History Main / HollyWoodHomely

'''See also''': GenericCuteness is the animated equivalent of this trope, and the result is a ''very'' InformedDeformity. AdaptationalAttractiveness, BeautyInversion, ImNotPretty, BeautifulAllAlong, CoolLoser, FormerlyFat, HiddenBuxom, HollywoodPudgy, and SheIsAllGrownUp. Contrast InformedAttractiveness and GorgeousGorgon.

* ''ComicBook/{{The Sandman|1989}}'': DependingOnTheArtist, several of the female characters either avert or play this straight. There is [[TheFairFolk Nuala's]] true form with the glamor spell that made her look like a blonde princess removed, who looks genuinely scraggly and underfed, [[ProgressivelyPrettier though subsequent artists usually make her more cute and childlike]]. The interesting thing is that despite this, she comes to prefer her true form (probably because Dream prefers it, and [[spoiler:it's implied she's in love with him]], though it's also implied to be part of her overall rejection of the decadent culture of Faerie). Thessaly usually looks genuinely plain, as even without her NerdGlasses she has a very odd-shaped face. Then there's [[{{Gonk}} Despair]]. Thessaly's spin-off comics make her look adorable.

* ''Series/QueerAsFolk'': Ted's status as 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. And also Michael Novotny's self-depreciation, despite that Hal Sparks is unendingly adorable no matter what Sears-type button up shirts they put him in.

** When the main Barbie has an existential crisis and mourns that she's not pretty or interesting, the narrator chimes in and says "Note to filmmakers: Creator/MargotRobbie is not the best choice to get this particular point across," as even when we see her without makeup, she's still stunningly beautiful.

* ''Film/NoTimeToDie'': Main villain Lyutsifer Safin was disfigured in a chemical weapon attack as a kid, but the scar makeup on Creator/RamiMalek does absolutely nothing to hide his handsome features.

* Lampshaded in ''Film/Barbie2023'' when Stereotypical Barbie mourns that she's not a particularly pretty, smart, or interesting Barbie compared to the other women of Barbieland. The narrator chimes in to say that her actress, Creator/MargotRobbie, is too beautiful for such a line to land properly.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parodies this with the character "Ugly Bob." [[InformedDeformity It's stated in universe]] that his face "looks like somebody tried to put out a forest fire with a screwdriver," but he's rendered in the same minimalist style as the rest of the Canadians in the show.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' Bolin (especially in Season 1) is clearly supposed to be more homely and buffoonish compared to his TallDarkAndHandsome older brother Mako whom titular heroine choses over him, but the {{Irony}} is Bolin succeeds in being a massive {{Hunk}} to women InUniverse and out while Mako becomes TheScrappy thanks to his treatment of his girlfriends. So the show's attempts to diminish Bolin backfire hard, and make Korra look shallow for breaking his heart.

Let's say a storyline requires a character who is [[LoserProtagonist unappealing, unattractive]], and [[HollywoodDateless has a hard time finding dates]]. However, actual plain-looking actors ([[DoubleStandard especially women]]) are almost never cast for leading roles in Hollywood -- producers know that "beauty is money", after all, and are therefore disinclined to cast ''genuinely'' unattractive people even as villains or extras -- so this "homely" character will very often be played by someone more gorgeous than most people you'd meet in real life, with said homeliness mostly just ''implied'' via in-universe reactions.

'''See also''': GenericCuteness is the animated equivalent of this trope, and the result is a ''very'' InformedDeformity. AdaptationalAttractiveness, BeautyInversion, ImNotPretty, BeautifulAllAlong, CoolLoser, FormerlyFat, HiddenBuxom, HollywoodDateless, HollywoodPudgy, and SheIsAllGrownUp. Contrast InformedAttractiveness and GorgeousGorgon.

* ''ComicStrip/{{Dustin}}'': The title character's [[BrattyTeenageDaughter teenage sister]] is depicted as being quite unattractive ([[{{Gonk}} she was once compared to her dad]]) [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption and a failure with boys]] ([[HormoneAddledTeenager which might contribute to her often-excessive focus over them]]). However she is not that far from her mother in the looks department, her "ugliness" having more to do with her frumpy clothes and her low dating record is likely linked to [[HollywoodDateless a family condition]].

* Creator/EveArden was often cast as the HollywoodDateless best friend. Even at the time, critics couldn't quite buy it.
--> "Why is it that she, strikingly attractive, wittier and more human than other females in her pictures, is always pictured as lonely, unwanted and unsung? In real life, I'm sure Eve is the belle of the ball."

** Downplayed in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. The running gag about Bulma's boobs starting to become saggy is clearly a crack about her age, but at the same time, the gag never explicitly says that they (or Bulma) are growing less attractive as a result; just more saggy/chronologically older. Not to mention, her ''Super'' redesign clearly makes her look much younger than how she appeared during the Buu saga of ''Anime/DragonBallZ''.

* ''Film/NoTimeToDie'': Main villain Lyutsifer Saffin was disfigured in a chemical weapon attack as a kid, but the scar makeup on Creator/RamiMalek does absolutely nothing to hide his handsome features.

* In ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'', the entire focal point of Ranamon's character is that her beast form, Calamaramon, is regarded by everyone as far uglier than her humanoid form, to the point of her in-universe fan club rejecting her for it. Calamaramon does have [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent an entire multi-eyed giant squid instead of a lower body]], which has a tendency to throw off the average, but her upper body is a CuteMonsterGirl at worst. Later shows seemingly gave up on the pretense of Calamaramon being an ugly monster and drew her appearances as being [[MsFanservice downright fanservicey]].

** Xander, despite Creator/NicholasBrendon being an incredibly attractive guy, and the character rather witty, is at the bottom of the social barrel at Sunnydale High, and numerous cracks are made at his inability to get girls (except [[FatalAttractor demons in disguise who want to eat him]]). He dates the cheerleader Cordelia from Season 2 onwards. He was told to stop working out by producers because they didn't want Xander to look too buffed. Joss mentions this trope in the DVD commentaries:

** Xander, despite Creator/NicholasBrendon being an incredibly attractive guy, and the character rather witty, he is the bottom of the social barrel at Sunnydale High, and numerous cracks are made at his inability to get girls (except [[FatalAttractor demons in disguise who want to eat him]]). He dates the cheerleader Cordelia from Season 2 onwards. He was told to stop working out by producers because they didn't want Xander to look too buffed. Joss mentions this trope in the DVD commentaries:

* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': Galen Tyrol complains in one episode that he had to "settle" for the canonically plain Cally, played by the gorgeous Creator/NickiClyne. Admittedly this is after he'd been in a relationship with Boomer, played by the absolutely stunning Creator/GracePark, but this is very much a matter of taste.

** Doyle refers to himself as "homely" when he's played by the cute Creator/GlennQuinn, who just has odd fashion choices and the slightest hint of a beer belly.

* Creator/JenniferCoolidge portrays middle-aged Paulette, who considers herself a mess because of her "stretch marks and fat ass", but she is only a bit frumpy and lacks self-confidence. By the end of the film, she's able to snag the hot delivery man who always flirts with her, with a little help from Elle. Keep in mind, this is the same actress who helped coin the term "MILF" in ''Film/AmericanPie''.

* Creator/JenniferCoolidge's character, Paulette, from ''Film/LegallyBlonde'', who considers herself a mess because of her "stretch marks and fat ass", but she is only a bit frumpy and lacks self-confidence. By the end of the film, she's able to snag the hot delivery man who always flirts with her, with a little help from Elle. Keep in mind, this is the same actress who helped coin the term "MILF" in ''Film/AmericanPie''.

'''Note:''' Just because a character is tormented by a vampy AlphaBitch, it doesn't necessarily mean they're considered ugly InUniverse; as in real life, fictional bullies can often target attractive rivals because they're [[GreenEyedMonster envious]] of [[SoBeautifulItsACurse their good looks]]. Likewise, a character can be [[ObliviouslyBeautiful oblivious to their own good looks]] and have a poor self-image without being considered Hollywood Homely. Since beauty is very subjective in real-life, this trope only counts if the character is considered unattractive by a majority of other characters InUniverse.

* A perennial favorite of tabloid magazines is to show candid photos of starlets without makeup. But since most of them are still stunningly beautiful, tabloids will choose the most unflattering photos possible: bad lighting, bad angle, bad posture, being tired or upset, hair tied back, ''in addition'' to not wearing makeup.[[note]]If they're over the age of 50, you get the added bonus of rumors that they're sickly and near death.[[/note]] If all that wasn't enough, the photos are then compared to their most airbrushed glamour shots, with the rather hypocritical implication that nothing in Hollywood is real.

* ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'' has Emp herself, who is extremely attractive, but is continually insulted by the other heroes for being "fat" (usually specifically referring to her butt), which she's particularly sensitive about because her powers come from her literally skintight costume that doesn't work if she wears anything over it. Not a truly straight example, because her inner circle (her boyfriend, her best friend, and the caged eldritch being from another dimension that lives on her coffee table) don't think she's fat (well, what Demonwolf says implies he does think she has a bigger-than-average butt, but he also seems to be kind of into that and phrases it in generally positive terms), and even most of the people who insult her seem to covertly find her attractive (the male ones, at least)...they're just insulting her because they're jerks.

* Creator/KateWinslet, of all people, tends to get this a lot:

* ''Film/BatmanReturns'' brings us Creator/MichellePfeiffer, then in her early thirties, as Catwoman. Some mousy clothes, frizzy hair, and clumsiness somehow hides her attractiveness from everyone in the movie except Bruce Wayne. It didn't hide it from the audience, who are left trying to square the circle of how the movie is trying to frame ''that'' woman as a CrazyCatLady spinster nobody would date.

* Makoto (Or [[DubNameChange Lita]]) from ''Anime/SailorMoon'' is considered a highly unattractive girl in-universe due to [[HugeSchoolgirl her tall height]] and [[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon powerful strength]], and thus has a hard time getting dates. But she doesn't look any less attractive than the other girls and most of the fanbase adores her, especially the male fans who view her as BigBeautifulWoman. That's not even mentioning her [[BuxomBeautyStandard incredible]] [[DubText "talent"]].