iconic beauties
Iconic beautiesMany 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

Trademark looks: husky voice and The Look -- chin down, eyes up 

Most known for: "The Big Sleep," "How to Marry a Millionaire"

Husbands: Humphrey Bogart, Jason Robards

See photos of the beauty

Watch videos of Bogart and Bacall on screen
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

See photos of the beauty 

Watch a video of Lucy learning to drive on "I Love Lucy"
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

Husbands: Roger Vadim, Jacques Charrier, Gunter Sachs, Bernard d'Ormale

See photos of the beauty

Watch scenes of Bardot in the 1956 movie "And God Created Woman"
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"

Husbands: Petter Lindstrom, Roberto Rossellini, Lars Schmidt

See photos of the beauty

Watch video of Ingrid Bergman in "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
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

See photos of the beauty 

Watch a video her emotional Academy Award acceptance speech.
Cyd Charisse

Trademark looks: great gams

Most known for: dancing with Gene Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain"

Husbands: Nico Charise, Tony Martin

See photos of the beauty 

Watch video of Charisse dancing with Fred Astaire in "The Band Wagon"
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

See depictions of the beauty

Watch video of Cleopatra (played by Elizabeth Taylor) entering Rome
Cindy Crawford

Trademark looks: mole above her upper lip, all-American girl

Most known for: supermodel status

Husbands: Richard Gere, Rande Gerber

See photos of the beauty

Watch video of her head-turning Pepsi ad.
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

See photos of the beauty

Watch video of Dandridge singing the "Cow Cow Boogie"
Bette 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

See photos of the beauty

Watch video of Davis' interview with Barbara Walters
Catherine Deneuve

Trademark looks: flawless Gallic features

Most known for: "Repulsion," "Belle de Jour"

Husband: British photographer David Bailey, relationship with Marcello Mastroianni produced a daughter

See photos of the beauty

Watch her in scenes from "Repulsion"
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

See photos of the beauty

Watch videointerviews of Princess Diana
Marlene 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"

Husband: Rudolf Sieber

See photos of the beauty

Watch video of her singing in "The Ruins of Berlin"
Greta Garbo

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."

Most known for: "Anna Karenina," "Anna Christie" and the nickname "Swedish Sphinx"

Husbands: none, though reportedly had liaisons with both men and women

See photos of the beauty

Watch video clips from her 1932 film "Mata Hari"
Ava Gardner

Trademark looks: her "earthy femininity"

Most known for: "Mogambo," "The Barefoot Contessa"

Husbands: Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, Frank Sinatra

See photos of the beauty

Watch video of Gardner singing in "Show Boat"
Jean Harlow

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)

See photos of the beauty

Watch video of Harlow in "Dinner at Eight"
Rita Hayworth

Trademark looks: Red hair

Most known for: dancing with Fred Astaire; the films "Gilda," "The Strawberry Blonde," "You'll Never Get Rich"

Husbands: Edward Charles Holmgren Judson, Orson Welles, Prince Aly Khan, Dick Haymes, James Hill

See photos of the beauty

Watch her famous first appearance as "Gilda"
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

See depictions of the beauty

Watch scenes from a modern Helen of Troy
Audrey Hepburn

Trademark looks: angelic face, poise, elegance

Most known for: Holly Golightly, "Roman Holiday," the little black dress, UNICEF ambassador

Husbands: Mel Ferrer, Andrea Dotti

See photos of the beauty

Watch scene of Hepburn in "How to Steal a Million"
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

See photos of the beauty 

Watch a video of her in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
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

See photos of the beauty

Watch her sing a Broadway medley from 1962
Angelina Jolie

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

See photos of the beauty

Watch interview of Jolie on the "Today" show and on the red carpet at the 2009 SAG Awards.
Grace Kelly

Trademark looks: With her white gloves and string of pearls, this classic beauty was sometimes described as "virginal"

Most known for: "Dial M for Murder," "Rear Window," princess of Monaco, tragic death

Husband: Prince Rainier III of Monaco

See photos of the beauty

Watch video of her last interview
Vivien Leigh

Trademark looks: Catlike smile, raised right eyebrow

Most known for: "Gone With the Wind," "A Streetcar Named Desire"

Husbands: Herbert Leigh Holman, Lawrence Olivier

See photos of the beauty 

Watch her as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind"
Sophia Loren

Trademark looks: voluptuous brunette, the "Italian Marilyn Monroe"

Most known for: "La Ciociara," "The Black Orchid," "It Started in Naples"

Husband: Carlo Ponti

See photos of the beauty

Watch Sophia in a clip from her Academy Award-winning role in "Two Women"
Jayne Mansfield

Trademark looks: ample cleavage, platinum-blond 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

Husbands: Paul Mansfield, bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, Matt Cimber

See photos of the beauty 

Watch video of Mansfield
Marilyn Monroe

Trademark looks: Platinum blond, buxom bombshell

Most known for: "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "How to Marry a Millionaire," "Seven Year Itch," singing "Happy Birthday" to JFK

Husbands: James Dougherty, Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller

See photos of the beauty

Watch video of Monroe in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
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"

Husband: Pharaoh Akhenaten

See depictions of the beauty
Kim Novak

Trademarks: Husky, seductive voice

Most known for: "The Man With the Golden Arm," "Vertigo"

Husbands: Richard Johnson, Robert Malloy

See photos of the beauty 

Watch video of Novak singing and dancing to "Boola Boola"
Julia Roberts

Trademark looks: megawatt smile, voluminous hair, her laugh

Most known for: "Pretty Woman," "Erin Brockovich"

Husbands: Lyle Lovett, Daniel Moder

See photos of the beauty 

Watch the trailer for Roberts' new movie, "Eat Pray Love"
Jane 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

See photos of the beauty

Watch her singing in "Las Vegas Story"
Brooke Shields

Trademark looks: teenage model of virginal innocence

Most known for: "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins," "Suddenly Susan" TV show, speaking out about postpartum depression

Husbands: Andre Agassi, Chris Henchy

See photos of the beauty

Watch her iconic Calvin Klein ad
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

Husbands: Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, Michael Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton (twice), John Warner, Larry Fortensky

See photos of the beauty

Watch clips of the famed actress
Gene Tierney

Trademark looks: green eyes and a slight overbite

Most known for: "Laura," "Leave Her to Heaven"

Husbands: Oleg Cassini, W. Howard Lee

See photos of the beauty

Watch video clips from her famous film "Laura"
Lana 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 

See photos of the beauty 

Watch Lana Turner on an episode of "What's My Line?"
Twiggy

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

See photos of the beauty

Watch Twiggy sing her '70s hit "Here I Go Again"
Mae West

Trademark looks: 38-24-38

Most known for: "Night After Night," "She Done Him Wrong"

Husbands: Guido Deiro, Paul Novak

See photos of the beauty

Watch clips from her movie "I'm No Angel"
Natalie Wood

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

Husbands: Robert Wagner (married twice), Richard Gregson

See photos of the beauty 

Watch her in "Splendor in the Grass"


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