Which female singer has or had the highest ratio between beauty and singing talent?

Whitney Houston was lovely

Mariah Carey was very pretty as a young woman also I think she looks bad now

Donna Summer

Olivia Newton-John

Well I'm not really following the rules exactly, but Belinda Carlisle was just stunning in her heyday, even though her voice is just okay.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Adele

Another vote for Donna.

Lady ‘Shallow’ Gaga

Debbie Harry, of course. The most beautiful woman in the world at one time.

Debbie Harry was gorgeous, Natalie Merchant is another great voice, Maryann Faithful another beauty, Linda Ronstadt was very pretty as a young woman and a great voice. As was Ann Wilson before gaining weight.

Connie Francis

Debbie Harry. I wish the Capucine stan would fall off her Lausanne terrace crushing to death herself, the Belinda Carlisle Stan AND Gap Playlist Troll for good measure.

R12 the Debbie Harry stan has got to go.

Belinda Carlisle

Why r13? Debbie was strikingly beautiful in her prime.

More votes for =

Debbie Harry

Olivia Newton-John

Connie Francis

Marilyn Martin

Whitney Houston

Samantha Fox

Alannah Myles

& of course Miss Belinda Carlisle

Annie Lennox

Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston, Debbie Harry, Belinda Carlisle, Sheena Easton.

Samantha Fox? Belinda Carlisle? Debbie Harry? They were average singers at best.

Sade.

Everyone remember to include Whitney as the token when listing multiple singers. We must remain PC!

Chubby, blonde Belinda didn't look great, but striking auburn goddess Belinda looked great.

Grace Jones

Whitney wins considering her voice. I think Debbie Harry and Belinda Carlisle are more beautiful, but Whitney is highest overall.

Another vote for Connie Francis

R22 or she could just fit the criteria, right? beautiful and great singing talent?

Cher

Nico. Marilyn Monroe. Tina Turner.

R20 Belinda had the second biggest song by a female in 1988 (Whitney had the top song). Her #1 hit HIAPOE ranked #7 for the year.

Her voice has given her 6 top 10 hits in the US (& 11 Top 40 songs overall). She wasn't average.

Most female singers are lucky to have 1 Top 10 American song in their careers.

Lena Horne. Also Rosemary Clooney was really very pretty if not beautiful in a glamorous way.

Julie London

Doris Day

Eva Cassidy

Both Sinead O'Connor and her voice are beautiful in the "Nothing Compares to You" video.

And how many dozens of hits did Madonna have, r30? I'm fine with Belinda, but no, her voice isn't at all exceptional.

That counts Barbra out

Susanna Hoffs

R34 Her voice is sexy to straight men

r22 is an idiot. Whitney probably fits the criteria better than anyone in this thread.

I mean....Belinda Carlisle?!

Thread closed.

I like some of Belinda songs, but let's face it. She ain't got a great voice. It's serviceable for simple pop music--barely.

Keely Smith

Valerie Carter was beautiful. And that voice!!

FFS....having a hit record...or multiple hit records DOES NOT EQUATE TO TALENT. Plenty of singers and groups have had hit records but lack any semblance of REAL talent....its all production and marketing.

Renee Fleming wipes the floor with all of them

The Belinda stan KNOWS Belinda does't belong in this thread, and SAID SO. But he can't help himself, the need to fap fap fap fap is strong in such Stans.

I think the answer is Kudrow in The Comeback - OBVIOUSLY - because we need to FAP our stanhood 24/7 no matter how ridiculously she doesn't fit the category.

Calm down R45 good lord.

I would also add Judy Garland from back in the day. I thought she was beautiful.

Olivia Newton John , Whitney Houston and Linda Ronstadt own this thread. Belinda Carlisle and Debbie Harry were fat. Diana Ross had the best wardrobe!

Beyoncé

Whitney and Linda, for sure. Maria McKee was also really pretty and has a wonderful voice.

Debbie Harry was SMACKED out skinny chic, duh.

Some of you take things Wayyy too seriously.

Janis Ian, Cass Elliott

Nancy Wilson

Yoko

I never cared much for her music, but it's definitely Whitney.

Vanessa Williams

Sticking to BOTH high beauty and singing talent - Whitney, hands down.

Samantha Fox hasn't been named - she was pretty back in the day, also just with a decent voice, though.

Diana Ross

r48....key requirement "SINGING TALENT"....not dancing, not monotone warbling engineered on a soundboard.

Fox was named.

Whitney Houston shuts this thread down.

Another thread using the term "highest ratio" wrong.... Is the opposite!

It's close, but I'd take Olivia at her height over Whitney.

Join Baez.

Olivia was pleasant but lightweight vocally, and Debbie was more beautiful if you're going to ignore vocal talent.

Vanessa Williams is a good one

I scrolled through my laptop music library and decided to vote for Alela Diane. Not conventionally beautiful but I personally find her gorgeous. And she has a voice that knocks your socks off.

And my second choice would be Norwegian singer Linnea Dale.

Genesis P-Orridge

Whitney

Debbie

And...

Julie London was gorgeous and had a great voice

Sandra Bernhard

Sarah McLachlan

RuPaul

Huge in the Franco world French singer/song writer/musician Veronique Sanson who was married to Stephen Stills for a minute Back in the day all my lesbians friends coveted her. Yes, she was quite lovely and she's still highly entertaining because she's batshit crazy and she does a lot of French talk TV.

Really? No mention of the greatest living vocalist - no question (sorry Babs) - who still is gorgeous and sexy at nearly 80 (!).

The one, the only, DAME Shirley Bassey... bow, bitches!

Excuse me, she actually turns 82 tomorrow!

Another vote for Donna Summer

Whitney, Donna, Vanessa

Linda

Karyn White

Jody Watley

Phranc

R81 Please tell us you don't mean Linda Lavin or Linda McCartney.

After 86 replies...

IT"S TIME FOR TINA!

Whitney def and Sade

Anna Moffo

Where's the Dolly love? She's plastic pretty much now but was a beauty back in the day.

Pat Benatar!

Several black singers you all probably don't know:

Phyllis Hyman,

Angela Bofill,

Chante Moore

You Rang...

Another vote for Sade, also Tori Amos pre-plastic surgery.

Another vote for Doris Day.

I'd also suggest Kiri Te Kanawa and Mireille Mathieu.

Here's Mireille, in 2009 (at age 63), singing and looking pretty much the way she always did.

Kate Bush.

Dolly Parton

Toni Tennille

Mama Cass

....

Marilyn McCoo gives Whitney a run for her money for both looks and voice.

Whitney and, we’ll, Whitney.

Maybe Sheena Easton.

R100 Are you on crack?

Celine to some.

Marilyn McCoo is an Evangelical Christian and doesn’t care for the gays. Fuck her fake Barbara McNair fake ass.

Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Donna Summer, Vanessa Williams

What R104 said.

[quote]Natalie Merchant is another great voice

Sorry, no.

R107 I second the no.

Diana Ross

Where does Adele fit into this discussion?

r85, I'm sure he meant Linda Ronstadt.

R94 good one - Kiri is/was beautiful

Frida and.or Agnetha.

R108 I third the no. (LOL)

R110 Sadly she doesn't fit at all.

Janet

Dusty Springfield not only had one of the best female voices of the '60s, but was also quite pretty.

Taylor Dayne

Agreed R118.

As a little English girl, I thought young Barbara Streisand was absolutely beautiful, I was obsessed with her. I still think she was very attractive.

Yvonne Elliman

R120 I completely agree.

Adele wins. Unless you're an eldergay who thinks it is 1994 and the Victoria's Secret silhouette is required.

Sorry R120 The Babs nose could scare the Penguin into turning himself in.

Maybe if she has some plastic surgery on it when she was 18.

Thanks for the Kiri link, R113.

I haven't seen that album before, but it looks like something to check out next time I'm prowling about on Amazon. (It's interesting to note that it's conducted by Joan Sutherland's hubby.)

Babs was pretty when she was young at the right angle--really nice cheekbones. But she has not aged well--she's about 76 now. Her hair looked awful when I saw her on TV recently--it's the wrong style and length for her at this point. But I always thought she had a mesmerizing voice and still do. Lena Horne should take this. She was drop dead gorgeous with a beautiful velvety voice. She has been mentioned above and there's a photo. She's probably too 20th century for a lot of people here to have heard of her.

Adele is pitchy, and not attractive.

Here's the right angle for Babs face R126 =

Belinda Carlisle is not talented enough to be mentioned.

Debbie Harry is SO beautiful she deserves mention.

Adele and Whitney have it on lock. Sinead too.

I found Barbra gorgeous too.

JesseJ has got a voice and has striking good looks.

Kim Carnes looks like she could've been one of Charlie's Angels back in the early 80s.

Sheena Easton

I mean any one can look good with the right makeup artist.

Faith Hill

Du hast mich vergessen So ist das Leben. Ich werde ein Huhn kochen.

Lorrie Morgan

Marlene had a man's voice--not beautiful. She was a great performer though and a striking woman until she went into permanent seclusion in old age.

Streisand had gorgeous eyes and hair and stunning cheekbones. I think her nose is distinctive and compliments her cheekbones very nicely.

Anna Netrebko: The Early Years

How are none of yall gonna mention Rihanna?

R40 Belinda's voice has done more than simple pop music.

I don't speak French (& don't care for many of their artists) but she won me over with her French album.

BC hits all the right notes & her voice has plenty of emotion in songs like this one=

Nobody loves me ?

We were waiting for you R140.

Bout time you showed up with her.

[quote]Anna Netrebko

Friend of putin

R144 The Russians are here! The Russians are here!

R144 She lives in the US now. She can't help where she was born. Whatever, she was stunning.

Did Sharon Tate not sing? Gong Li? Liv Ullmann?

Talent, voice and beauty: The legendary Stevie Nicks!

I have nothing to add.

We are all beautiful in His eyes.

The hair in post 151 cannot be real.

That's really subjective R124. I knew nothing about what was considered acceptable in terms of Hollywood beauty and actually hated my average turned up English nose. I also worshipped Elizabeth Taylor who had a totally different aesthetic to BS, so there's that.

More for you r146. I threw out my Netrebko and Putin's Conductor's CDs. Gergiev. That was his name. No homophobes.

Maria McKee - gorgeous voice, beautiful

I can't believe there is even a discussion about this. There is only one answer and that is Lena Horne.

There is no close competition.

[quote]I can't believe there is even a discussion about this. There is only one answer and that is Lena Horne. There is no close competition.

Ahem.

R154 I didn't know Netrebko was a homophobe. If she is, then I take my answer back. Apologies.

r158 Any friend of Putin's is not a friend of ours.

Alain Tapp

Mariah was beautious and talented

As lovely and gifted as you are Miss Carroll I don't think anyone is ever going to consider you one of the all time great vocalists on a level with Lena. I'll give you the beauty part though.

R155, Really? Love Maria's voice, but come on. I'm sure she has a beautiful soul.

Frederica von Stade was a beauteous opera babe in her younger days.

Emmylou Harris needs to be mentioned in the country category.

Don't forget me!

What about me, you ungrateful bitches!

I gave You Broadway damn it!

[quote] As lovely and gifted as you are Miss Carroll I don't think anyone is ever going to consider you one of the all time great vocalists on a level with Lena. I'll give you the beauty part though.

Thank you, Darling. For the record, I can outsing Miss Horne any day of the week.

Another vote for Sade

gorgeous woman with such a voice

Sade is most definitely a contender R168.

Sinead O'Connor at her most beautiful and vulnerable.

Sinead.

But don't forget me you cunts.

The only answer is Stevie Nicks, in her day.

Mariah - I think she was most beautiful in Butterfly

I ain't too fugazy.

Forgot about Stevie!

Agree with Sade, Sinead O'Connor back in the day, Whitney and add Whitney's cousin, Dionne Warwick. Warwick was gorgeous fifty years ago with a truly wonderful voice.

R163, he meant in her youth, dickwad.

Barbara Mandrell

Nancy Wilson.

Susan Boyle

Julie Andrews

Dolly Parton

Donna Fargo

Barbara Jean

Janis

Emmylou has the most gorgeous hair.

I'd have to say Sinead, as others have said. Her voice and face truly were both gorgeous. Her voice in Troy is one of my favorites.

Norma Zimmer.

Crystal Gayle

So should I think about this like a quiz, and 100 is top score, and you get 50 for vocals and 50 for beauty?

Sinead, Whitney and Adele come closest.

Rihanna and Debbie Harry are stunning but the vocals aren't up there.

Julie London. She may not be considered a great singer but her delivery is unique.

Who in their right mind would find fat Adele and baldy Sinead attractive? I feel like I'm in Bizarro World.

If we are talking face? We're talking Sinead; we're talking Adele.

How is this not beautiful?

Michele Lee

Donna Summer

Bjork

Pink

Grace Jones

Some of you are just naming your faves and not actually judging on beauty and vocal ability.

Whitney

R193 please enforce the rules here!

the blinding beauty and glamour

We need Mike from the Palm Springs Air BnB thread to scream at you bitches and keep you in line. No glass by the pool. No mediocre lookers or mediocre vocals!!!

🎂 Marilyn Monroe

Renee Fleming.

But for strictly Pop/Rock: Debbie Harry.

You are a blind man if you fail to see the beauty that was Sinead O'Connor

I agree above with choice of Diana Ross. She sang the lead on 18 #1 songs and I think sh's pretty.

Barbra was attractive for 10 minutes in the 70s, and fug ever since.

Judy, whoever posted that is insane. With those teefs alone, she's disqualified. Fortunately, with all those gay husbands she never had to give head.

Beautiful and great voice?

I’d say Whitney for sure and Sade

R188, only on the Tin Ear Planet is Julie London not considered a great singer, especially of torch songs.

Nobody has heard of her, but her first CD sold 400,000 copies. Easily the most beautiful woman I've actually met, and she sings like an angel, too.

Whitney Houston

Sheena Easton

Claire Richards

I have to add Annie Lennox to my list.

Lisa Stansfield

(The eyes at :13/:14. With a mere glance to him, she's dedicating this song to her love, her future husband, producer/keyboardist, Ian Devaney.)

Billy Idol

Juliette Greco

Genius singer

Agnetha Faltskog

@R209 - Huh?

Glamourpuss Róisín Murphy

YAZ

Dolores O'Riordan

Corinne Drewery (Swing Out Sister)

Glamourboy Zayn

Ute Lemperer

Did I mention Belinda Carlisle ?

Swoonworthy Melungeon Elvis

Thread cal-losed

Carly Simon

^^ THREAD CLOSED with Kate Bush.

Carly Simon could eat an apple through a fence.

Abbey Lincoln

Jeanette MacDonald

Janelle Monaé

Joni

<3

Any other Broadway stars? Movie stars of an earlier era?

Whitney had it all: beauty, class, elegance, grace and the voice

You want Broadway? I'll give you Broadway.

Today's winner:

Julie London

In what universe is Kate Bush beautiful?

It must be Paradise for the Plain.

For a few minutes in the mid-70s, Joni MItchell looked like the most glamorous singer ever.

I can see Whitney outnumbers other singers here, a ratio of 65% just 😮

Leona Lewis

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa - one of opera's most gorgeous sopranos - now retired - but a stunner both vocally and looks-wise.

Deanna Durbin was quite lovely, and her voice was beautiful as well.

Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee

Whitney - that voice, the beautiful model-type looks

Julie London!

R193 We're entitled!!!

Norah Jones is absolutely stunning

Adele is very pretty too

Gale Robbins, singer and actress from the 40s/50s

Are we sure Gale wasn't dubbed?

Susan Anton

😹 [italic] LOL R224 !

Can we please close this thread? I'm getting bored....

Ava Gardner doing her own singing of "Can't Help Loving That Man." It's on YouTube. Quite good voice and That Face.

Gale wasn't dubbed, she was a fine singer. Here's an album of standards she recorded in 1957.

Yes R249, Ava's original vocals in Show Boat were divine. Annette Warren, who dubbed her, may have been stronger technically but the emotional impact is like night and day. Ava acted the songs as well as singing them.

Luckily Ava's original vocals were preserved and heard on the OST as her contract stipulated they could not use her likeness on the album cover unless her voice was also included

R250 trying again as DL won't let me link to a YouTube playlist...

Sierra Boggess, musical theatre star of today is very beautiful and has a great voice. But that name!

Breathtakingly beautiful is a very high bar. Sade is a really beautiful woman and I love her style. Allison Krauss is not everybody’s cup of tea but the Grammys like her and I think she’s gorgeous.

Krauss looks overly-surgeried and doesn't even resemble her younger self anymore. She's hardly a natural beauty.

Don't forget me!

and me!

More beautiful black women songstresses!

What about me, boysch?

et moi

R255 I think shes just overweight in that picture. This is her at 18 and thinner, and I don’t agree that her face has changed that much.

Lynn Anderson

[quote]Norah Jones is absolutely stunning

Norah Jones is a whispery little pop tart who is in no way talented enough vocally to be in this thread.

Katherine Jenkins? I've only seen/her heard on Doctor Who

I'm surprised Jenkins is Welsh because she has that typical all-American, daddy's little princess look - blonde hair and overly bleached teeth.

Op shouldn't it be the lowest ratio not the highest?

Neither Debbie nor Whitney has been eclipsed from the beauty they held in their heydays. Beauty that would launch a thousand ships.

R266 Did you miss the first sentence of my post, missy? I adressed the issue there. But I think people would be far more confused if I used the term "lowest ratio". They would probably think we're looking for ugly singers who can actually sing or beautiful ones who can't sing for shit.

Wing

SHEENA EASTON

There's Whitney and there's everybody else, but can't believe no ones mentioned gorgeous Sophie Ellis Bextor

R270, Be fair.

Another vote for Diane. She could have been a model, and despite revisionist history to the contrary, she was actually a very good singer with one of the most instantly recognizable voices in the business.

Which female singer has both the greatest beauty and the biggest talent.

Some of us got it all baby!

Kathryn Grayson

There's something about Kathryn Grayson's face that always bothered the hell out of me but I'm not sure what it was. I think it was her eyes which were set much too far apart.

Isn't Sheena Easton a little person?

[quote]More beautiful black women songstresses!

R64 join Baez?

Dear lord, Mrs. James Brolin should stay 1000 miles from this thread.

Grace Jones is a good choice, as is Vanessa Williams. The pic of Joni upthread from Hejira is gorgeous, as is the one of Lorrie Morgan. I’ve always found Barbra to be unique and beautiful. How about a young Judy Collins?

R273 Diana Ross was never a good singer. Even she admitted it herself.

I can't believe only one person mentioned Miss Crystal Gayle.

Jane Powell - very lovely face, beautiful singing voice and she could dance very well against Fred Astaire and in character.

Julie Andrews - used to appear on lists of most beautiful women and she's aging very well -- her lovely singing voice at least is preserved on recordings and in her films

Deanna Durbin -- well, she's the model on which Julie Andrews and Jane Powell (and Kathryn Grayson) were based -- gorgeous voice and beautiful lady

Shirley Jones, for the musical theater style

Not only could she sing, but she could sing live too. Ross was a good singer.

Diahann Carroll isn't a singer or actress, she's a face. She wouldn't have gotten anyway without her exceptional beauty, that's her "talent."

I agree with everyone who said Kate Bush. Especially when you add in the fact she writes her own songs.

Diana Ross can get away with the songs she sings. She would struggle with more difficult songs.

Leontyne Price!

If you like certain country music and look back to the late 60s, then BOBBIE GENTRY.

"Ode to Billie Joe"

WHET to her ? I hear she got a loud Ethel Merman type voice and refused to do those Bee Gees songs they wanted her to do. Silly girl.

R293, Samantha Sam at her best?

Whitney was best vocalist in generations and model looks....olivia was dreamy and had a wonderful sound... julie Andrews voice was like magic..but she was never Sexy..she wasnt cast in Camelot as the director said Who wud give up a throne for julie andrews.

Mary Hopkin was the "It Girl" for a short while ('69-'70) as a Paul McCartney protogee. (Google sez protogee.)

Mary Hopkin

Crystal always had shit and pee on her hair, from it dandling in the terlet. No thanks!

Whitney Houston

Olivia Newton-John

Susan Boyle

With that kewpie doll mouth, that haircut and that fashion sense on an amazing body, Debbie Harry would never be confused with anyone else. A true original in her beauty as well. And she seemed tough without being a bitch.

Whitney always looked like a sweaty pig to me. Maybe it was hot under those bad wigs.

Ypir is huge in Turkey and the Near East.

R299 Susan Boyle is pretty? I seriously wanna punch ur face

How do the voice:face ratios of M and G compare?

Use OPs fucked up system based on even more fucked reasoning please.

VANITY

Grace Slick

Grace Jones

Grace Kelly

Surely there must be an algorithm out there somewhere that can decide this niggling question once and for all.

Kathleen Battle. Batshit crazy, but a very beautiful woman with an ethereal voice in her prime.

Whitney

Julie Andrews. I'd argue that beauty =/= sexiness, R295. I waited 180 posts to read her name. Woot, R180!

Adele. Same logic as Julie.

Toni Tennille.

Toni looked like a lesbian.

Love the Ypir reference!

Gosh, R308, how could so many of us have forgotten?

Yes, batshit crazy or not, Kathleen Battle definitely belongs on the list. Great clip, BTW!

Sit yo' fat asses DOWN!

r305, vanity could barely sing. r314, shirley bassey was not beautiful.

Tracy Chapman

Come on, none of these women are remotely attractive looking.

R317=

Diana Ross has had eighteen number 1 songs on the charts. Watching her physical and performance style evolve was something to behold. She belongs on this list.

Sheena Easton. She was beautiful and could really sing. I like her version of "Never Will I Marry" from her standards album in the 90s.

The lovely Miss Whitney Houston, bitches!

Crack is whack!

Diana Ross totally belongs on this list.

diana ross was beautiful to an extent. she had / has shit hair.

Diana with no make and wig is a fright. She's no natural beauty and never was.

R324, her hair has been FUN through the years.

i really agree r325. she's not that great of a vocalist either.

Kathleen Battle was beautiful.

Here is one of my favorite records of her singing.

R327, you ARE R325. You’re agreeing with yourself.

And you’re offering Sheena Easton and Tracy Chapman?

Marilyn McCoo. She had a great voice and was much more pleasant to look at than Crack is Whack Houston.

Oh please! Belinda Carlisle is an even worse singer than Janet Jackson and that's saying something.

OP asked about the singer with the highest ratio of beauty and singing talent.

This thread is off the rails. People are just listing any old cows.

Whitney Houston

I guess we can now safely proclaim Whitney Houston as the absolute winner of this thread. The ctrl+F function tells me she's been mentioned in this thread more than 40 times.

More mentions doesn't make it fact, all it means is that people are more familiar with pop artists, especially ones with high drama.

Any one of the opera ladies is more qualified, but the average person doesn't know them.

[quote] Several black singers you all probably don't know: Phyllis Hyman, Angela Bofill, Chante Moore

Pleeeeeeeeze. We're gay. We know them ALL

FFS...half these people cant sing....and they have no real talent....at least not what Id call talent.

Whitney Houston magnificent beauty, magnificent singular voice.

Live performances that were extraordinary by far better than her top hits....

cough

Consensus : Whitney Houston by a sizeable percentage. Please close this thread.

Whitney was a sweaty, nasty crack ho- with cheap wigs, who drown in a combo of bathtub water and her vomit. FAIL.

Doris Day

I searched for some pics of young Whitney and she doesn't seem that beautiful at all - she was attractive but she wouldn't even turn my head in the street.

Did she have some work done later on or did she simply grow out of that awkward-looking phase?

Whitney was a teen model when she was younger, she was even in Seventeen magazine. That said, the babydyke hairdo wasn't so flattering on her...

Marni Nixon. So versatile, she looked like Natalie Wood sometimes, Audrey Hepburn sometimes, who knows how many others. A true chameleon.

Diana shit hair ross. Can’t sing

Diana Ross and her OWN, real hair in mid 1970s. She was gorgeous!

R346 - Mary, is tat you? Poor Mary. Poor, poor, poor Mary. Oh, poor Mary. Somebody pour Mary another drink.

It's Diana that was arrested for drunk driving, not Mary. Mary was busy fucking Tom Jones.

It is definitely Whitney Houston. Alicia Keyes could be a close second.

r345: My dad was a musician in LA. Marni Nixon came to our house when I was a child. He was arranging something she was going to perform--something like that. She was a nice lady but even as a kid I knew she wasn't especially pretty, but since she had a "voice for radio" not a face for film, her looks didn't matter. (I know you were joking of course.) Thinking back, that's a nice career to have, especially if she was well paid If I recall, she was married to a well known film composer; can't remember the name.

R343 you are looking at a filter of 40 years. She was considered a gorgeous model as a teen - the first AA teen to appear on many covers - Seventeen amongst others. She is actually gorgeous in the above photo.

Very cool, R351, you are the first person I ever knew who met her. She had an amazing career but I don't think I could identify her in a photo. I remember Shirley MacLaine made some quip about one of her performances and how she was afraid she'd be "dubbed by Marni Nixon" but I can't remember the context.

Bet your dad had some amazing stories from that period.

The Singing Rage Miss Patti Page

Peggy Lee was gorgeous and had a great voice

Nicole Scherzinger is pretty underrated... she's gorgeous

Patricia Kaas

Tom Jones

Annie Lennox

Sade

Grace Jones

Adele

Julie Andrews

St. Vincent

Joan Baez

Sorry, meant Judy Collins at R359, not Joan Baez (attractive, not a raving beauty)

The Merm. Until I sobered up.

i agree with cher, whitney and sinead

sade and early tori amos, too, but less so

nana mouskouri, i don't think she's been mentioned, neither was siobhan donaghy

and while mariah is a fantastic singer idk about her and beauty...

actually all 3 of the original sugababes were very pretty and terrific singers to boot - but siobhan's solo efforts make her the winner overall

also if you've seen diva (1981), then wilhelmenia fernandez did actually sing in that film (and it was gorgeous) and she also looked very beautiful and glamorous - for those upthread who said opera singers should be winning this

(mind, i think edita gruberova is sublime and angels live in her vocal chords but she has never been a particularly good-looking person and i'd be saddened to see all the 'fat, fug, cow' thrown her way. so not nominating her)

wilhelmina fernandez in diva (1981)

Sheena Easton

Love her but Cher is an appalling singer.

Cher was neither beautiful nor a good singer but she still had very unique facial features and always knew how to sell a song, even with her limited vocal abilities - that's why she became such a huge star. But to name her in this thread is an insult to those who could actually sing.

If only Miss Cillian Murphy could sing . . .

r368

he's a mister. and he doesn't need to - he's one of the finest actors of his generation

Debby Harry -looks but not much range

Whitney Houston -whole package. Stunning and a great voice

Mariah Carey -sexy in the 90s and a wide range even if her voice is “soft” compared to Whitney.

I thought they complimented each other in 1998 on the song from the Prince of Egypt. Sadly, you could already hear the wear-and-tear that smoking put on her voice.

Deborah Harry displayed some very good, mature vocals on her latter solo recordings. The irony of her mid eighties weight gain was she did actually become a better singer for it. It was also impressive to see her belting out jazz standards later into her career.

No disrespect intended to Miss Ross but she's hardly a great beauty. Very attractive lady with the right clothes and makeup but her visual appeal is mostly smoke and mirrors.

Ross has shit hair! Looks like a fuckin Brillo pad!

^ Haha

....

....

Marianne Faithful.

Breathtaking beauty?! Not with froggy eyes like these!

Cher is beautiful only through the eyes of her mother. She can’t sing to save her life

Pretty as a picture! She was an unusual looking black woman with large, luminous eyes, a nice nose, and distinctive mouth.

brillo pad wig

a brillo bad with eyes

Joni Mitchel.

^ Mitchell.

Judy Collins. Sweet a Judy Blue Eyes (CSNY)

Darn, one more attempt. This image shows. Beautiful.

Diana Ross has had a lot of different hair styles. Some classic. Never Brillo.

Audrey in My Fair Lady. Absolutely stunning looking and her singing was wonderful. That bullshit about her high notes being dubbed was just Nixon rubbing Andrews' nose in losing out on Eliza for getting in her light on The Sound of Music set.

Stunning!

Peggy Lee was both beautiful and sexy in the 1950s, 1960s and early in the 1970s. She might not have won then, but would have come close.

[R386] Judy Collins was an attractive woman but, my God, look in those crazy eyes! She looks like she joined Scientology, the Moonies and the Manson Family - all in the same day.

Judy Collins = ugly.

Joni Mitchell looks like a fuckin alien.

Shake a tail feather baby

tina turner was NEVER a beauty.

I love this photo of young Tina.

lol 395!

Jesus, all those pics of Diana especially the ones from the 70s she's gorgeous and her voice was good. People that hate her are just committed.

Actually the most beautiful woman at Motown was Brenda Holloway

Diana Brillo Pad Ross

R399, we get it. It’s your 3rd or 4th post calling Diana Ross’ hair a Brillo pad. Yawn. Tacky but that’s your unoriginal view.

Upthread it said she sang the lead on 18 number #1 songs. The Supremes’ récord with 12 of those still stands among girl groups.

I personally love her voice and recognize whenever her songs are playing. My mom thought she was such a fresh voice in the 60s and 70s. I agree. My favorite is below.

R400 is pressed.

Family picture late 1950s - Diana on the right at around 14/15 years old.

R401 is wrinkled...

Haha. Good one R403.

Diana with BFF, Cheetah the Chimp.

Emmylou Harris

R405 posted 2 apes! 😝

Do we have a new Dianbot, to rival Janbot?

^ Awe, you fucker! Yes you do, and here's another. Diana with own hair.

Sade Adu!

Diana with Big Bird who snidely called her "Miss Boss" to her face!

Diana pictured wearing her very first full length fur coat. Little known factoid: She, singularly, resolved Detroit's mid 1960s rodent overpopulation problem with this coat!

Shit.... Sade is good and somewhat attractive but isn’t that gr8 of a vocalist.

DIana smugly shows us what became of Big Bird after that sarcastic "Miss BOSS" zinger: Fried, dyed, and laid to the side.

Came here to say Anna Moffo, but R88 beat me to it.

Diana at 60

I always thought Kylie Minogue was drop dead gorgeous, and talented.

I also like Pink and Jessie J, but I appreciate beautiful, "masculine" woman.

Wait, did R407 who says Diana Ross has hair like a brillo pad also call Diana an ape?

Diana Toss looked like Michael Jackson.

r416.....bitch, the only thing 60 in that picture are the layers of airbrushing. And I love Miss Ross.

I've made three lists in order to split some hairs:

Great Singers with Great Looks: Grace Jones, Susanna Hoffs, Ann-Margret, Vanessa Williams, Dolly Parton, Cher, Marilyn McCoo, Sade, Julie London.

Great Singers with Good Looks: Nancy Wilson of jazz fame, Lisa Stansfield, Kate Bush, Dame Shirley Bassey, Taylor Dayne, and, yes, Whitney Houston.

Good Singers with Great Looks: Jody Watley, Cathy Dennis, Belinda Carlisle, Kim Wilde, Nancy Wilson of Heart, Shania Twain, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Lauren Christy, Rosie Vela, Faith Hill, Kim Carnes, Sheena Easton, Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia, Olivia Newton-John, Dana Glover, and, yes, Debbie Harry.

So glad that in the prior posts a few had the decency to mention Jody Watley (who was truly like a modern day Nefertiti in her 80s heyday), Vanessa Williams and Lisa Stansfield. By the looks of these 400+ posts, it would seem that Debbie, Whitney and Sheena are in the lead.

For anyone who has never come across Dana Glover, please watch THIS (and gather your smelling salts beforehand if they are near):

Whitney, by far. And I was never even a big fan.

Also wanted to add Mary J. Blige to the mix. Killer voice and I always loved her face/look.

A much more interesting thread would have straight men giving their thoughts.

R423 I'm straight as fuck and I've always thought Nicole Scherzinger.

Denise Matthews was the hottest but couldn't sing so that is a no go.

[quote]A much more interesting thread would have straight men giving their thoughts

Straight men really don’t care about this topic.

Cher is not a bad singer. She forgot more than most will ever learn.

Diana Ross - here's why I like her so much: She was the dark horse at Motown, coming up stealthily from the rear. She wasn't the prettiest. She didn't have the best voice at the beginning. During an era when tits n ass was the standard, she was rail thin. Even so, she had charisma in abundance - that proverbial "IT" factor. She worked hard to prove herself, and she believed that she could excel and so she did. We all know those old Hollywood movie queens of old. Well, Berry Gordy wanted to created one of those for his record label in black. Mary Wells had been slated to be that one, but she broke camp and Gordy began focusing his attention on Ross to that effect. Majorly successful. By my own personal estimation, the other Supremes were supremely jealous of Ross and the attention focused on her by Gordy, Motown, and the public. Mary Wilson was quite successful in changing the public perception of Ross with all her victim proselytizing, and she set out to do exactly that. If anyone believes that the other Supremes did not instigate some of the discord themselves, then I have a bridge I'd like you to take a look at. They were jealous of her, and Florence was even resorting to physical violence at times. Well, with that type of shit going down on a constant basis, who wouldn't use his/her indispensable position to her advantage when push came to shove? I certainly would! There would have been no Supremes without Ross. Berry Gordy: "Diana was the KEY to the Supremes." Say what you like regarding their intimate relationship, but it certainly was not one-sided. They both saw themselves in each other and recognized mutually that each of them held the promise of realized goals for one another. Gordy: "She wanted to be a super-star from the time I first met her, and that's what she was going to be. She wanted to be where she was going to be, and I wanted to be where I was going to be (successful/at the top), and we vowed never to allow our personal relationship to interfere with that." They continued to work together to that effect for a full ten years after the personal relationship had ended. Gordy: "Motown never made any money on Diana because we were always promoting her." WOW! What a whopper! Did he really expect anyone to believe that lie? In the end, of course, he did her just as dirty as he did the rest of them when it came to the money. She was rich, but she was WORKING rich - she had no fortune at the time she left Motown. After 20 years with Motown, she only had $200k banked when she signed with RCA for that $20 mil, which was the most lucrative contract the business had seen at that time. She set about building her fortune, and she did - quite successfully. Worth somewhere around $300 mil today. Chick was a fighter, and concerning all the things her detractors will criticize her for having done, in the end she had only done what she had to do in all of it. Sure, she was the super-star who became an icon. That's what the public sees, but the public does not consider that these people are also individual business INDUSTRIES by themselves, alone. Their person is an industry. I have to give it up to the ole gal for her willingness to play hard ball in a cut-throat business. That short clip I posted upthread of her and her real hair being interviewed by the British guy - a comment was left by someone claiming to have been in the audience for that interview way back in 1975. He claims that although it was edited out of the broadcast, at one point Ross turned to the audience and told them point blank "The world ain't fuckin' ME!" meaning that no one was going to get over on her. "Go on, girl" I say. She was a fighter and a winner from the very beginning. I like that. And even in the following pic from 1960, four years before fame came a knockin' we see that she stood out and above the others undeniably.

The answer to OP's query is, of course, Aretha Franklin. And she was no great beauty.

Her singing talent was so enormous that it more than makes up for any potential shortfall in the beauty category and she still wins.

If only r427 knew how to use paragraphs.

I see we finally got that long-awaited sequel to "War and Peace" at R427.

But r427 is absolutely right. But no one's gonna pay attention.

The above poster who put Cher in the ‘great looks’ category, and Whitney in the ‘good looks’ category is delusional...

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

R432, here's a pic to illustrate my position on Cher. I came across it in Google Image in like two seconds. Keep in mind that this photo is from the mid-70s, well before PhotoShop was invented. If you can't see the extraordinary beauty in that face, then it's time to enroll at the Perkins School. Applications are due 15 January. You may have to hurry.

^^God I miss those old TV Guides.

Interesting headline r434...."Abandon the Fairness Doctrine"

I agree with you R427. Mary Wilson was my favorite Supreme in the beginning. Over the years, her whining drove me crazy. When Ross left the Supremes, Wilson had the chance to take the lead and prove what she was denied. She didn't have the voice or the presence and a bunch of others sang lead vocals in post-Ross Supremes. It's like all Mary! had was the victim thing to get attention.

I think Ross was beautiful in the 70's and 80's and she doesn't look her age today. But the biggest testament to her personally are the children she raised. They love, support and protect her--strongly. And they're all so well adjusted.

Jesus Christ! Enough with fuckin Diana Ross!

R421 thinks Susanna Hoffs is a great beauty? Bitch, please.

Frofabulous Diana

Brillo Pad

Thanks to the brillo pad troll, I couldn't stop thinking about Miss Ross' hair while doing the dishes today.

R439, this is R421 here, and, yes, Susanna Hoffs IS a great beauty, and possesses the sexiest eyes in rock history. I take it you haven't seen any Bangles videos. Don't despair, however, they are on YouTube, and you also might consider consulting R432 about the application process for the Perkins School.

From 1968: The network television special with Diana Ross and the Supremes and the Temptations, "TCB"

Susanna is a gorgeous woman who is aging fantastically - but her voice is just okay.

I see Whitney Houston has already deservedly won the thread. Probably the greatest voice ever recorded, breathtaking live performances and classic high beauty which would still have made her a star if she hadn’t been able to sing a lick. So Whitney it is. Use the remainder of the 🧵 to determine the number two.

Whitney was already a print model before she became she became a star. One of her early descriptors was: she sounds as good as she looks.

Whitney, just stunning.

R340. OMG. I knew Whitney was already no 1, but that clip is astonishing.

Whitney was the best in her time. Great voice and beautiful woman, but the closet kills so she was lost far too soon.

Crack ho.

LOL @ Trumpanzee r22 that was deluded enough to think Whitney is a “token”. It’s the other singers listed with her that are honourable mentions.

Madonna

I can’t believe she hasn’t been mentioned yet, but Lauryn Hill was quite something, before she threw it all away.

Sheena Easton

This is how she looked in a Polaroid, no less. Stunning.

another try

Of course she looked good. It was Andy Warhol.

Oh please if we are going the talent=beauty route Ella mows them all down including Aretha.

Before she got fat, Sarah Vaughan was pretty glam:

Lauryn Hill was gorgeous.

Ariana Grande, for the millenniels.

Ariana owes her "beauty" to plastic surgery and has a shrill, annoying voice

Dorothy Dandridge

Whitney

R463 I only know DD from Carmen Jones but wasn't she dubbed in that one?

Here's Dorothy singing:

OK, R425, can you guess who else I mentioned?

Mary Fahl was the lead singer for October Project in the early nineties. The first time I saw her on stage, my jaw hit the floor. When she started to sing, my ears hit the floor. Probably not everyone likes her operatic style (or her wack job right-wing politics), but she deserves mention. PS, she's about 45 years old in the video.

Mary Fahl: 45 years old here.

R189 Sinéad was beautiful partly BECAUSE of the lack of hair, She Had A Face <---said in a Norma Desmond voice.

Lovely voice, beautiful woman.

Sade remains gorgeous at 60. Love her as well. She should be the Patron Saint of Women on DL, ever popular for staying thin and fantastically youthful and beautiful.

Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine.

Relax and let me sing to you, whisper coo

Diana’s Ugly!

I always thought Diana Ross of the Supremes in the 60's looked like an old skinny lady. She looked better as she aged.

Yep, she looked easily 80-85 years old, especially in this pic.

With that mouth, Diana could suck a watermelon through a garden hose.

Diana’s name took up way too much space in this thread. Mary Wilson was the pretty one in The Supremes.

I also agree that Whitney should have the top spot, calling her a crack ho doesn’t make it any less true.

Whitney even cleaned up quite well at times later in life. For Sparkle, she arguably looked older than her 47 years but she still had the same beautiful bone structure. She certainly looked miles batter than she in 2002-2007. The only unfixable damage that her addiction did to her physical appearance were her teeth.

Only a gay man would believe Diana Ross was the most beautiful member of The Supremes.

Brandi Carlile, but I love my women with a bit of butch in 'em.

Martina McBride has always been MILFtastic

Debbie Harry has the strangest bone structure always looked dirty. I don’t see the appeal. What do gay men know about beauty anyway?

Peggy Lee was beautiful AND had a great voice AND was a great songwriter.

Bastards- not a word for Michelle Phillips?????