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21) Lauren Hutton
Decades before Cindy Crawford's mole became the most sought-after beauty blemish, Lauren Hutton's trademark gap-toothed grin made her America's original supermodel. Her lithe body, shoulder-length blond coiffure and unabated tenacity are just as striking today as they were in her heyday. But, to be clear, age is not an issue for the sixty-five-year-old model and actress. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she continues to resist the latest Hollywood remedies for aging, refusing to view her lines and wrinkles as evidence of diminishing appeal. She insists on not being air-brushed or retouched, a conscious choice not to become what she terms a "plastic egg." Whatever her secret, it must be working, because in 2005, she posed nude for Big magazine, giving women-of-a-certain-age everywhere yet another reason to admire the perennial style maven. — Andre Stanton |
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20) George Takei
One good way to exert sexual magnetism is to live an interesting life. George Takei has lived a number of interesting lives: he spent his early childhood in a Japanese internment camp; he emerged as one of the first Asian-American actors to play a non-subservient character on American TV (as Mr. Sulu in the original Star Trek) and, at sixty-eight, he told the public he was gay, quickly becoming a warm, eloquent, and playful spokesman for gay rights. Only a Vulcan could've held back tears when the legendary actor wed his partner of twenty years in 2008. (And actually, wedding guest Leonard Nimoy might contest that.) Then there's that wicked sense of humor — always primed for a self-effacing quip, delivered with that unmistakable baritone voice and twinkling eye. Belatedly, we congratulate Mr. Takei and his spouse, and find ourselves a little jealous of the latter. — Peter Smith |
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19) Vanessa Redgrave
Born into a British stage dynasty, Vanessa Redgrave never struggled to find an audience. Her theater, film and television work earn consistent accolades. And she's never been afraid to speak her mind: after winning an Oscar for Julia in 1978, she famously denounced "a small group of Zionist hoodlums" to audience boos and a smackdown from subsequent presenter Paddy Chayefsky. Her candor and talent remain as alluring as her bare skin was in Blow Up forty years ago. — Billy Gray |
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18) Nelson Mandela
When we were sixteen, we decided it would be hilarious to wear buttons for progressive causes that had already been achieved. It started with a "Free Nelson Mandela" button. We quickly noticed that whenever we wore the button, we got laid. Mandela gave that thing power. At ninety-one, the man's still got it. There are others on this list who have pretended to be powerful men, and were sexy doing it. Mandela is a man of actual power, a revolutionary with a smile that sparks both infinite comfort and a desire to go out and change the world with your bare hands. He is unstoppably sexy. — John Constantine |
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17) Ben Kingsley
For some, the phone-booth sex scene between Mary-Kate Olsen's underage hippie Union and Sir Ben Kingsley's debauched psychiatrist Dr. Squires in The Wackness (2008) may have damaged the film's plausibility, not to mention (considering the glaring age difference) some stomachs. But consider the doctor's charm and commanding presence — the same qualities that the sixty-five-year-old Kingsley has radiated effortlessly through his accomplished film career (well, maybe not so much in Thunderbirds) — and you'll understand why any lady, young or old, would want some of his Oscar-winning lovin'. Add in his title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and it's easy to see just how much of a Sexy Beast Kingsley is. — Nelson Bermudez |
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16) Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison doesn't just breathe life into language — she does so with a soothing kiss, as is most evident in her most famous works Song of Solomon and Beloved, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize. The grace of her words matches that of her presence. With her silver dreadlocks, and the ability to disarm you with a soul-penetrating stare one minute, but enchant you with the warmest smile the next, there's more to measure Morrison's sexiness with than her language. — N.B. |
