History Main / HollyWoodHomely

** If there's a CutawayGag is about a famous woman, half the time it'll be about how she's an absolute hag[[note]]The other half are about her being a giant bitch[[/note]]. The list of women so insulted includes Helen Hunt, Creator/KirstenDunst, SarahJessicaParker ("she looks like a foot!"), Laura Linney, Creator/LauraDern, KateWinslet, MaggieGyllenhaal, and countless others. This has the [[UnfortunateImplications unfortunate effect of making the writing staff look like misogynists]].
** Sometimes the dialogue jokes ([[SarcasmMode if you could call them that]]) are guilty as well: Kate Winslet compared to Phillip Seymour Hoffman and also a joke told by Lois that insults both the attractiveness of Meg and RachelMaddow .
** Not to mention most of those women (besides SarahJessicaParker) are considered very beautiful.

* Nerdanel in ''Main/TheSilmarillion'' is described as rather homely, but this is considering that she is [[TheFairFolk an Elf]]. This most likely means she is still very attractive when compared to an attractive human female - just not impossibly beautiful like Galadriel, Luthien, or Arwen.

* Teleflora. The theme in their 2010 Super Bowl commercial is ''supposed'' to be "Hot but bitchy girl gets the bad flowers; frumpy but [[PluckyOfficeGirl hard-working girl]] gets the good flowers." Apparently, "frumpy" now means "not willing to wear short skirts and go-go boots to work".

** Hilariously, said girl eventually reveals that she views Will as the HollywoodHomely with his stupid haircut and his big ears, and only bribed him to go out with her to raise her own popularity.

* ''Series/{{Reaper}}'': In episode "Business Casualty", Sock is set up with a friend of Nina's. His reaction to her is that she is hideous beyond all imagining, to the point that he tries to get away from her as quickly as possible. In fact, the character is simply played by a beautiful woman wearing a minimal amount of make-up wearing average clothes with her hair in a pony-tail. There isn't even any of the usual HollywoodHomely attempts to disguise this: she doesn't wear glasses, have braces, wear hideous clothes, have bad hair, or prosthetic makeup. She just looks like someone going out to run errands.

*** Her HollywoodHomely has became a RunningGag in the second season.

* ''TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'': One episode involved the GirlOfTheWeek bribing Will into going on dates with her, despite him being unattracted to her. At one point, Judge Carl Robertson also makes fun of her appearance. However, it's pretty obvious that the girl in question is a pretty actress who just happens to have unflattering hair and clothes, and glasses.

** Also the episode with QueenLatifah. ''Queen Latifah''.

** Marginally justified in that, for all the women turned off by his looks, far more are repulsed by his personality. As he matures both physically and emotionally (and stops trying far, ''far'' too hard) he starts having more success.

* ''The Courtship of AndyHardy'' (1942) has the title character mercy-dating the daughter of a divorcing couple on whose case his father, a judge, is working. She's depicted as such a "droop" that at one point Andy has to actually pay his chums to dance with her at a school prom. She's also played by Donna Reed, for crying out loud.

* Hermione Granger from the ''HarryPotter'' movies is a big source of debate amongst fans. She is described as plain in the books with bushy brown hair and large front teeth. The films have Emma Watson who starts out cute and, as she ages, becomes positively stunning in the role. But the books are in Harry's perspective and he simply doesn't find her attractive (most likely because she's [[RaceFetish not Asian]] or [[HeroesWantRedheads a redhead]]) and the only one who outright says she's ugly is AlphaBitch Pansy Parkinson (though she doesn't seem to deny Ginny is pretty. Saying that a lot of boys like her and telling Blaise Zabini that even he finds her attractive). Harry actually does say in a later book that he doesn't think she's ugly. And it's also worth noting that from age 14, Hermione started to attract admirers in Viktor Krum, Cormac [=McLaggen=] and of course [[OfficialCouple Ron Weasley]] so she can't have been a total Plain Jane. The only time in the movies she was said to not be pretty was when she was referred to as a "homely but ambitious girl" in "The Goblet of Fire" film, and that was in an article published by [[AlphaBitch Rita Skeeter]].

* ''OneTreeHill'': Marvin [=McFadden=] (AKA 'Mouth') is constantly tormented about his average looks, which are perfectly normal standing next to normal people, but in the presence of the ultra beautiful cast of OTH, are shunned. Another example from this would be Millie, his girlfriend, who in all rights appears completely and utterly gorgeous, except for a thick pair of glasses. (She later becomes a hit as a model)

* ''{{Popular}}'': Of the two lead characters, one is supposed to be an extremely beautiful AlphaBitch who leads a [[GirlPosse posse]] of popular blondes, and the other is supposed to be a frumpy, unattractive, unpopular nerdy girl. As far as the audience can tell, they're both very attractive, and viewers can't agree on which one is hotter.
* ''QueerAsFolk'': Ted, though this is meant to {{lampshade|Hanging}} the impossibly high standards of appearance that many gay men place on themselves (and each other). Women check him out all the time, much to his annoyance.

* ''{{Reaper}}'': In episode "Business Casualty", Sock is set up with a friend of Nina's. His reaction to her is that she is hideous beyond all imagining, to the point that he tries to get away from her as quickly as possible. In fact, the character is simply played by a beautiful woman wearing a minimal amount of make-up wearing average clothes with her hair in a pony-tail. There isn't even any of the usual HollywoodHomely attempts to disguise this: she doesn't wear glasses, have braces, wear hideous clothes, have bad hair, or prosthetic makeup. She just looks like someone going out to run errands.

* ''ThePrincessDiaries'': Mia is supposed to be an ugly duckling before her princess makeover. However, wearing glasses and having a bad perm isn't enough to make [[http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Anne-Hathaway-anne-hathaway-753353_1024_768.jpg Anne Hathaway]] look ugly. Sure, she looks a lot better after her princess makeover, but she never looks that terrible.

[[quoteright:321:[[UglyBetty http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Bettyugly_9704.jpg]]]]

* ''UglyBetty'':

** If there's a CutawayGag is about a famous woman, half the time it'll be about how she's an absolute hag[[note]]The other half are about her being a giant bitch[[/note]]. The list of women so insulted includes Helen Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, SarahJessicaParker ("she looks like a foot!"), Laura Linney, Creator/LauraDern, KateWinslet, MaggieGyllenhaal, and countless others. This has the [[UnfortunateImplications unfortunate effect of making the writing staff look like misogynists]].

* Lilith on ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' is uptight, prim, and withdrawn. And she is played by BebeNeuwirth.

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Lampshaded, [[{{Superman}} Clark]] thinks of himself as plain but as the high school reunion and even his friends (such as Pete) have mentioned he is quite handsome. He ''is'' played by a former underwear model.

** In the miniseries of 1995, the older sister (the pretty one, according to dialogue) is quite plain compared to Lizzie – who is after all the star of the story.

* ''{{Daria}}'' is a reasonably-attractive girl to anyone with functioning eyes. Subverted in the episode, "Quinn the Brain"; while Daria is generally described as plain or even ugly (by people who believe that AllGuysWantCheerleaders), and usually shows disdain for makeup and clothing, she proves that she can match her fashion-crazed sister Quinn to make a point to her. Extra points for being a SpoofAesop, since Daria did so in order to [[WeWantOurJerkBack set Quinn back on the shallow, airheaded lifestyle]] Daria so loathed her for, because Quinn being seen as intelligent was a threat to Daria's own self-image.

* ''TheFairlyOddparents'' Tootie may count as this. Timmy frequently describes her as "creepy" (yeah, she does follow him around, but in one episode, he had a hard time calling her "lovely" without throwing up), but her "ugliness" only seems to be a matter of unflattering glasses, braces, and a rather bland outfit. Plus the stalking. In the live action movie, she's matured both physically and mentally, and is played by Daniella Monet, and is quite attractive.

* ''FamilyGuy''

** In an episode of ''ScoobyDooMysteryInc'', a landlady wouldn't let Velma sleep in the same room as Daphne because she [the landlady] thought Velma was a boy.

* Fiona's ogre form in the ''{{Shrek}}'' movies (and Shrek himself, to some extent). Apparently, she's supposed to be hideous, but she merely looks slightly chubbier and green. In this case she was beautiful to Shrek, and by the end of the movie she preferred the Ogre form, so it was more of a case of in-universe ValuesDissonance.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Moe auditions for a role on a soap opera.
-->'''TV Exec:'': I said Mary Ann on ''Series/GilligansIsland'' ugly, not Cornelius in ''PlanetOfTheApes'' ugly! You know, TV ugly!

** Speaking of The Office, one episode turns into an intense argument about whether HillarySwank is attractive.

* Zelda Gilroy on ''TheManyLovesOfDobieGillis'' even said there's nothing to love about her appearance. Really, the only problem was she wasn't as super-model hot as the other gals Dobie would chase.

* Creator/AudreyHepburn personified this trope for a while; her characters were supposed to be embarrassingly frumpy and unattractive in such movies as ''{{Sabrina}}'' and ''Film/FunnyFace'' (until the [[BeautifulAllAlong makeovers]], that is) ...even though she was recently voted [[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/31/1085855500521.html the most beautiful woman in the world]].

** The thing about Rachel is that her unattractiveness had more to do with her horrendous fashion sense and uptight personality. Once she [[ImportantHaircut got bangs]] and started wearing more flattering clothing, the show stopped being shy about the fact that she's beautiful.

* ''TheFairlyOddparents'' Tootie may count as this. Timmy frequently describes her as "creepy" (yeah, she does follow him around, but in one episode, he had a hard time calling her "lovely" without throwing up), but her "ugliness" only seems to be a matter of unflattering glasses, braces, and a rather bland outfit.

*** Wanda as well, or at least, [[HollywoodPudgy fat]]

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Lampshaded, [[{{Superman}} Clark]] thinks of himself as plain but as the high school reunion and even his friends (such as Pete) have mentioned he is quite handsome.

* Hermione Granger from the ''HarryPotter'' movies is a big source of debate amongst fans. She is described as plain in the books with bushy brown hair and large front teeth. The films have Emma Watson who starts out cute and, as she ages, becomes positively stunning in the role. But the books are in Harry's perspective and he simply doesn't find her attractive (most likely because she's [[RaceFetish not Asian]] or [[HeroesWantRedheads a redhead]]) and the only one who outright says she's ugly is AlphaBitch Pansy Parkinson (though she doesn't seem to deny Ginny is pretty. Saying that a lot of boys like her and telling Blaise Zabini that even he finds her attractive). Harry actually does say in a later book that he doesn't think she's ugly. And it's also worth noting that from age 14, Hermione started to attract admirers in Viktor Krum, Cormac [=McLaggen=] and of course [[OfficialCouple Ron Weasley]] so she can't have been a total Plain Jane. And if you want to get technical, she is never said in the movies to not be pretty.
** Actually, she's referred to as "homely but ambitious girl" in "The Goblet of Fire" film, in the article Rita Skeeter publishes. Kind of awkward considering Emma Watson is in no way homely.
*** Then again that is [[AlphaBitch Rita Skeeter]]

* ''GameOfThrones'': Brienne of Tarth is mockingly called "Brienne the Beauty," though she's played by the large-statured model [[http://www.accesshollywood.com/content/images/i/articles/63/63383/header_165964.jpg Gwendoline]] [[GwendolineChristie Christie]] in men's attire and with a few scratches on her face. This is basically a case of AdaptationalAttractiveness. In the original books, Brienne is quite hideous.