The question about who possesses the most beautiful face in the world remains open for discussion so we selected several strong contenders for your evaluation.
Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden is best known for starring in the popular ’60s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, but many don’t know that originally the show’s creators wanted a brunette. This was because they wanted a departure from Bewitched, also a fantasy sitcom with a blonde lead. Barbara Eden was so funny, beautiful, and fit the role so perfectly that the show’s creators overlooked this minor detail. And it’s good that they did! Barbara has been a TV star ever since.
Ingrid Bergman
Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman solidified her place in history by starring alongside Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, but she was acting in Swedish and German movies since the mid-1930s. Her broad international appeal was such that one biographer described her as “arguably the most international star in the history of entertainment.” One of her directors, Anatole Litvak, noted that “through all her troubles she held to the conviction that she had been true to herself and it made her quite a person.” She died in 1982 of breast cancer.
Sophie Marceau
French actress Sophie Marceau became known as a teenager after she starred in the film La Boum in 1980. For the next 15, she starred in many European films before becoming a star in Hollywood for her role in Braveheart. After this, she played in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. While she often makes it to the top of “most beautiful” lists, Marceau says she doesn’t really understand why people find her attractive. According to her, “I’ve never really been beautiful. I’m photogenic…” And modest!
Sharon Tate
Sadly, Sharon Tate’s life will always be overshadowed by her disturbing, tragic, and senseless murder at the hands of the Manson Family in 1969. Tate was praised for her beauty since she was young, eventually starting to act in movies. She was hailed as a promising newcomer, having enjoyed positive review for both comedic and dramatic acting roles. She married her director and co-star from The Fearless Vampire Killers, Roman Polanski, in 1968. She was eight months pregnant with their child when she was murdered in cold blood.
Raquel Welch
Although not her first role, Raquel Welch became something of a pop culture phenomenon after she played in the 1966 film One Million Years B.C., in which she wore the iconic fur bikini shown below. She later starred in movies such as 1967’s Bedazzled, 1968’s Bandolero! and 1969’s 100 Rifles. She has continued to star in movies throughout the years, notably Legally Blond alongside Reese Witherspoon. In 2001 she received the “Imagen Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award” for positively promoting her Latin heritage.
Julie Gibson
Amazingly, Julie Gibson is still alive and kicking at the age of 105. The star has outlived so many of the Golden Era stars, despite being the oldest of them all. She happens to be the last surviving star to have worked alongside The Three Stooges. Having first appeared on shows over 80 years ago, Gibson’s most successful period came in the ’40s and she has certainly etched her name in showbiz lore. What casual fans don’t know is that her birth name is actually Gladys Camille Sorey.
Kim Novak
Kim Novak was originally recruited by Columbia Pictures to be a replacement for the studio’s Rita Hayworth, one of the biggest stars of the 1940s whose popularity had declined in the ’50s, not to mention to compete with 20th Century-Fox’s Marylin Monroe. She solidified her place in film history when she starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Since the mid-’60s, Novak only sporadically acted until she completely retired in the early ’90s. She had a bought with breast cancer that was announced in 2010. Luckily her treatments were successful and she is still with us.
Audrey Hepburn
With her unique looks, Audrey Hepburn was launched to stardom after starring in Roman Holiday opposite Gregory Peck, a role which garnered her an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe best actress awards. Later in life, she concentrated on philanthropy, and she was honored for her humanitarian work both during and after her life. She died of a rare abdominal cancer in 1993. Proof of her lasting legacy is evident in the popular culture of the decades since her death.
Natalie Wood
Russian-American Natalie Wood was in the limelight from the time she was a little girl, playing Maureen O’Hara in Miracle on 34th Street. When starred in classics such as Rebel Without a Cause and West Side Story. She died in uncertain circumstances while on a weekend yacht trip to Santa Catalina Island with Robert Wagner, her husband; Christopher Walken, who co-starred in her latest movie; and the yacht’s captain. She was only 43. The investigation was re-opened in recent years, and Wagner was named a person of interest in February 2018.
Michelle Pfeiffer
During the ’80s and ’90s, Michelle Pfeiffer was one of the most popular actresses on the silver screen, thanks to her skilled acting and drop-dead gorgeous looks. She managed to break the typecast of the pretty girl in her late-’70s movies, going on to have a supporting role in Scarface that led to obtaining more serious roles as she rose to stardom. According to one Daily Telegraph contributor, hers is “the kind of beauty you find yourself involuntarily taking a moment to marvel at mid-conversation.”
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron grew up on a farm in South Africa. When she was 15, her mother killed her alcoholic father in self-defense after he threatened his wife and daughter’s lives. She was originally an aspiring ballet dancer, but the effects of the training on her body took their toll. Meanwhile, her beauty made her constantly attractive to modeling scouts. Later she branched off to acting and hasn’t looked back since. Not just a pretty face, the actress won an Academy Award for Best Actress for portraying serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.
Elizabeth Taylor
Born in England to American parents, Elizabeth Taylor moved with her family to California shortly before WWII broke out. Even as a young girl, her striking beauty was apparent enough that her mother was constantly told that Elizabeth should star in movies. A genetic mutation caused her to have two rows of eyebrows, which framed her eyes in a unique way. She became a child star, later blossoming into one of Hollywood’s most desired actresses. She starred in many movies in the Later in life, she became an advocate for Jewish causes and promoted AIDS awareness.
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was a performer from youth, dancing in New York venues before her family moved to California when she was 10. She had many roles in ’30s-era dancing movies before branching out to more serious acting roles in the ’40s. The ’50s were a difficult decade for her, as she was increasingly dogged by personal problems. Meanwhile, younger women rose to prominence as she descended into alcoholism and monetary problems. For decades, she suffered with what was finally understood to be symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, which she died of in 1987.
Jacqueline Bisset
English actress Jacqueline Bisset has starred in movies since the 1960s when she played in Hollywood blockbusters such as Bullitt. Gradually she gained recognition for being a serious actress and received more serious roles, like in François Truffaut’s Day for Night. Her 1977 role in The Deep, which featured her only covered on top with a white T-shirt as she submerges from the water, soaking wet,is so iconic that it is credited with popularizing wet T-shirt competitions. Jacqueline Bisset has since played mostly in made-for-TV movies and shows.
