; romance with Howard Hughes
LENA HORNE
Trademark looks: sparkling smile, smooth-as-silk voice
Most known for: pioneering jazz singer and actress, career lasting six decades; signature song "Stormy Weather," triumphant Broadway show "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music."
Husbands: Louis Jordan Jones, songwriter Lennie Hayton
ANGELINA JOLIE
(Born Angelina Jolie Voight)
Trademark looks: pouty lips, long brown hair, sultry eyes
Most known for: humanitarian work, her large family, films "Girl, Interrupted," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"
Husbands: Jonny Lee Miller, Billy Bob Thornton, domestic partner Brad Pitt
GRACE KELLY
Trademark looks: white gloves and string of pearls, classic elegant beauty, epitomizing the “Hitchcock Blonde”
Most known for: "Dial M for Murder," "Rear Window," princess of Monaco, flawless style, tragic death
Husband: Prince Rainier III of Monaco
VIVIEN LEIGH
(Born Vivian Mary Hartley)
Trademark looks: Catlike smile, raised right eyebrow
Most known for: "Gone With the Wind," "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Husbands: Herbert Leigh Holman, Laurence Olivier
SOPHIA LOREN
(Born Sofia Villani Scicolone)
Trademark looks: voluptuous brunette, the "Italian Marilyn Monroe"
Most known for: "La Ciociara," "The Black Orchid," "It Started in Naples" (& the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance)
Husband: Carlo Ponti
JAYNE MANSFIELD
(Born Vera Jayne Palmer)
Trademark looks: large bust, tiny waist, platinum blonde hair
Most known for: films "The Wayward Bus," "The Girl Can't Help It"; sexy pinup girl and first leading actress to pose nude in a mainstream film ("Promises! Promises!"); dying young (& giving life to HBIC Mariska Hargitay)
Husbands: Paul Mansfield, bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, Matt Cimber
MARILYN MONROE
(Born Norma Jean Mortenson)
Trademark looks: Platinum blonde hair, voluptuous figure, breathless voice
Most known for: "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "How to Marry a Millionaire," "Seven Year Itch," singing "Happy Birthday" (& doing other things) to JFK; dying young
Husbands: James Dougherty, Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller
NEFERTITI
Trademark looks: long neck, delicate features
Most known for: Queen of Egypt, the limestone bust of her uncovered in a dig at Marna; a name meaning "the beautiful one has come," (& religious revolution that she started with her husband)
Husband: Pharaoh Akhenaten
KIM NOVAK
(Born Marilyn Pauline Novak)
Trademarks: Husky, seductive voice
Most known for: "The Man With the Golden Arm," "Vertigo"
Husbands: Richard Johnson, Robert Malloy
JULIA ROBERTS
Trademark looks: megawatt smile, voluminous hair, her laugh
Most known for: "Pretty Woman," "Erin Brockovich"
Husbands: Lyle Lovett, Daniel Moder
JANE RUSSELL
(Born Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell)
Trademark looks: statuesque (aka busty) figure
Most known for: "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," World War II pinup girl, later in life was popular spokeswoman for Playtex full-figure bras
Husbands: high school sweetheart & NFL Hall of Famer Bob Waterfield, actor Roger Barrett, John Calvin Peoples
BROOKE SHIELDS
Trademark looks: teenage model of virginal innocence (idk, I would have thought “eyebrows” would have been mentioned here)
Most known for: "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins," "Suddenly Susan" TV show, speaking out about postpartum depression & “The Blue Lagoon,”
Husbands: Andre Agassi, Chris Henchy
ELIZABETH TAYLOR
Trademark looks: dark hair, dramatic eyebrows, porcelain skin
Most known for: "National Velvet," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and befriending Michael Jackson and Cleopatra - she was the first actress to be paid $1 million for a picture!
Husbands: Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, Michael Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton (twice), John Warner, Larry Fortensky
GENE TIERNEY
Trademark looks: prominent cheekbones, green eyes and a slight overbite
Most known for: "Laura," "Leave Her to Heaven"
Husbands: Oleg Cassini, W. Howard Lee
LANA TURNER
(Born Julia Jean Turner)
Trademark looks: "The Sweater Girl," WWII pinup
Most known for: "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Peyton Place" and a stormy affair with a mobster who was stabbed and killed by Turner's daughter during an altercation
Husbands: Artie Shaw, Stephen Crane, Henry Topping, Lex Barker, Fred May, Robert Eaton, Ronald Dante
TWIGGY
(Lesley Hornby)
Trademark looks: doe eyes, boyish bob and waifish figure
Most known for: supermodel and icon of the "psychedelic '60s," movie "The Boy Friend"
Husbands: Michael Whitney, Leigh Lawson
MAE WEST
(Born Mary Jane West)
Trademark looks: 38-24-38
Most known for: "Night After Night," "She Done Him Wrong," risqué double entendres, witty quotes, being outspoken and frequently censored
Husbands: Guido Deiro, Paul Novak
NATALIE WOOD
(Born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko)
Trademark looks: Life magazine called her "The Most Beautiful Teenager in the World" in 1956
Most known for: "Rebel Without a Cause," "Splendor in the Grass," mysterious death by drowning at age 43
Husbands: Robert Wagner (married twice), Richard Gregson
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