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%% ATTENTION EDITORS!
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%% If you are planning on adding an example, remember that this page is ONLY for IN-UNIVERSE examples.
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%% If it's a matter of YOU finding a nerdy character sexy, it does not go here!
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Geeks and nerds often have it rough in the romance department, especially in popular culture. Typically, they are stereotyped as being so unattractive that only fellow nerds would find them desirable mates. However, it is interest and intellect that makes the nerd, not looks. And for some folks, intelligence is very, ''very'' attractive.

This trope shows what happens when a character finds that a nerd is, indeed, sexy. The nerd's "objective" looks could fall anywhere within the wide spectrum of human attractiveness; all that matters is that a character finds something about the nerd that arouses his or her interest. If said character is in high school, he or she may grow up to be a HotScientist.

See also HotLibrarian, HotScientist, GeekyTurnOn, {{Nerdcore}}, {{Adorkable}}, LovableNerd and GiveGeeksAChance. Sometimes [[JewishAndNerdy overlaps]] with MatzoFever. Can be caused by a case of HollywoodNerd.

'''Only add examples here that are acknowledged ''in-universe''.'''

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%% NOTE BEFORE ADDING AN EXAMPLE !!!
%% Examples should be IN-UNIVERSE ONLY, by another character or otherwise noted IN THE WORK.
%% Nerdy characters that you personally find sexy do not belong !!!
%% Examples that violate these rules will be purged.
%%
!!InUniverseExamplesOnly:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', Yuki seems to have a large "fanbase" ''within'' the story, exactly because NerdsAreSexy. Kyon finds her appealing too, although not at the scale of [[{{Moe}} Mikuru]].
* Even ''Manga/DragonBall'' runs into this trope, as a number of girls in Orange Star High (particularly [[TheCutie Erasa]]) spend much of their screen time in the anime trying to undress [[GeniusBruiser Son Gohan]] with their eyes. JerkJock Sharpener isn't very pleased to learn that he's runner up to "Nerd-Boy".
* Taken to the extreme as the premise of ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows''. Keima Katsuragi is a [[ProudToBeAGeek proud nerd]] who spends all his time playing video games and prefers 2D girls over real girls. Yet his vast knowledge of {{Dating Sim}}s has made him [[TheCasanova an expert at getting girls to fall in love with him]] (in order for him to exorcise the evil spirits possessing them... ItMakesSenseInContext!), all the while remaining an unrepentant otaku. Not to mention he is pretty good looking and dresses pretty properly. It's hinted that a lot of the girls are impressed by his defiance of authority, even if the defiance comes through geeky activities that they don't really approve of.
* Professor Kiyama Harumi from ''Manga/ToAruKagakuNoRailgun'', and she is thought of as this even before she started stripping in public... [[RunningGag again.]]
* LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes; Felicia Greenhill had been carrying the torch for the socially awkward Yang Wenli ever since she first met him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* [[IncredibleHercules Amadeus Cho]], the 7th smartest person on Earth (as verified by a soap company - oh, and Reed Richards), who managed to win the heart of a PerkyGoth Amazon Gorgon girl.
* Peter Parker, aka The Amazing SpiderMan. A science geek and somewhat socially awkward, but none of this has stopped him from being a ChickMagnet.
* Ellie Dee from ''CherryComics'', who manages to nail the science teacher all of the girls are lusting after.
* This trope is practically the mission statement behind ''GoldDigger,'' a comic about Gina Diggers a really hot, really ... [[ReallyGetsAround "friendly"]] woman who's also a [[{{Meganekko}} bespectacled]] supergenius, and her friends, many of whom are just as hot and almost as smart as she is (though they're generally less nerdy).
* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' is basically ''Comicbook/GoldDigger'' set in a SteamPunk fantasy universe instead of a superheroic modern Earth, and the main character, Agatha Clay, is less ... [[ReallyGetsAround "friendly"]] than Gina Diggers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* ''Film/TheGirlNextDoor'''s diffident, gangly Klitz (Paul Dano) is a member of the protagonist's clique of nerds, but meets a porn star who finds him highly attractive and it is hinted that he becomes one himself.
* ''NotAnotherTeenMovie'' has Janie who is supposedly nerdy even though all she really does is paint, wear overalls, wear glasses, and has a ponytail.
* There is a scene in a used bookshop in ''Film/TheBigSleep'': Humphrey Bogart spends an afternoon in an antiquarian bookshop with the clerk (Dorothy Malone). An unexpected rainstorm, a bottle of rye, and the line "I'd rather get wet in here", transforms Malone from book-worm to babe, who closes the shop an hour early (and the film fades to black).
* In ''HowToMarryAMillionaire'', MarilynMonroe's character avoids wearing [[MegaNekko much-needed glasses]] as long as she can to retain her beauty. When her love interest finally persuades her to put them on, he immediately says, "You're crazy."
* {{Tanguy}} is a nerdy intellectual but he manages to chat up attractive girls (mostly Asian ones) with ridiculous ease.
* Darla, the band nerd from ''MyBestFriendIsAVampire'' - once she takes her glasses (and possibly a dorky hat) off, she's hot, though only the male lead sees it at first.
* Charles Xavier in ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' turns his knowledge of genetic mutation into a successful pick-up line.
* ''AndYouThoughtYourParentsWereWeird'': Beth is attracted to Josh specifically because he's a computer/robotics genius.
* In ''CloudyWithAChanceOfMeatballs'' the female lead isn't truly sexy to the male lead ''until'' she sheds her "model" looks.
* Amy in ''Film/TimeAfterTime'' is attracted by the nerdy HGWells character.
* Betty Childs can't help falling for Louis Skolnick in ''Film/RevengeOfTheNerds'', once she discovers his sexual prowess.
* Despite being a tough gangster moll, Honey Swanson in ''Film/ASongIsBorn'' can't help falling for nerdy Hobart Frisbee.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Fiore from Moony Witcher's ''LaBambinaDellaSestaLuna'' ("The Girl of the Sixth Moon") is a typical know-all, with special interest in history and Latin (she really likes to show her knowledge of Latin phrases). At the same time, she's beautiful, romantic and sometimes demonstrates a sense of humor. Given that Fiore means "flower" in Italian, this seems to be a case of MeaningfulName.
* In ''Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober'', it is stated that Jones, the sonar technician of the ''USS Dallas'', because of his nerdy looks and knowledge, gets enough action on the beach to "wear down a squad of marines".
* Bennett keeps hitting on the somewhat nerdy, glasses-wearing socialist Tommy Judd in ''AnotherCountry'', whom he claims to be the only guy in college to be immune to his charms.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''TheDukesOfHazzard'': Daisy Duke, in the 2005 TV remake/prequel ''The Beginning'', where she wears thick glasses, large sweaters and baggy pants, and her hair in a bun. She is also very shy and mousy. Underneath it all – as everyone sort of sensed – was this blooming butterfly, to put it mildly. When she takes a job at the Boar's Nest, the nerdy Daisy emerged from her cocoon – and what a babe she turned out to be. Needless to say, her social skills improved 1000 percent and she was soon asked out by every guy in Hazzard County. (Alas, this is non-canon for true Dukes fans, as the original series bible has Daisy always being popular ... in fact, getting crowned prom queen at Hazzard High School.)
* From the original ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' we have Billy, who got more romantic subplots than pretty much any ranger in the history of the franchise (''damn'') but was played by David Yost, who is incredibly charming and built like a plow horse.
* This is pretty much the entire point to ''Series/TheBigBangTheory''. The boys on the show don't get laid in spite of their geekiness (except Sheldon, [[{{Asexuality}} for whom sex is less exciting than video games]]), they get laid pretty much ''because'' of it.
** The TagLine is "Smart is the new sexy".
* [[http://oceanup.com/legacy/2009/05/26/david-henrie-selena-gomez-blond.jpg David Henrie]], who plays Justin, in ''WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''. He's the nerdy boy that builds robots, collects action figures, and can't do more pull-ups than his younger sister. Surprisingly (or not), in the show [[UnwantedHarem he has a lot of girlfriends]].
* ''A Town Called Series/{{Eureka}}'' is this trope in a nutshell, seeing as Eureka is a town full of super geniuses/nerds. Good examples are Zane and Henry. Alison Claudia counts if you include both Warehouse 13/Eureka crossovers.
* Ben Wyatt in ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' is into math, model trains, skinny ties, plaid shirts, and ''Game of Thrones'', but that doesn't stop Leslie Knope, Shauna Malwae-Tweep, Marlene Griggs-Knope, and Joan Callamezzo from hitting on/chasing after him.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'''s Castiel, despite being labeled in-universe as "nerd angel", is also referred to as "sexy" and "pretty" by demon and angel alike.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Xander, Willow, and Wesley are all sexy nerds in their way, but It's Giles who's sexy ''because'' he's a nerd (or, as a love interest put it, "a sexy fuddy-duddy").
** Later {{lampshaded}} when even Tara and Willow, both lesbians, find Giles singing "[[TheWho Behind Blue Eyes]]" incredibly sexy.
--> '''Willow''': Now I [[ContinuityNod remember]] why I had such [[HotForTeacher a crush]] on [[HotLibrarian him]].
** Played with later in the series when Xander comments that smart girls are hot, and Willow, who at that point is a lesbian, mournfully asks him why he couldn't have figured that out when they were in 10th grade (i.e. during the time Willow had the hots for Xander).
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' also had [[HotLibrarian Fred (Winifred)]], the [[{{Adorkable}} nerdy]] yet cute [[HotScientist science girl]] who joined the cast late in the second season. During the third season, her sexy nerdiness had two of the male leads fighting over her for half the season. This was {{lampshaded}} in the famous scene where Lilah Morgan dresses up in NerdGlasses and GirlishPigtails to taunt Wesley over his attraction to Fred.
-->"Did it turn you on? Watching her up there in front of all those braniacs knowing she was the smartest one in the room?"
** Played with briefly when David Nabbit gives Angel financial advice in "First Impressions."
---> '''David:''' "Oh. That's easy. You could look into seller financing, take over the owner's payments and skip the bank completely, or you could make a play for a preservation grant. Offer to restore the original décor and get the city and the feds to give you a tax break and a loan at a sweetheart rate. Or you could apply for an FHA and get a PMI in lieu of a down payment."
---> ''*everyone stares*''
---> '''Cordelia:''' [[GeekyTurnOn "Is anybody else getting warm?]] Do that 'tax breaks,' FHA and PMI part again."
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' presents an AlternateRealityEpisode in which Samantha Carter is a frumpy, awkward nerd. Alternate O'Neill still thinks she's hot.
** In the main StargateVerse, Daniel Jackson is paired up (or at least implied to have paired up) more often than anyone else in the series. O'Neill even comments on this once.
--> '''O'Neill''': "Man, that kid's got a way with women."
* On ''NUMB3RS'', Charlie asks Amita on their first date after she solves a particularly tricky mathematical analysis. Later they find out that math is really all they have to talk about, but this doesn't seem to be a problem since they're [[OfficialCouple still together]].
** And FBI agent Megan has a relationship with professor Larry.
** Ahem, "Luckily, I speak l33t," "That's so hot."
* {{Lampshaded}} in ''{{The IT Crowd}}'' when Roy and Moss make a NerdsAreSexy calendar and it ends up being less "hot supermodel with glasses" and more "fat bloke with his shirt off".
* ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'': When Connor and Dave created a sorting algorithm deciding the hottest girl in Degrassi, Clare is ranked ''3rd''. Pretty good given she's supposed to be the plain jane girl next door type.
** Before that, Damian once referred to Liberty as a "sexy genius."
* In the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode "Singled Out", the team was looking for a killer who believed in this trope, and Ziva goes undercover as a nerd in an attempt to identify him.
* A [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFKwnHJQXsY 2009 Intel commercial]] featured a male Asian office worker freshening his cup of coffee. Semi-porn background music can be heard. All the women are staring hungrily at this guy, who sees it but acts too cool to respond to it, like this is normal for him. At the end, a voice over identifies this normal-looking nerd as the inventor of the USB port. (He was actually just an actor, but it gets the job done.)
* In ''GilmoreGirls'', there's an episode where Rory is seen sitting in the college cafeteria wearing a t-shirt with the logo, "Reading is Sexy." Considering she wears it while thinking about Logan, the third guy in the series she's attracted to for his intellect, it is a reflection of what she honestly believes.
* Dr. Spencer Reid of Series/CriminalMinds graduated from high school at 12, had two [=BAs=] by 16, has an IQ of 187, and an eidetic memory. In one episode, fellow profiler Hotch mentions that he "was propositioned by every prostitute we talked to."
* The Doctor, from ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[NoHuggingNoKissing at least in the incarnations where he's allowed a love interest]]. Many characters seem attracted by just how intelligent the Doctor is, with such a wide range of knowledge that it vastly out-scopes anything we know. Of course, being good looking and having a time machine probably doesn't hurt, either.
** Several of his companions fit this trope, although they are usually [[OvershadowedByAwesome overshadowed by the Doctor]].
* As Scully of {{The X-Files}} says of the two scientists in "War of the Coprophages" who walk off into the sunrise together: "Smart is sexy".
* UglyBetty gets a lot of it. The title character may be cute and even beautiful upon certain occasions, but her sexy turns on only in the last few episodes of the series. Most of her boyfriends are often the embodiment of the trope, with nerdy accountant Henry having some serious male model-like body going for him.
* ModernFamily's Alex is both absolutely gorgeous in all her nerdiness and "has her fans", as she says, literally:
-->"You have your fans, I have mine. And one day, your fans are going to work for my fans."
* Series/{{Sherlock}} gets some of this too. "Brainy is the new sexy" indeed...
* In ''Beauty and the Geek'' just about every season one or two of the Beauties would wind up hooking up with one or two of the Geeks.
* The ''{{Smallville}}'' episode ''Crusade'' is when we first met Lois Lane. After Martha says "Trust me, that can happen to the best of us" about falling for a "farm-boy type", Lois replies "Not me, give me a nerd with glasses any day of the week".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Malcolm [=McLaren=]'s song "Algernon's Simply Awfully Good At Algebra"
* The whole point of "Geek and Gamer Girls", a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eJmYKN_1QE parody of Katy Perry's "California Gurlz"]] by Team Unicorn. For that matter it's pretty much the whole point of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Unicorn Team Unicorn]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
* In CelticMythology, Cu Chulainn wasn't in love with Emer because she was the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman - he loved her because she was ridiculously smart and [[GeekyTurnOn could throw as many convoluted riddles at him as he could at her.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* MadScientist Kokonoe from VideoGame/BlazBlue.
* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'''s Ryusei Date is the epitome of otakuness, having more interest in the features of whichever {{Fembot}} was currently in the hangar than real girls. Nevertheless, Latooni Subota and Mai Kobayashi fall for him, the former going as far as [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75fh1LghX9U imitating his geeky speech out of affection.]] [[CelibateHero Ryusei himself doesn't seem to mind, though.]]
* Philia Felice from ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'' is a really nerdy priestess, complete with nerd glasses, who have a penchant of inventing self-made bombs. However, that turns out to be one of her charms ([[LampshadeHanging she also admits that she's plain looking without her glasses]]), including her nice personality as well as [[KikukoInoue her voice]].
* ''MySims Agents'', in an example of the sentiment, has a music-playing object that plays a little tune called "Nerdy Chicks Rule".
* Alyx Vance from HalfLife. Her attractive is present and universally agreed upon by the fans, but downplayed in her character design.
* Zoey from Left4Dead. She is considered one of the most attractive [[ActionGirl Action Girls]] ever seen in a zombie game (at least to VALVe players) and she still delivers lines about several horror movies (mainly zombie movies) and is interested in pop culture, in general. Sure, that doesn't make anyone "nerdy", but she is kind of adorkable anyway.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* After finding out about this, ''FoxTrot'''s Jason Fox once tried to make himself as un-nerdy as possible because GirlsHaveCooties.
* Alice from ''Webcomic/{{Loserz}}'' thinks so. See [[http://the-qlc.com/loserz/go/217 this]] strip.
** And Adam from the same strip actually ''is'' a sexy nerd (although he usually hides it - being a gaming nerd, not being sexy). See [[http://the-qlc.com/loserz/go/397 here]].
* ''TalesOfMU'' takes this to the logical extreme -- Amaranth is a physically perfect nymph, naked except for her glasses, who believes in science in a world of [[{{Magitek}} magic-based technology]]. Beyond the mere nudism, nymphs in MU follow the more ''open'' version in regards to sex and sexuality (the ultimate origin of the term ''nymph''omania) -- although Amaranth treats it as an enjoyable part time job / chore more than anything.
** It's later discovered this is because of a teenage geek messing with the process that created her, creating the ultimate geek fantasy girl -- a confident, polite nudist who will put up with ANYTHING and literally can't get enough sex. Oh, and she's a geek, too. Unfortunately, he was too shy to talk to her afterward, which left her in the dark about the whole thing.
* Moira and Nanetta in ''TalesOfGnosisCollege'' both seem to fit this trope.
* '' Webcomic/TimesLikeThis'': Cassie, the main character, is a brainiac with a mean sex drive. When she's not [[http://timeslikethis.com/index.php?id=295 banging famous guys throughout history]] thanks to her self-made time machine, she's [[http://timeslikethis.com/index.php?id=182 sneaking boyfriends into her workplace]] for some conference-table whoopee.
** You can also order [[http://www.cafepress.com/overdone.305387215 "Sexy Nerd" merchandise]] from TLT's Cafe Press page.
* In Webcomic/SandraAndWoo Larisa's sudden [[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2011/10/24/0319-larisa-is-not-aware-of-the-ladder-theory/ attraction]] to Landon seems like just a joke, [[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2012/05/21/0378-a-walk-through-the-park/ it's not.]]
* In {{Shiniez}} Ally and Alan are complete geeks over fighting games, and both are sexualised. Ally even attends conventions and cosplays. Moreover Lisa speculates that all practitioners of BDSM are in a way nerds, because (as the comic shows) the advanced stuff uses so much thought and attention to be done safely you naturally have to be an enthusiast type.
* Fuchsia of ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'' certainly thinks so, if [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4529 her portrait of Criminy]] is any indication.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Originals]]
* Trollvorlord from the ''Blog/{{Bronyism}}'' blog [[http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/421662_382353795171626_367017666_n.jpg parodies this trope]]:
-->"''[[StylisticSuck i jast goat thee trel verzon uf]] [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft wuld uf warcreft]] [[StylisticSuck wow im surc a nard (;]]''"
* ''Website/CollegeHumor'' has the skit [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxx6BupgRmI "I'm Such A Nerd,"]], in which a nerd [[GeekyTurnOn happily discovers]] that the rather attractive girl he's dating is herself a giant nerd... who then promptly dumps him for not being nerdy enough.
-->'''Girl:''' I thought he was different, you know, but he ''wasn't''. He...he couldn't even name all of the current Batman titles!
* WhateleyUniverse: brilliant inventor Spark is pursued by Reach throughout the story "The Big Idea". [[HotScientist Genius inventor]] Bugs on the other hand, is regarded as one of the sexiest girls in SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy.
* The dorky, socially awkward inhabitants of WebSite/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses. Practically everyone on there has got laid at least once.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Sam from ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'' has this appeal InUniverse.
* Starscream and Perceptor from TheTransformers continuity.
* Velma from ''ScoobyDoo''. Played with in {{The Movie}}s.
* Edd from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' has had the most girls crushing on him during the show's run.
* Steve Smith from ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad!''. He manages to get dates with girls more popular than him because they find him cute. Something always happens to ruin it for him, however.
** Usually Stan or Roger.
* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' where the Riddler reforms (or rather, [[ChronicVillainy attempts to]]), he ends up with quite a few women fawning over him. Unless that's an example of AllGirlsWantBadBoys, or PowerIsSexy and/or GoldDigger, due to his newfound fame and wealth from his inventions.
* ''In TheRealGhostbusters'', Janine has a crush on nerdy Egon for his high intelligence. So do a handful of minor female characters.
** Janine's crush was a holdover from the movie where she is quite blatantly hitting on Egon, and Egon is either clueless or doing a good job pretending he's clueless.
* Used in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken''. After seeing [[CueTheFlyingPigs hell freeze over]] we are treated to a nerd dance around in his underwear, gleefully singing about getting laid. The hot girl in bed states, in a rather matter of fact manner, that she thinks nerds are hot.
* Tecna from ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', though her boyfriend is even more of a nerd than she is.
* Winston Dunsworth from ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' had this appeal InUniverse in the episode "A Bad Case Of Diary-Uh!" with teenage girls who attended Vicky's high school.
[[/folder]]

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