The Five Most Beautiful Women in the World

Everyone is going to have an opinion on this one. Certainly throughout your life you have met and possibly even been friendly with a gorgeous woman who has never been heard of or perhaps is your next door neighbour, happy to humbly go about living her life day to day. I get it. This list is primarily Hollywood starlets who have captured the hearts of millions around the world and just happen to be gorgeous as well. Some may have left us, but they will always be in our hearts.

Sophia Loren came from humble beginnings. She became one of the cinema's great sex symbols. The world met a very European woman, who was also warm, motherly, down to earth and yummy. The Italians would describe her as bursting with energy and possessing that ever famous va va voom. What can not be ignored is her ability to maintain her popularity and continuing charm that has won over audiences world wide. Her career has been stellar. She has remained very loyal to her roots over the years. She made fifteen Italian films with Marcello Mastoianni including possibly the most popular film collaboration with her, Marriage Italian Style in 1964. She is magnificent, talented and beautiful and oh yeah, she also won an Academy award. She also happens to have had a figure in her seventies that women in their thirties would kill for. Probably some pretty good genetics going on there as well. This legendary beauty makes the list.

When thinking about cinema steam, one need not go much further than Ava Gardner. Executives at MGM seemed to work out the right chemistry by teaming her up with Clark Gable. That combination parlayed into box office gold. Gardner was an immediate hit with Hollywood directors. George Cukor cast her in what would probably become her best performance in Bhowani Junction in 1956. It was a great love story but also dared to challenge East Indian culture norms and standards. A more risqué venture for the times without question. Although not so unfamiliar today, it was a big step in the fifties. Ava was given the opportunity in many ways to live out her own life on the big screen in The Barefoot Contessa, a classic rags to riches type story. She will probably be best remembered for her work in the sixties as well as her struggles with her own personal life. She was married and divorced three times and passed away on January 25^th 1990.

Natalie Wood came from San Francisco. Her parents were Russian immigrants who could barely speak English but somehow changed the family name after they became US citizens. Natalie appeared in her first film at the age of four, and they didn't come much cuter than her. It was a part that she won out over numerous other little girls where she appeared as a crying child who had just dropped her ice cream. Almost immediately, her mother had dreams of her little girl becoming a star. Natalie's whole family decided to pack their things and move to Hollywood believing great things were waiting for this little girl with the beautiful smile. Her story with Hollywood casting is not an unfamiliar one. For a few years she could not land a role. Then at the age of seven, after her mother convinced studio heads to give Natalie another chance, she was cast in Tomorrow is Forever that got the ball rolling. One of her most memorable performances was in 1947's A Miracle on 34^th Street which is still considered a Christmas classic to this day. The lovely and talented Natalie Wood passed away on November 29^th, 1981 while sailing with her husband Robert Wagner and Hollywood legend Christopher Walken.

She was born Jo Raquel Tejada on September 5, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois. The family moved to San Diego, California when Raquel was only two. Even when she was young she was gorgeous. She even managed to win several teen beauty pageants. She was determined to get into acting. She attended San Diego State College on a scholarship and during that time met and married her first husband, James Welch. Now in her sixties, Raquel Welch still takes the occasional film or television role and still considered by anyone's standards, absolutely stunning. She recently came forward about her latin heritage, a secret she kept during her early years in Hollywood believing it could damage her career. She has even gone so far as to star in an Hispanic oriented TV series entitled "American Family", released in 2002. For her achievements and breathtaking good looks, Raquel Welch makes the list.

The final woman on the list may very possibly be my personal favourite. She is the embodiment of drop dead gorgeous. Born in 1964 in the Italian village of Città di Castello, Umbria, Monica Bellucci originally had her heart set on a career in the legal profession. While attending the University of Perugia, she modeled on the side to earn money for school, and this led to her modeling career. In 1988, she moved to one of Europe's fashion centers, Milan, and joined Elite Model Management. She experienced tremendous success as a model. Why wouldn't she? She is breathtaking. Like all gorgeous models she was bit by the acting bug. Let's be honest, who really cares if they can act? Turns out, she could. She made her American acting debut in Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992 and has gone on to star in several others. If you haven't already, check out The Matrix, you'll know exactly who she is. Trust me. She makes the list.

That's it. That's the top five. I know there are so many others. For whatever reason, these five really ring the bell. I'd love to hear your suggestions. Who wouldn't?! Keep in mind, there are other beauties who might have been considered but because of things they may have done or said, it kind of ruins it. Some people don't care, but I was really thinking about the whole package. Enjoy!