Around the campfire light
A lovely woman in motion
With hair as dark as night
Her eyes were like that
Of a cat in the dark
They hypnotize me with love
She was a gypsy woman"
The Romani people have long had an ambiguous status in Western societies and popular culture: alien enough with their dress and on-the-road lifestyle to serve as a convenient Other, but geographically near at hand. As a result, they have been both vilified and exoticized. The stereotype of the Hot Gypsy Woman is an example of the latter.
She typically has olive skin, dark hair which she wears loose, a low-waisted long skirt with a slit up the side, a low-cut midriff-baring blouse, bare feet, and plenty of jewelry. She also tends to have a fiery personality and to be overt in her sexuality, sometimes making her an Ethical Slut. She dances in a provocative way, sings, and strums guitar. She may make a living as a Street Performer doing music, magic tricks, juggling and telling fortunes. Some some may be involved in con schemes.
She is flirtatious and Moral Guardian types warn the local young men to avoid her as they say she is the "wrong type of girl". Indeed, the townspeople are warned about even going near the Romani's temporary encampment on the edge of town, where campfires burn all night and singing can be heard. If 19th-century adventure fiction and romances are to be believed, there is also something special about the eyes of these women, which are dark and variously described as large, beautiful, fascinating, and even hypnotizing.
Older Than Steam, the trope tends to be mostly encountered in stories set in the early modern era. In North America, almost the same archetype is used with a different ethnic origin as the Spicy Latina.
Be aware that the term "Gypsy" is rejected by many if not most Romani people because of its negative connotations, and calling real Romani people by that name is likely to be considered offensive.
Examples:
- Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop is not averse to using her good looks to lower men's guards down before she shows what she can do. She also claims to be Romani, though she has pale skin rather than dark. Subverted as an episode on her childhood implies she's actually from Singapore.
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa: Subverted with Noah. She has the wavy black hair, attractive looks, dancing abilities, and dark skin, but otherwise doesn't fit expectations. Noah doesn't play up her sexuality or display many stereotypes. She wears either a conservative white or black gown and has a subdued personality. She was originally a love interest to Edward; however, that was scrapped in development, although in the finished film they're good friends.
- Isabelle of Paris: Irma is a red-haired and pale-skinned Romani woman who captures Andréa/Count Red's heart after tending to his wounds. In his flashback, it's revealed he slowly fell in love with her while viewing her dancing with a tambourine.
- The Secret Garden: Camila has unkempt, messy black hair and Icy Blue Eyes. Her and her mother were discriminated against for being Romani, but Lillas Craven was always kind to her.
- De Cape et de Crocs: Hermine is a hot-tempered Romani girl with brown skin and black hair. She spends the first half of the series barefoot and doesn't hesitate to use her charms to get her ways. She is quite chaste, though, and deeply in love with Don Lope.
- Justice League of America:
- Gypsy is part Romani with dark skin and loose black hair. Her original costume consists of an off-the-shoulder blouse, a slit skirt, bare feet, and lots of jewelry. She later changes it to something less stereotypical.
- Zatanna is (usually) portrayed to be Italian-Roma, and she's one of the biggest Ms. Fanservice in the DCU. Although she's a witch, a typical trait for Romani characters, her magic isn't particularly tied to her Romani roots, and in general doesn't behave very stereotypically.
- Comic Book/Avengers: Scarlet Witch has long been established as having Romani ancestry. However, the idea of her being sultry did not come in until the George Perez designed costume from The Avengers (Kurt Busiek). It looked like a stereotypical Romani dancing girl outfit. Supposedly, it was to 'honor her Romani heritage'.
- The Scorpion: A Gypsy assassin who plays with the ancient idea that the Gypsies emerged from Egypt, Mejai uses her beauty as a weapon almost as much as her poisons. Her appearance hits all of the stereotypes: olive skin, loose wavy black hair, a low-cut, midriff-baring top, a low-waisted skirt slit to the hip, bare feet and lots of jewelry.
- Wonder Woman Vol 1: The "Irish Gypsy" (Irish Traveler) woman who reads the Holliday Girls' palms is drawn as a quite attractive young woman with long wavy black hair who goes quite far out of her way to help save her boyfriend.
- Child of the Storm: Subverted with Wanda Maximoff. She's half Romani and is notably, and famously, beautiful. However, her clothing is more practical than sexualised, and while she certainly has a temper, in that respect she more closely resembles her German-Jewish father, Magneto.
- Blood Ties (Fullmetal Alchemist): Noa was a pretty Romani woman living in Germany during the Great War. One day, a group of men decided to attack her, rape her, and leave her for dead. She would have died if a pitying dhampir hadn't saved her by making her one of his own. Since then, she has been living as a somber half-vampire who barely interacts with normal humans anymore.
- Esmeralda again in Heaven's Light, but somewhat downplayed. The three men who showed an interest in her in canon- Quasimodo, Captain Phoebus and Frollo- are not interested in her here. She still does a sensual dance at the Festival of Fools, but she directs it towards the Queen of Corona instead of Frollo. She does get Promoted to Love Interest of Gentleman Thief Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert, though.
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- Pinkie Pie is Romani in Friendship is Witchcraft and is implied to be an attractive mare. She initially hides her heritage but it's an Open Secret. Cult leader Fluttershy has a Villainous Crush on her. Both Pinkie and Fluttershy are Shout-Outs to Esmeralda and Frollo from Disney's adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney): Esmeralda is a spirited young Romani woman described by Clopin as "the finest girl in France". She has dark skin, loose black hair, a voluptuous figure, bare feetnote , and low-cut off-the-shoulder outfits adorned with golden jewelry, including the tight red dress during her provocative dance at the Feast of Fools. Out of the three main characters who are attracted to her, Frollo is conflicted between his belief of himself as a righteous man, his genocidal hatred of her people, and his lust for her before deciding to burn her alive if she refuses to be his.
- In Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter, Kronos's love interest Carla's ethnicity is not explicitly stated. However, her Hot-Blooded personality, dislike of shoes, and first appearance being persecuted by puritanical locals for immodest dancing in public, all imply that she is an example.
- Venus in Cartouche, played by a 23 year old Claudia Cardinale. She's attractive, she has an olive skin and dark hair, the clothes, the dancing skills and the expected hot temper.
- Downplayed example with Celeste in Cry of the Werewolf, who is descended from Marie La Tour, a Werewolf of wealthy French-American origin who murdered her husband (over him having found her Human-to-Werewolf Footprints) and then ran away to join a local band of gypsies. Celeste is presumably of mixed Roma/Cajun ancestry, and is an Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette, but has a position of authority within her gypsy community (being deferentially called "Princess"), is fully assimilated into their culture, and wears eastern European clothing almost exclusively.
- Esmeralda, the central character of the barely comprehensible gypsy curse subplot in The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, is played by 1970s Spanish sex symbol Lina Romay in her first big screen role
- The two scantily-clad Romani women who fight over a lover in From Russia with Love, inflicting copious Clothing Damage in the process. The situation is dissolved with James Bond's charm.
- Doctor Sleep: Rose the Hat is implied to be Romani. Dick says that her kind used to ride camels in the Middle East (referencing the apocryphal belief that Romani descend from Egypt) and later rode caravans in Eastern Europe. She wears a top hat and a lot of beaded jewelry, coinciding with some typical patterns of dress for Romani in media. She's also extremely beautiful (being played by Rebecca Ferguson), which is commented on in the story. Additionally, she’s often seen walking barefoot around her camp.
- In La Habanera, the presence of a hot Romani woman singing the local "habanera" music on the docks leads Astrée to make an impulsive decision to get off the ship back to Sweden, and instead stay in Puerto Rico.
- Simza Heron, played by Noomi Rapace, in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. She maintain her good looks in spite of living outside of civilization. However, she proves to be an intelligent and competent ally and not used as a Ms. Fanservice or love interest.
- Anna, the Romani princess of Van Helsing. Played by the gorgeous Kate Beckinsale, she spends most of the film clad either is a sexy corset or Gorgeous Period Dress. Also one of Dracula's brides Marishka used to be Romani too, according to the actress that plays her, and she averts the typical stereotypes associated with Romani, such as having fair skin and blonde hair.
- Village by the River: A comic interlude has Deaf Cis meeting a voluptuous Romani woman by the river. She lies down on the bank not far away from him, spreads her legs, and basically waves her vagina at him. Later, she follows him into his houseboat, asks for food, and gives him sex as payment. The next morning has Cis wake up to find that the Romani woman has left and hitched back on to her caravan.
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Subverted with Esmeralda. Although she fits the appearance, she is quite innocent and a virgin, rather than fiery and worldly. Furthermore, she was raised by the Romani, but is not one by birth. Adaptations tend to have her play the trope straighter, though.
- Michael Strogoff has Sangarre:
Near him, the Romani Sangarre, a thirty-year-old woman, dusky of skin, tall, statuesque, with magnificent eyes and gilded hair, stood in a superb posture... Romani women are generally attractive, and more than one prominent Russian landlord, who profess to emulate the British in eccentricity, hasn't hesitated to pick his wife among their number.
- In Six of Crows, Inej Ghafa is Suli, which is a Fantasy Counterpart Culture to the Romani people. Her Dark and Troubled Past is that she was enslaved at 14, where she was sold to a brothel that deliberately invoked this trope for its customers.
- The Wheel of Time: women of the Tuatha'an ("Tinkers" or "the Traveling People") are skilled dancers specializing in a sensual, hip-rolling dance called the tiganza, often performed barefoot. Unusually, they combine the nomadic lifestyle, painted wagons, colorful dress, and seductive dance of the Romani with another people of Indian origin, the Jain, as shown by their vegetarian diet and pacifism, as the last of the Jenn Aiel.
- Blackadder: Edmund's autobiography is, shall we say, slightly embellished with this trope.
It's a steaming rollercoaster of a novel, crammed with sizzling gypsies!
- In an episode of Bonanza, Little Joe rescues and falls for a young Romani girl who is believed to be a witch by her people because strange events happen around her. It turns out to be a hoax perpetrated by her spurned lover, whom Little Joe is forced to kill. She is proven innocent and goes back to her family, which is probably the best way for Joe to fall victim to the Cartwright Curse.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Downplayed with Jenny Calendar but it is there—she has the dark hair and exotic beauty, and Stuffy Brit Giles has an Uptight Loves Wild attraction to her.
- Copper: Lola is one of the prostitutes employed by Eva. Lola claims that her passionate nature in bed is a result of Romani blood.
- Highlander: Irena is a very attractive Romani immortal, who sadly is raped by a mortal, prompting her husband's revenge.
- The IMF employed hot Romani acrobat Crystal Walker in the Mission: Impossible two-parter "Old Man Out". Crystal staged a prolonged Cat Fight with Cinnamon Carter as a distraction.
- In the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode Catalina Caper, Tom Servo has a crush on the ethnically-ambiguous "Creepy Girl", and sings to her:
Oh, what are you, Creepy Girl? Are you French, or Italian, or one of those swarthy Gypsy types? Heh heh.
- Peaky Blinders: The Shelby family is part-Roma and have many contacts among the Roma community. So it's not a huge surprise that when John Shelby is widowed and requires a bride, his older brother, Tommy, selects Esme Lee, a member of the Roma Lee clan, to be his brother's wife. Although John is pissed at first, he perks up when Esme proves to be really hot and really passionate in bed. In a realistic subversion, her clothing isn't particularly sexy, though.
- Blackmore's Night's "Sister Gypsy":
And she danced through the wood
Like a gypsy girl should,
And she laughed in the face of the fire
Under the black velvet skies
With the moon in her eyes,
Head held high, tambourine held higher. - Curtis Mayfield's "Gypsy Woman" (later covered by Brian Hyland and Santana):
"From nowhere through a caravan
Around the campfire light
A lovely woman in motion
With hair as dark as night
Her eyes were like that
Of a cat in the dark
They hypnotize me with love
She was a gypsy woman" - Don Williams' "I Recall A Gypsy Woman":
"I recall a gypsy woman
Silver spangles in her eyes
Ivory skin against the moonlight
And the taste of life's sweet wine" - Gino D'Auri's "La Paternera" tells the tale of an exotic Romani singer who bring misfortune to her lovers.
- Hilary Duff's "Gypsy Woman":
"She can swallow knives, she can swallow lives
Golden black stare, but the night of your demise
Try to run away with the gypsy woman
Good today but gone for good
Can't get away with the gypsy woman" - Shakira's "Gypsy":
"I'm a gypsy
But are you coming with me
I might steal your clothes and wear them if they fit me
I never made agreements just like a gypsy
And I won't back down 'cause life's already hurt me
And I won't cry
I'm too young to die
If you're gonna quit me" - Tim Buckley's "Gypsy Woman":
"Mama, every time you turn around the fire.
Mama, keep me in between the devil and the sky.
And every time you look my way,
Mama how you hypnotize." - Tino Rossi's "Bohémienne aux yeux noirs":
"Bohemian with big dark eyes
Your dusk-colored hair
And the sheen of your brown skin
Are prettier than the moonlight
Bohemian with big dark eyes
I shivered with tender hope
I would like you to be mine" - Enrico Macias' "Zingarella":
"Zingarella romantica
When you dance open your arms
All the boys around you
Zingarella, zingarella
Zingarella, bellissima
Your black hair, your lilac eyes
Shine the night like a wood fire
Zingarella, zingarella..." - The Romani "queen" from Tommy, described in "The Hawker (Eyesight To The Blind)" and fleshed out in "Acid Queen". She combines this trope with elements of the Snake Oil Salesman, using acid (and, according to some interpretations, sex) to "cure" the underaged protagonist of his blindness and deafness.
"I'm the gypsy, the Acid Queen,
Pay before we start!
I'm the gypsy, I'm guaranteed
To tear your soul apart!" - Broken Iris' song "Gypsy" compares the mystical and alluring woman that the singer is in love with to a mysterious, attractive Romani woman:
She don't sleep at night; she waits for the sun
Dances away all his demons when the angels are sleeping
Dare you stay in her eyes, she'll read your mind; hypnotize
Like a gypsy creeping through the night, she'll steal your heart
She still has mine
- The Crimson Rose in Ravenloft is a Vistani woman, which are the Fantasy Counterpart Culture of the Romani and considered one of two most exotically beautiful women in the Carnival, the other being the snake/elf babe Silessa. She has the power to enchant any men with her dances, but unfortunately, she is also cursed to fly into a murderous rage whenever they make a move on her.
- Carmen: Carmen is a gypsy woman as iron-willed as she is alluring, and she will only give her love to the man she chooses, who might be a different man tomorrow than today. Tragically, in the end, this leads to her death at the hands of her scorned lover Don José.
- Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara: The second title of Capcom series, Shadows Over Mystara, introduces the party's thief Moriah, who has the complete stereotype: olive skin, dark-black hair, generous curves, a red midriff-baring top, some jewelry on her neck and wrist... and of course, being the Fragile Speedster of the party.
- Rose from Street Fighter, introduced in the Street Fighter Alpha series as the good part of M. Bison, one of the Big Bad of the series. Rose is an Italian fortuneteller who also has psychic powers (called Soul Power, the Good Counterpart of Bison's Psycho Power) and fits the stereotype in various aspects (like the voluptuous figure, the legs, and a Romani-like attire), also being considered the Magical Romani of the series. Additionally, one of her alternate outfits in Street Fighter IV is Rose dressed as Shadows Over Mystara's Moriah.