History Main / WorldsMostBeautifulWoman

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** The second is Kushina Uzumaki, who was such a renowned beauty in Konoha that even Tsunade exclaimed how beautiful Kushina was when she grew up. Also, much like Tsunade, Kushina had doubts over her beauty when she was young thanks to bullies calling her "tomato" over her red hair, causing her to lash out at people. Of course, she fell in love with Minato when he stated that her hair was "beautiful", and when she was abducted, leaving locks of it on the ground helped Minato find her. [[spoiler: When Kushina meets her son Naruto, she actually apologizes that Naruto [[StrongFamilyResemblance inherited her face]] instead of his handsome father's, but Naruto takes it as a huge compliment and only wishes he had inherited [[HeroesWantRedheads her hair]] as well.]]

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' holds that there are three such women who the most beautiful in human history: Cleopatra, Consort Yu/Yu Miaoyi, and Helen of Troy. The first two of these have already been introduced as playable characters [[spoiler:though Yu is also revealed to [[OurVampiresAreDifferent not actually been human in the first place]]]], but Helen has yet to appear. Other top contenders are Brynhildr, Mata Hari, Marie Antoinette, Yang Guifei, Stheno, and Euryale. Astolfo and Gao Changgong/Lanling Wang were considered among the most beautiful men. Lanling is so pretty that he has to wear a mask to keep his allies and enemies from being distracted. In at least one [[Anime/FatePrototype alternate universe]], [[spoiler:[[GenderFlip Merlin]] (so far exclusive to the Arcade version of ''Fate/Grand Order'' and only alluded to in the main game)]] fits the bill, though she's not entirely [[HalfHumanHybrid human]]. In the British Lostbelt, Fairy Knight Lancelot/Melusine was considered the most beautiful fairy, but she disagrees and thinks that title belongs to Aurora. Sancho Panza is a CompositeCharacter with several characters in Don Quixote's story, including Princess Dulcinea, so she is protective of her status as this trope in the eyes of her lord. Therefore, she gets jealous when he seems to want to fight for Marie Antoinette's honor, and she's flattered that his wish for the Grail is to have the world acknowledge Dulcinea's beauty, therefore technically hers, as being beyond compare. Ironically, Don Quixote only sees her as his faithful sidekick Sancho Panza, so he's oblivious to the fact that the ideal beauty that he constantly proclaims to the world is right there faithfully at his side, finally physically incarnated rather than a mere figment of his imagination.

* ''Anime/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'': GenderInverted. Mahiro is stated to be the most beautiful being in literally all of spacetime. An interesting example because [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm neither the audience nor Mahiro himself can actually perceive this beauty]]. To human senses he's just an average teen, it's only in the AlienGeometries that the series' many Lovecraftian characters can perceive that he's ([[TakeOurWordForIt apparently]]) so ungodly gorgeous.

* Characters/{{Wonder Woman|TheCharacter}} is canonically this in Franchise/TheDCU, having been blessed at birth by the goddess Aphrodite. In ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' Diana even becomes an evil ProudBeauty, as seen in the [[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueTheFlashpointParadox animated adaption]], when Steve Trevor ''dares'' to suggest [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]] was this trope and she hangs him.

* [[Characters/AquamanSupportingCast Mera]] is commonly considered the most beautiful Atlantean woman and as such was put in a ArrangedMarriage by her father Ryus to the military chief Nereus, before Arthur came into picture and Mera fell for him. Mera's coronation appearance as ruling queen of Atlantis even inspired nation-wide awe, Arthur who regrettably wasn't able to attend hears about how Mera looked and is unsurprised since he's always considered her the most beautiful. Her famed beauty has even managed to rival Wonder Woman's on occasion, who herself referred to her as "modern Aphrodite". Heck, in ''Blackest Night'' she even attracted the affections of Atrocitus, who [[InLoveWithYourCarnage fell for her display as a Red Lantern when she barbecued her Black Lantern husband and baby]], and once accidentally created a construct of her (for which he was mocked mercilessly by all and sundry as he furiously denied it).

** [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]] is also famed in-universe for her looks, with more or less every straight man on the X-Men falling for her, and at one time even worked as a fashion model. Given elements of TheChosenOne around the Phoenix Force (a primordial being) signalling Jean out and Mister Sinister considering an ideal genetic template (which is why he cloned her) her being a contender for this isn’t too surprising.
** Characters/{{Emma Frost|WhiteQueen}} is generally considered Jean's closest rival, and prides herself on having the "best body money can buy." (Though the fact that she always seems to fall ever so slightly short of Jean, even when Jean is ''dead'', rankles severely). Emma also directly weaponizes her appearance, and her sexuality is a formidable weapon she can bring to bear at needs.

** If the [[ComicBook/AllNewXMen time-displaced Warren]] is to be believed, [[Characters/X23LauraKinney X-23]] may be ''more'' beautiful than Jean. While it's downplayed by Laura's withdrawn personality, and she lacks the sheer number of suitors as the others, her looks are nonetheless often remarked on. At one point [[MsFanservice Ms. Sinister]] openly admired her body while trying to pull a GrandTheftMe.

* Much like her comic book counterpart, Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}} is likely the most beautiful woman in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse, considering that Steve Trevor, Etta Candy, Sameer, Ludendorff, Ares the God of War, Batman, Aquaman, ''and'' The Flash think she's gorgeous. Lampshaded by Etta Candy when they try some ClarkKenting on Diana.

* UsefulNotes/EleanorOfAquitaine, mother of Richard the Lion-Hearted, was considered the most beautiful woman in the world by many contemporaries. Even many of her fiercest critics, who believed her to be a murderess, an adulteress, and/or a literal witch, couldn't disparage her good looks (although they of course considered her beauty [[BeautyIsBad as proof of her wickedness]]). Ironically, while we have many writings praising her beauty, no one ever bothered to describe what she actually ''looked'' like, not even so much as the color of her hair, and the few images popularly assumed to be her can't be confirmed (with the notable exception of her tomb effigy).[[note]]What we ''do'' know is what her son Richard (who ''was'' well-described by contemporaries) looked like, and that Richard was noted to take strongly after his mother, so we can assume that Eleanor was a very tall, slim woman with wavy red-gold hair and grey or blue eyes.[[/note]] She's sort of a TakeOurWordForIt contender for World's Most Beautiful Woman.

** ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': Varda, the Queen of the Valar, is said to be the most beautiful woman in all of Arda when in physical form, shining with a beauty too great to be put into words.

* UsefulNotes/EleanorofAquitaine, mother of Richard the Lion-Hearted, was considered the most beautiful woman in the world by many contemporaries. Even many of her fiercest critics, who believed her to be a murderess, an adulteress, and/or a literal witch, couldn't disparage her good looks (although they of course considered her beauty [[BeautyIsBad as proof of her wickedness]]). Ironically, while we have many writings praising her beauty, no one ever bothered to describe what she actually ''looked'' like, not even so much as the color of her hair, and the few images popularly assumed to be her can't be confirmed (with the notable exception of her tomb effigy).[[note]]What we ''do'' know is what her son Richard (who ''was'' well-described by contemporaries) looked like, and that Richard was noted to take strongly after his mother, so we can assume that Eleanor was a very tall, slim woman with wavy red-gold hair and grey or blue eyes.[[/note]] She's sort of a TakeOurWordForIt contender for World's Most Beautiful Woman.

* UsefulNotes/EleanorofAquitaine, mother of Richard the Lion-Hearted, was considered the most beautiful woman in the world by many contemporaries. Even many of her fiercest critics, who believed her to be a murderess, an adulteress, and/or a literal witch, couldn't disparage her good looks (although they of course considered her beauty [[BeautyIsBad as proof of her wickedness]]). Ironically, while we have many writings praising her beauty, no one ever bothered to describe what she actually ''looked'' like, not even so much as the color of her hair, and the few images popularly assumed to be her can't be confirmed (with the notable exception of her tomb effigy).[[note]]What we ''do'' know is what her son Richard (who ''was'' well-described by contemporaries) looked like, and that Richard was noted to take strongly after his mother, so we can assume that Eleanor was a very tall, slim woman with wavy red-gold hair and grey or blue eyes.[[/note]] She's sort of a "take our word for it" contender for World's Most Beautiful Woman.

* In Megan Whalen Turner's ''Literature/TheQueensThief'' series, Attolia is said to be extremely beautiful. Interestingly enough, she is not known for her beauty so much as her intellect and ruthlessness (bordering on [[EvilIsSexy cruelty]]), but she rarely seems to use this to her advantage.

* ''Fanfic/HeroicMyth'': A few characters describe Brynhildr as the most beautiful non-goddess. Boudica is considered second. Later, when Bell Cranel meets the Siren, Rei, he is overwhelmed and thinks to himself that he cannot decide who is more beautiful, Rei, Brynhildr, or Boudica.

** At the time of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Lúthien's similar-looking great-great-granddaughter Arwen Undómiel is considered to be the fairest by many; Gimli, however, favors Arwen's grandmother, the [[TheHighQueen Lady Galadriel]], whom Tolkien as narrator describes as being "the mightiest and ''fairest'' of all the [[ExactWords Elves]] that remained in Middle-earth". This may seem contradictory until one realizes that Arwen is one-quarter human, and is therefore considered to be among the ''Peredhil'', or "half-elves" rather than an elf.

** Henry's younger sister Mary, meanwhile, has been regarded by some historians as having probably been the most attractive princess in all of Europe during her teenage years. She bore a strong resemblance to her mother; see below.
** Henry's mother and maternal grandmother, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Woodville (who was said to have [[WhatBeautifulEyes "heavy-lidded eyes of a dragon"]]), were each considered the most beautiful woman in England during their prime. Henry's grandfather Edward IV was so captivated by Elizabeth Woodville that he married her against all advice to the contrary. Meanwhile, Henry's parents had an ArrangedMarriage, but it was by all accounts a PerfectlyArrangedMarriage and Henry VII truly loved his beautiful wife (to the point that when Elizabeth died, Henry became so heartbroken his advisors feared [[DeathByDespair he might soon follow his wife into the grave]], refused to consider remarrying for a long time, and when he finally warmed to the idea, his advisors gave up when they realised Henry wasn't looking for a new bride so much as a carbon copy of Elizabeth). In fact, it is said that Elizabeth of York's portrait was taken as the basis for the figure of the Queen of Hearts in the deck of playing cards.

* Isabella of Angouleme, second wife and queen to King John of England, was renowned for her beauty, even considered the Helen of the Middle Ages; of course, no New Trojan War was ever fought in her day.

** Also, Gondul the Valkyrie was said to have ''a figure so stunning, it literally drove men insane''. Unfortunately, she's been mutated by arcane magic and driven insane, so we get a stock berserker woman with wings.

** One of the big reasons why four them was selected as the top beauties was that Chinese people has an obsession with tragic stories and heroes, and these four fit the bill as tragic beauties in which their beauties didn't just bring kingdoms down, [[SoBeautifulItsACurse they brought downfalls to themselves.]][[note]]In one version of the story, Xi Shi was betrayed and sentenced to death by drowning by none other than the King that asked for her help, because he thought she's so beautiful she might mesmerize him next. Yang Guifei was accused of enabling the bloody An Lushan Rebellion just because she's so beautiful the Emperor gave her too much leeway as his sign of love. Diao Chan's efforts do not bear fruit in the long run; while Dong Zhuo was eliminated, peace didn't come to China, it was instead replaced with the bloody conflict of the Three Kingdoms, and in some stories, after Lu Bu was executed (and right after Diao Chan grew to love him), she was surrendered to the brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei on purpose of breaking up the brothers with her beauty, it ended with Guan Yu killing her to end the quarrel. Only Wang Zhaojun came a bit happier than most since she ended up in a mostly PerfectlyArrangedMarriage with the Xiongnu Prince. But even then, she's sent away from her home and being rejected to return home just to maintain the alliance between the Han and Xiongnu and she died buried in the plains rather than home. She's still respected by both parties and she's happy with her new family and home, but still.[[/note]]

* ''People'' magazine voted Creator/JuliaRoberts "the most beautiful person in the world" a record four times, though Creator/MichellePfeiffer has been listed six times, winning once. The cover of their annual "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" has usually been a woman, and for nearly the past decade, said woman--Creator/HalleBerry, Music/JenniferLopez, Creator/JenniferAniston, etc.-- has in fact been designated the "World's Most Beautiful Woman".

* Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, was described as "the most beautiful creature in the world," and was probably the best-looking of all Henry's wives. That did not stop her husband from divorcing her, however.

** It continued further through the line with UsefulNotes/MaryQueenOfScots, Elizabeth of York's great-granddaughter through her eldest daughter Margaret. With pale skin, red-gold or auburn hair, and hazel eyes, she was regarded as being the prettiest royal in Europe since her great-aunt Mary. She was a remarkably lovely little girl, described by the King of France (her future father-in-law) as being "the most perfect child I have ever seen." She only grew more attractive as she grew up, possessing elegant hands and being both slender and unusually tall for the time - just shy of six feet! - and her physical beauty was further enhanced by her charismatic and charming personality.

* Creator/ElizabethTaylor, in her youth, was commonly regarded as "the world's most beautiful teenager." Her eyes were of particular note, being such a deep shade of blue that they were often described as ''purple''.

* Creator/AudreyHepburn is widely considered a prime candidate for the title of "most beautiful woman who ever lived."

** Nami the navigator may or may not be this, a [[LustObject certified]] DudeMagnet there’s very few male characters in the series that aren’t attracted to her (Bonclay a {{Voluntary Shapeshift|ing}}er uses her appearance to great effect). Sanji often claims she is this even mistaking Nami for “an goddess” when she wears a wedding dress, but he’s such a lovesick horndog for beautiful women his opinion is unreliable. Regardless in Wano the sight of Nami’s naked body is able to take out of a room full of people (men, women and children) with one woman outright claiming Nami’ body is a “national treasure” meaning Nami is certainly contender. Especially given unlike Hancock Nami was able achieve this devastating effect ''without'' a desire-based Devil Fruit.

** And in the human world, Orihime Inoue is also called the most beautiful student of Karakura High School. Near the beginning of the series, Kon mentions how all the girls of the school are all, at least, above average in looks, and ''even then'' Orihime stands out among them. At some point she's followed around by a bunch of completely smitten younger boys, which annoys her friend and crush [[spoiler: (and ultimately, husband)]] Ichigo; later, when a young man named Moe Shishigawara was tasked with attacking her, a mere look from her (complete with sparkles) was enough to leave him starstruck and unable to attack.

* Princess Toutebelle from ''Literature/TheYellowDwarf'' is described as having beauty "extraordinary and divine rather than mortal" and is basically treated like a goddess by not just her court, ''but by the entire world''. To make things worse, she happens to be a RoyalBrat who rejects ''twenty kings'' for not being good enough for her. And to top it all off, [[MeaningfulName her name means "all-beautiful" in French]]. Her haughtiness leads her to her doom later in the story.

* Lanfear from ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' is often called this. It really says something about her personality that she can canonically be The World's Most Beautiful Woman and ''still'' can't get the man she wants. On the bright side, she doesn't have to worry about being kidnapped or the like, as she's also [[WorldsStrongestMan the world's most]] ''[[TheArchmage powerful]]'' woman... And, whether because of this trope or not, she also turns out to be the ultimate PsychoExGirlfriend.

%%* In ''Literature/ErecAndEnide'', Enide is described in this fashion. And unlike Guinevere, she isn't just beautiful, but is also described as impeccably virtuous.

** Tharja's {{Expy}} [[spoiler: and possibly her reincarnation or past life (it's not clear which)]] Rhajat in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' is much the same as her physically speaking, being described as having the nicest thighs in the army (and also has the darkest thoughts in North America). Many of her supports have comments on her beauty, [[ReluctantFanserviceGirl also much to her annoyance]] (she once threatened to curse a shopkeeper that kept saying flattering things about her and ''did'' curse her prospect {{Love Interest|s}} Shiro when [[SayingTooMuch he made one too many insensitive comments over her looks]]). And, much like Tharja, people of both genders can be attracted to her. [[spoiler: In fact, she's the [[GayOption Bi Option]] for the Female Avatar.]]

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' holds that there are three such women who the most beautiful in human history: Cleopatra, Consort Yu/Yu Miaoyi, and Helen of Troy. The first two of these have already been introduced as playable characters [[spoiler:though Yu is also revealed to [[OurVampiresAreDifferent not actually been human in the first place]]]], but Helen has yet to appear. Other top contenders are Brynhildr, Mata Hari, Marie Antoinette, Yang Guifei, Stheno, and Euryale. Astolfo and Gao Changgong/Lanling Wang were considered among the most beautiful men. Lanling is so pretty that he has to wear a mask to keep his allies and enemies from being distracted. And in at least one [[Anime/FatePrototype alternate universe]], [[spoiler:[[GenderFlip Merlin]] (so far exclusive to the Arcade version of ''Fate/Grand Order'' and only alluded to in the main game)]] fits the bill, though she's not entirely [[HalfHumanHybrid human]]. In the British Lostbelt, Fairy Knight Lancelot/Melusine was considered the most beautiful fairy, but she disagrees and thinks that title belongs to Aurora. Sancho Panza is a CompositeCharacter with several characters in Don Quixote's story, including Princess Dulcinea, so she is protective of her status as this trope in the eyes of her lord. Therefore, she gets jealous when he seems to want to fight for Marie Antoinette's honor, and she's flattered that his wish for the Grail is to have the world acknowledge Dulcinea's beauty, therefore technically hers, as being beyond compare. Ironically, Don Quixote only sees her as his faithful sidekick Sancho Panza, so he's oblivious to the fact that the ideal beauty that he constantly proclaims to the world is right there faithfully at his side, finally physically incarnated rather than a mere figment of his imagination.

** 12th century warrior Princess Yennenga, who is the founding mother of the Mossi kingdom of Burkina Faso through her son Ouedraogo, was an expert warrior and horsewoman from puberty and strikingly beautiful, but her father would not allow her to marry and become a mother because she was the leader of his armies and too important of a warrior; after her attempts to soften his stance failed, she disguised herself as a man and she fled with the help of a servant, riding her stallion until they could go no further. And she met Riale, an elephant hunter and a handsome young man in his own right. They quickly befriended each other but Riale quickly saw through her disguise and romance blossomed between them, resulting in their marriage and the birth of their son, Ouedraogo.

* [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender-inverted]] with the writer Pan An (潘安), the prospect poet Song Yu (宋玉), the WarriorPrince Lanling (兰陵王) and Wei Jie (卫玠), known as "China's Four Most Handsome Men". And just like their female counterparts... [[SoBeautifulItsACurse they don't end well due to their handsomeness too.]]

** Several Targaryen women have been considered this throughout history. We have Queen Rhaenys, Queen Rhaena, Princess Viserra, the young Queen Rhaenyra (though her looks faded with age), Queen Naerys, and Shiera Seastar, who was an illegitmate daughter of Aegon IV. Plus, being named "Daenerys Targaryen" seems to automatically make you the most beautiful woman in the world; in addition to Dany, there's King Jaehaerys's first daughter and the Aegon IV's only legitmate daughter with his wife.

* ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn:'' Not explicitly stated, but when the unicorn, the most beautiful creature in the world [[HumanityEnsues becomes human]] this seems to be the result. It's worth noting, however, that as [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody she becomes more human]] she stays beautiful, but the mystical quality of her beauty fades away.

* Being an immortal personification of Fantasy itself and the FisherKing ruler of Fantasia, The Childlike Emperess in ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'' is the child version of this trope. As it was described how Bastian saw her:

* Actress Creator/RaquelWelch is considered not only one of the most beautiful woman of her era, but due to her striking physical fitness (which led her to be nicknamed simply "The Body"), also one of the most perfect examples of ''the entire human species'' -- so much so that she has allegedly bequeathed her skeleton (or her skull; accounts differ) to a scientific trust that collects examples of humanity for future research.

* UsefulNotes/EleanorofAquitaine, mother of Richard the Lion-Hearted, was considered the most beautiful woman in the world by many contemporaries. Even many of her fiercest critics, who believed her to be a murderess, an adulteress, and/or a literal witch, couldn't disparage her good looks (although they of course considered her beauty [[EvilIsSexy as proof of her wickedness]]). Ironically, while we have many writings praising her beauty, no one ever bothered to describe what she actually ''looked'' like, not even so much as the color of her hair, and the few images popularly assumed to be her can't be confirmed (with the notable exception of her tomb effigy).[[note]]What we ''do'' know is what her son Richard (who ''was'' well-described by contemporaries) looked like, and that Richard was noted to take strongly after his mother, so we can assume that Eleanor was a very tall, slim woman with wavy red-gold hair and grey or blue eyes.[[/note]] She's sort of a "take our word for it" contender for World's Most Beautiful Woman.

** At the time of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Lúthien's similar-looking great-great-granddaughter Arwen Undómiel is considered to be the fairest by many; Gimli, however, favors Arwen's grandmother, the [[TheHighQueen Lady Galadriel]], whom Tolkien confusingly also describes as being "the mightiest and ''fairest'' of all the Elves that remained in Middle-earth".

** The first is Tsunade, whom Shikaku Nara (Shikamaru's dad) claims is "the most beautiful and [[WorldsStrongestMan strongest]] kunoichi in the world" and you know it's [[BoobsOfSteel not hard to see why]]. Tsunade is the first and only female Hokage and she's even given the title of "Konoha's Slug Princess." Ironically, as a girl she was mocked [[ACupAngst for her lack of sizable mammaries]] by Jiraiya. So naturally, Tsunade [[SheIsAllGrownUp grew up to be]] the most gorgeous and curvaceous female in the franchise to spite him, which only made Jiraiya more attracted to her than he already was. Also, Tsunade uses Jutsu to [[VainSorceress keep herself young]] despite being upwards of fifty years old.

** Played with in regards to Lyanna Stark, whose abduction (or "abduction") by the already-married crown prince, Rhaegar, set in motion the fall of the Targaryens. While it's generally accepted that Lyanna was beautiful, people are split on whether she was pretty enough to justify a war. Of course, the people who talk like that are sexist jerks who wouldn't appreciate her other qualities.

* In ''Manga/SoulHunter'': [[BigBad Dakki]] is know as possessing a beauty that can only be found in one person every 100000 years. How much of her reputation is due to her temptation spell isn't clear, but she is definitely MsFanservice and have no qualms about [[ExploitedTrope exploiting]] her charms, coupled with said spell, to manipulate people.

Of course, having ''two'' (or more) women contending for the title is usually not good, and you really, really, really want to limit it to mortal competitors. Asserting that a woman is more beautiful than a goddess is dangerously BlasphemousPraise. Even...''especially'' [[MortonsFork if she's another goddess.]]

* ''Literature/{{Barsoom}}'': Dejah Thoris was the most beautiful woman on ''two'' worlds.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiRabbitTheUsagiChronicles'', Chizu has feline beauty and appearance with HartmanHips. Her beauty is admired by others (including Yuichi Usagi, Spot, Kitsune, and Gen). While being TheMole.