Forty Women That Women Find Beautiful
There is a certain type of female whose appearance women will gush about, but men just don’t “get.” Think Cate Blanchett, Phoebe Philo, and Jenna Lyons — all of your girlfriends want to emulate their looks, but your boyfriend is barely aware of their existence. Is it the low-maintenance beauty (Stella McCartney)? Otherworldliness (Iman)? Ferocity (Grace Jones)? Culled from a series of office polls, these are the 40 women’s women whose faces and self-presentation The Cut can’t stop obsessing over.
Tilda Swinton Makes style choices that mere mortals must never attempt, except in fantasies. Case in point: invisible eyelashes.
Photo: Jason M...
Tilda Swinton Makes style choices that mere mortals must never attempt, except in fantasies. Case in point: invisible eyelashes.
Photo: Jason Merritt/2012 Getty Images
Erykah Badu Never hotter than when her Afro wig came off mid-performance at Dave Chappelle's Block Party, and she just went with it.
Sofia Coppola It's the "Belle from Beauty & the Beast" effect: a pretty woman who looks even better because she's not afraid to be ...
Sofia Coppola It's the "Belle from Beauty & the Beast" effect: a pretty woman who looks even better because she's not afraid to be bookish.
Photo: Andreas Rentz/2010 Getty Images
Rashida Jones The most beautiful girl next door.
Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images
Stella McCartney What's not to love about a 40-year-old badass with four kids who wears jumpsuits and talks about getting wasted?
Photo: Jon Kop...
Stella McCartney What's not to love about a 40-year-old badass with four kids who wears jumpsuits and talks about getting wasted?
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/2012 Jon Kopaloff
Florence Welch Leaves the house without brushing her hair, wrapped in reams of fabric, and is praised for her style. Clearly, she's sma...
Florence Welch Leaves the house without brushing her hair, wrapped in reams of fabric, and is praised for her style. Clearly, she's smarter than any of us.
Photo: Charles Sykes/AP2011
Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lou Doillon Seriously, let's just never brush our hair again. Let the glorious liberation begin.
Grace Jones Even when she's naked onstage we're looking at her cheekbones. Photo: Gilles Petard/Redferns/Getty Images
Jenny Shimizu The queen of androgyny, with swagger for days.
Freja Beha Erichsen She was out all night at the best party you weren't invited to, then rolls out of bed and makes hangover hair look stylish.
...
Freja Beha Erichsen She was out all night at the best party you weren't invited to, then rolls out of bed and makes hangover hair look stylish.
Photo: Jamie McCarthy/2012 Getty Images
Lisa Bonet Delicate features and a wild mane. You have to respect the woman who makes baggy clothes look chic.
Photo: Time & Life Pictures/Getty...
Lisa Bonet Delicate features and a wild mane. You have to respect the woman who makes baggy clothes look chic.
Photo: Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Meryl Streep She has an acclaimed career, positively glows, and doesn't let her lip gloss get in the way of dropping F-bombs on red carpets.
...
Meryl Streep She has an acclaimed career, positively glows, and doesn't let her lip gloss get in the way of dropping F-bombs on red carpets.
Photo: Kevork Djansezian/2012 Getty Images
Stella Tennant The perfect tomboy.
Elizabeth Montgomery Her witchy powers would've been great, but what we really wanted was her flawless hair.
Photo: Copyright © Ever...
Elizabeth Montgomery Her witchy powers would've been great, but what we really wanted was her flawless hair.
Photo: Copyright © Everett Collection / Everett Collection
Iman An alien from a planet we haven't fucked up yet. Photo: Joe Kohen/2010 Joe Kohen
Phoebe Philo A modern-day Coco Chanel.
Liv Tyler Laid-back looks and a sweet attitude, but what really clinched it was seeing her be seductive even in Elf language in Lord of the Rings...
Liv Tyler Laid-back looks and a sweet attitude, but what really clinched it was seeing her be seductive even in Elf language in Lord of the Rings.
Photo: Soul Brother/2010 Soul Brother
Katharine Hepburn Her two essentials: a strong voice and a pair of pants you can really stride in.
Alek Wek Most people have to choose between apple cheeks and a willowy frame. Alek was blessed with both, but what we really love is her blinding...
Alek Wek Most people have to choose between apple cheeks and a willowy frame. Alek was blessed with both, but what we really love is her blindingly bright smile.
Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage
Cate Blanchett Makes the best case for wearing sunscreen.
Photo: Brendon Thorne/2012 Getty Images
Aishwarya Rai She may be the "world's most beautiful woman," but what we really love is that she never feels fragile onscreen.
Photo: ...
Aishwarya Rai She may be the "world's most beautiful woman," but what we really love is that she never feels fragile onscreen.
Photo: Bo Valentine/FilmMagic
Jenna Lyons The definition of polished but laid-back. The coolest woman at your office is probably a Lyons impersonator.
Photo: Cindy Ord/2011 ...
Jenna Lyons The definition of polished but laid-back. The coolest woman at your office is probably a Lyons impersonator.
Photo: Cindy Ord/2011 Getty Images
Mia Farrow Nature gave her perfect baby-doll looks; she gave us one of the most iconic pixie cuts of the century.
Photo: Ron Galella/WireImage
Parker Posey Admit it, you have tried to mimic her mannerisms and speech patterns.
Photo: Marc Andrew Deley/2012 Marc Andrew Deley
Claire Danes A walking argument for sartorial simplicity, though we admit to missing Angela Chase's Kool-Aid hair.
Photo: George Pimentel
Freida Pinto If we looked like that, we'd be smiling all the time, too.
Photo: George Pimentel/WireImage
Kate Lanphear She pulls off the sophisticated-skater-punk aesthetic, which we didn't even know was an aethetic before she invented it.
Photo:...
Kate Lanphear She pulls off the sophisticated-skater-punk aesthetic, which we didn't even know was an aethetic before she invented it.
Photo: Cindy Ord/2012 Getty Images
Romy Schneider The platonic ideal for an alluring woman who "always looks like she has a secret." Hours of secret practicing in front o...
Romy Schneider The platonic ideal for an alluring woman who "always looks like she has a secret." Hours of secret practicing in front of the mirror in our teen years suggest that this look is not so easy to achieve.
Julianne Moore At 52-years-old, Julianne Moore's skin is still milky perfection. And how many women bring pictures of her hair when visiting thei...
Julianne Moore At 52-years-old, Julianne Moore's skin is still milky perfection. And how many women bring pictures of her hair when visiting their colorist, do you think?
Photo: Charles Eshelman/2010 Charles Eshelman
Jhumpa Lahiri A woman this talented and gorgeous will sometimes inspire hate. But this woman is so talented that you can't work up a good jealous...
Jhumpa Lahiri A woman this talented and gorgeous will sometimes inspire hate. But this woman is so talented that you can't work up a good jealousy grudge.
Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images
Adele You expect her to be a diva because her hair and eyeliner are so perfect, but the second she goes off on someone in that unpretentious acce...
Adele You expect her to be a diva because her hair and eyeliner are so perfect, but the second she goes off on someone in that unpretentious accent, you know you'd be BFFs.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/2012 Jon Kopaloff
Charlotte Rampling As sexually fearless in Juergen Teller's pictures as she was in Helmut Newton's, decades before.
Photo: Mondadori Collection
Thandie Newton Thandie is Dandy. And outspoken.
Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Paz Vega Her name means peace, but she is a bombshell. She could cut you with those cheekbones.
Photo: Venturelli/WireImage
Vanessa Paradis Instead of being jealous of her for having Johnny Depp, we were jealous of Johnny Depp for having her.
Photo: Tony Barson/Getty ...
Vanessa Paradis Instead of being jealous of her for having Johnny Depp, we were jealous of Johnny Depp for having her.
Photo: Tony Barson/Getty Images
Diane Keaton She made it okay for muses to talk and have their own ideas, and is among the few who can pull off that Annie Hall look.
Marion Cotillard No one transforms themselves better on the red carpet, or seems so comfortable doing it.
Photo: Ian Gavan/2012 Getty Im...
Marion Cotillard No one transforms themselves better on the red carpet, or seems so comfortable doing it.
Photo: Ian Gavan/2012 Getty Images
Monica Vitti The lips that spawned a thousand pouty faces. We should probably hate her for that legacy, but we can't.
Photo: Archive Photos/Gett...
Monica Vitti The lips that spawned a thousand pouty faces. We should probably hate her for that legacy, but we can't.
Photo: Archive Photos/Getty Images
Michelle Yeoh Timeless. No, seriously, is she 28 or 65?
Photo: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Michelle Obama She can do the dougie, wears fabulous mom-friendly outfits, and seized her chance to embrace David Beckham with gusto. An exa...
Michelle Obama She can do the dougie, wears fabulous mom-friendly outfits, and seized her chance to embrace David Beckham with gusto. An example for all women.
Photo: Larry Marano/WireImage
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