From Faye Dunaway to Twiggy: How the Hottest Women of the 20th Century Redefined Beauty Over Time

Beau­ty is a dynam­ic con­cept that con­stant­ly evolves with the pas­sage of time. In the 20th cen­tu­ry, beau­ty stan­dards were shaped and influ­enced by the women who graced our screens, our mag­a­zines, and our hearts. These women weren’t just sym­bols of phys­i­cal allure; they embod­ied the chang­ing per­cep­tions of fem­i­nin­i­ty, strength, and allure dur­ing their respec­tive times. From Hollywood’s gold­en era to the rise of super­mod­els, each decade brought with it a new def­i­n­i­tion of what it meant to be a beau­ti­ful woman. This arti­cle explores how the hottest women of the 20th cen­tu­ry have evolved, both in their careers and in the pub­lic eye, influ­enc­ing cul­ture and beau­ty stan­dards that con­tin­ue to res­onate today.

The Rise of Faye Dunaway: Hollywood’s Quintessential Diva

Faye Dun­away, often described as the quin­tes­sen­tial Hol­ly­wood diva, rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s. Known for her per­for­mances in films like The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and Chi­na­town (1974), Dun­away cap­ti­vat­ed audi­ences with her beau­ty, mys­tery, and strong on-screen pres­ence. Her por­tray­al of strong-willed, com­plex char­ac­ters earned her crit­i­cal acclaim, includ­ing an Acad­e­my Award for her role in Net­work (1976).

But it wasn’t just her act­ing that made her iconic—Dunaway’s fash­ion choic­es and her enig­mat­ic pub­lic per­sona cement­ed her as one of Hollywood’s most seduc­tive stars. Despite being known for being “dif­fi­cult” in the indus­try, Dun­away remains an endur­ing sym­bol of grace and strength. Her lega­cy as an actress and a beau­ty icon serves as a reminder that sex sym­bols can embody a vari­ety of shapes, per­son­al­i­ties, and aspi­ra­tions.

Find out why Faye Dun­away has earned a rep­u­ta­tion as Hollywood’s tough­est co-star—watch now!

Brigitte Bardot: From Rising Star to Iconic Sex Symbol

Brigitte Bardot’s rise to fame is a sto­ry of beau­ty, rebel­lion, and trans­for­ma­tion. Born in 1934, Bar­dot became a world­wide sen­sa­tion in the 1950s and 1960s, epit­o­miz­ing the era’s new stan­dards of beau­ty. With her volup­tuous fig­ure, plat­inum blonde hair, and sul­try eyes, Bar­dot became the epit­o­me of sex appeal. She was so influ­en­tial that she sin­gle-hand­ed­ly rede­fined the con­cept of fem­i­nin­i­ty for an entire gen­er­a­tion.

Her break­out moments came through films like And God Cre­at­ed Woman (1956), which made her a star and solid­i­fied her sta­tus as a sex sym­bol. Over the years, Bardot’s fame grew, and her image became syn­ony­mous with the lib­er­a­tion and sex­u­al free­dom of the 1960s. But as quick­ly as she rose to fame, Bar­dot chose to step away from the spot­light in 1973, retir­ing from act­ing at the peak of her career. Today, Bar­dot remains an icon­ic fig­ure in the his­to­ry of film and beau­ty, influ­enc­ing both pop cul­ture and future gen­er­a­tions of women.

Kathleen Turner: The Seductress Who Defined 80s Glamour

Kath­leen Turn­er is anoth­er star who defined a decade with her beau­ty and allure. She made her mark in the ear­ly 1980s with her seduc­tive per­for­mance in Body Heat (1981), which show­cased her icon­ic husky voice and sul­try appeal. Turn­er quick­ly became one of Hollywood’s lead­ing sex sym­bols, often com­pared to the likes of Lau­ren Bacall for her deep voice and mature sen­su­al­i­ty.

Turner’s career, how­ev­er, was marred by her bat­tle with rheuma­toid arthri­tis, a con­di­tion that sig­nif­i­cant­ly impact­ed her work and her appear­ance. Despite this set­back, Turn­er made a remark­able come­back with roles in Romanc­ing the Stone(1984) and the Friends TV series. Her resilience and endur­ing beau­ty proved that the appeal of the clas­sic Hol­ly­wood siren could evolve with time and adver­si­ty.

Geraldine Chaplin: Carving Her Own Path in the Shadow of a Legend

As the daugh­ter of Char­lie Chap­lin, Geral­dine Chap­lin was bound to live in the shad­ow of her father’s leg­endary career. Yet, she carved her own path in the film indus­try, show­cas­ing her unique tal­ents and beau­ty. Her break­through came in 1967 when she starred in Pep­per­mint Frap­pé, direct­ed by Car­los Saura. The film estab­lished her as a ris­ing star, and her cap­ti­vat­ing per­for­mances con­tin­ued to gar­ner atten­tion through­out her career.

Although not as wide­ly rec­og­nized as oth­er Hol­ly­wood stars, Geraldine’s ele­gance and charm made her a beloved fig­ure in Euro­pean cin­e­ma. She has become known for her abil­i­ty to make her own mark while stay­ing true to the lega­cy of her father, prov­ing that beau­ty and tal­ent are not always bound by fame or fam­i­ly lin­eage.

Tina Louise: The Iconic Ginger Grant from Gilligan’s Island

Tina Louise is best remem­bered for her role as Gin­ger Grant in the hit 1960s sit­com Gilligan’s Island. Her por­tray­al of the glam­orous movie star strand­ed on an island with six oth­er cast­aways earned her a place in tele­vi­sion his­to­ry. The show’s suc­cess made Louise one of the most rec­og­nized faces of the 1960s, and her appear­ance as the quin­tes­sen­tial bomb­shell made her an endur­ing sex sym­bol.

After Gilligan’s Island end­ed, Tina Louise chose to step away from the role that had defined her career, opt­ing not to par­tic­i­pate in the TV movie sequels. She felt that her por­tray­al of Gin­ger had over­shad­owed her career as a seri­ous actress, and she focused on more dra­mat­ic roles. Despite step­ping away from the lime­light, Louise’s impact as one of the most famous TV sex sym­bols remains unde­ni­able.

Michèle Mercier: The Legendary French Beauty of the ‘60s

Michèle Merci­er became an icon­ic screen god­dess in France dur­ing the 1960s with her role as the fiery and pas­sion­ate Angélique. Mercier’s por­tray­al of the uncon­ven­tion­al hero­ine in the Angélique film series made her one of France’s most famous actress­es of the time. The films, span­ning from 1964 to 1968, pro­pelled her into inter­na­tion­al star­dom.

Mercier’s red hair, stun­ning beau­ty, and strong-willed char­ac­ter left an indeli­ble mark on the French cin­e­ma land­scape. How­ev­er, her con­nec­tion to the Angélique fran­chise also led to her being type­cast, halt­ing her career at the height of its suc­cess. Despite this, she remains an icon of French cin­e­ma and a sym­bol of time­less beau­ty.

Twiggy: The Supermodel Who Redefined Beauty Standards in the 1960s

Twig­gy, born Les­ley Law­son, was the face of the 1960s and the super­mod­el who rede­fined beau­ty stan­dards with her androg­y­nous fig­ure and pix­ie-like fea­tures. With her ultra-slim frame, short hair, and big eyes, she cap­ti­vat­ed the fash­ion world and became the sym­bol of youth­ful rebel­lion. Twig­gy was the first true super­mod­el, and her influ­ence reached far beyond the run­way.

Although Twig­gy strug­gled with self-doubt about her appear­ance, she rev­o­lu­tion­ized the mod­el­ing indus­try and helped estab­lish a new ide­al of beauty—one that broke free from the curvi­er, more tra­di­tion­al stan­dards of pre­vi­ous gen­er­a­tions. Today, Twig­gy remains a beloved fig­ure in fash­ion and a pio­neer­ing force in the world of mod­el­ing.

How These Icons Have Shaped Modern Beauty Standards

The women of the 20th cen­tu­ry had a pro­found impact on beau­ty stan­dards that are still felt today. From the cur­va­ceous seduc­tress to the waifish super­mod­el, these women rep­re­sent­ed diverse ideals of beau­ty, help­ing to pave the way for future gen­er­a­tions of women. Their influ­ence can still be seen in con­tem­po­rary fash­ion, film, and cul­ture, where the bound­aries of beau­ty are ever-expand­ing.

As beau­ty stan­dards evolve, the lega­cies of these women con­tin­ue to inspire and rede­fine what it means to be beau­ti­ful in today’s world. Their con­tri­bu­tions to both the enter­tain­ment indus­try and the broad­er cul­tur­al land­scape have made them icons whose appeal tran­scends time.

Video

Video count­down of the top ten most beau­ti­ful stars of the ’60s, com­par­ing their icon­ic looks then and now!

Conclusion: The Enduring Legacy of 20th Century Beauty Icons

The hottest women of the 20th cen­tu­ry were not just cel­e­brat­ed for their looks; they were trail­blaz­ers, pio­neers, and role mod­els who shaped how we view beau­ty today. Through their per­for­mances, appear­ances, and resilience, these women have left an indeli­ble mark on his­to­ry. They remain time­less icons who con­tin­ue to inspire and cap­ti­vate us, their beau­ty evolv­ing in ways that res­onate with new gen­er­a­tions. Whether through their artistry, their courage, or their style, the women of the 20th cen­tu­ry con­tin­ue to influ­ence the world of beau­ty, and their lega­cy lives on in every facet of our cul­ture.