Jane Seymour - Beauty Through the Ages- Dr. Quinn Times

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Icons of Beauty Through the Ages

By Angie Brown

WHAT have Kylie Minogue, Elle Macpherson, Joanna Lumley, Catherine Deneuve and Honor Blackman got in common? Answer: they have all been named the sexiest women of their generation.

In a poll on beauty through the ages, Kylie was named the sexiest woman in her 30s, Elle Macpherson the sexiest in her 40s, Joanna Lumley led those in their 50s, Catherine Deneuve was tops among the 60-somethings and Honor Blackman was the sexiest woman in the 70s.

Kylie, 36, beat other beauties such as Kate Beckinsale, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Kate Moss to clinch the number one spot among sexy women in the youngest age group.

Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson saw off competition from other style icons aged in their 40s, including Yasmin Le Bon, Jerry Hall and Madonna, as part of a Good Housekeeping magazine poll to find the sexiest female celebrities.

Among women in their 50s, the Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley came top over beauties such as Jane Seymour and Michael Caine’s wife, Shakira.

The French film star Catherine Deneuve, recently chosen as a face of l’Oreal beauty products, came first among women in their 60s, above Raquel Welsh and Julie Christie.

The sexiest woman in her 70s is the actress Honor Blackman, whose youthful looks defy her 77 years. The actress recently signed up as a model for Marks & Spencer.

The women were chosen by a panel which included the photographer Lord Lichfield, Ben Shephard of GMTV, the chef and restaurateur Jean-Christophe Novell, the singer Darius and Capital Radio presenter Neil Fox.

Their results are featured in the March issue of Good Housekeeping, out tomorrow.

Desmond Morris, the author of The Naked Woman: A Study of The Female Body, welcomed the study. "In today’s world, the concept of beauty and attraction comes via two separate avenues - anatomical beauty and behavioural beauty," he said. "It’s comforting, then, finally to see a set of top ten lists that celebrates not only technically gorgeous women, but also those whose looks subvert the norm."

Vivienne Parry, the science editor of Good Housekeeping, said: "The same thing makes both men and women sexy - the brain. It’s our principal sex organ. It’s the brain that prompts us to advertise our feelings with the way we talk, move and act."