Post by Steve on Sept 6, 2008 15:39:27 GMT -5
From www.thedeadbolt.com/news/104901/hot80sactresses_feature.php
Top 10 Hottest Actresses of the ‘80s
by Larson Hill
Throughout the ‘80s there were many popular actresses that were dubbed "hot" for a variety of reasons. Some were so popular with fans that their careers exploded, propelling them into the A-list stratosphere, while others were the hottest actresses of the day on TV. Some were so drop-dead gorgeous that they left a lasting impact that grown up geeks still can’t shake to this today and some were just downright easy-on-the-eyes hot.
Although it’s tough to nail down any top list from the ‘80s since actresses were more visible than ever before thanks the dawn of VHS and the home entertainment market plus the birth of the MTV generation, here’s our list of the Top 10 Hottest Actresses of the ‘80s.
#10. Heather Locklear
One of the most epic battles of the ‘80s was the clash of the TV blondes and the competitive war between Heather Locklear and Heather Thomas. Almost at the same time, Heather Locklear co-starred in T.J Hooker with William Shatner while Thomas co-starred opposite former Six Million Dollar man Lee Majors in The Fall Guy. Guys either liked Locklear or Thomas, but rarely both. Obviously Locklear won the battle, having gone on to even bigger heights after landing a recurring role on one of most popular shows of the ‘80s in Dynasty while still working on T.J. Hooker. Locklear tried to make the leap into film with a role in the movie version of Stephen King’s Firestarter, but she mainly earned her fame as a TV actress. Although Dynasty proved that Locklear could hold her own alongside seasoned TV greats John Forsyth, Joan Collins, and Linda Evans, she still projected a "sweet girl" image to her fans. What we didn’t know about Locklear back in the ‘80s is that she had a wild side and penchant for bad boy rockers, which shocked everyone at the time. In case you didn’t know, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee was married to Heather Locklear for seven years before tying the knot with Pam Anderson. After moving on to become an even bigger primetime soap star in the ‘90s on Melrose Place, Locklear has long been considered the go-to girl of TV.
#9. Tawny Kitaen (Whitesnake Video)
Taking a page from Heather Locklear, model/actress Tawny Kitaen shot to superstardom in the ‘80s as "that girl in the Whitesnake video". Ask any guy who grew up during the dawn of the MTV generation and he’ll tell you it’s true. It’s safe to say that a lot of grown up ‘80s metal heads still don’t know her name. But after rolling around on the hood of David Coverdale’s car in the video for Whitesnake’s "Here I Go Again", Kitaen became one of the most recognizable female images of the ‘80s. Kitaen’s acting career actually began three years earlier in 1984 when she co-starred next to Tom Hanks as his bride-to-be in Bachelor Party, but then sidetracked into gigs with big hair heavy metalers RATT and Whitesnake before eventually winding up on the completely opposite side of the fence as co-host on America’s Funniest People in 1992. Having been romantically linked to a variety of well-known names in the ‘80s, Kitaen dodged a deadly romantic bullet after allegedly dating O.J. Simpson. The ‘80s were Kitaen’s good years.
#8. Erin Gray
At this very moment, there’s a nation of grown-up sci-fi geeks who still secretly love Erin Gray from her days as Col Wilma Deering on the ‘80s TV series Buck Rogers. Gray’s skin tight, nearly painted on jumpsuit helped to make her the poster girl for an entire generation of geeks hitting puberty in the ‘80s. Sure it was cool to see Gil Gerard kick Draconian butt each week, but to a lot of teenage guys in the ‘80s, Erin Gray’s presence on Buck Rogers was must see TV. The cool thing was, Gray could hold her own with the show’s villains and actually served as a strong role model for young women too beyond her smokin’ hot sci-fi sex appeal. The second best thing about Buck Rogers was the fact that actress Pamela Hensley in the role of Princess Ardala almost beat out Gray as the hottest scfi-fi babe of the day. In a round about way, TV geeks got two sci-fi hotties for the price of one... which was free.
#7. Jennifer Beals
You can’t have an ‘80s list of hot actresses without Jennifer Beals. You just can’t. Long before The L Word, Beals was one of the most iconic women of the ‘80s thanks to one film, Flashdance. There’s really not a lot more you can say about Beals as far as the ‘80s are concerned. Not only was she defined as an actress by Flashdance for an entire decade, the film’s popularity helped to defined the ‘80s. If it wasn’t for Beals’ performance as a steel welder trying to dancer her way into Pittsburgh’s most respected dance school, one-piece workout suits and tights probably wouldn’t have become huge fashion symbols of the decade. If it wasn’t for Beals’ final watery splash in Flashdance, guys probably wouldn’t have been treated to The 20 Minute Workout either. Jennifer Beals made such a splash with Flashdance it took her a decade to get her acting game back on track when Quentin Tarantino cast her in Four Rooms.
#6. Morgan Fairchild
Aside from being the love dream of John Lovitz on Saturday Night Live, Morgan Fairchild was everywhere in the ‘80s. The most amazing thing about Morgan Fairchild is that she doesn’t look any different today at 58 than she did when she broke out in 1980 on the primetime soap Flamingo Road at 30. Go to Google images and punch in Morgan Fairchild’s name to see for yourself. Fairchild was one of the few actresses of the ‘80s and beyond who balanced the image of classy cougar and sexy bad girl at the same time. If you can find The Seduction on DVD, you’ll see one of best nude scenes of the ‘80s, which would have relegated most actresses to successive roles in movies like Caligula. Instead, Fairchild went on to become one of the most popular actresses of the ‘80s, turning up in everything from Magnum, Hotel, Simon and Simon, and Falcon Crest to the acclaimed Civil War miniseries North and South and PeeWee’s Big Adventure Although we’re not too sure, we think the word MILF came into being because of Morgan Fairchild.
#5. Donna Dixon
For an actress who didn’t leave behind a huge body of work in the ‘80s, she certainly left a lasting image in the heads of a lot of guys. For a brief period in the early ‘80s, Dixon was the object of desire of Tom Hanks’ cross-dressing character on the short-lived series Bosom Buddies. Although Suzanne Somers had already established herself as the ditzy blonde of the late-70s, Dixon followed suit for two years in the role of Sonny Lumet, who, for most of the series, never caught on to the fact that one of her best friends looked exactly like Tom Hanks in drag. Following her role in Bosom Buddies, Dixon went on to co-star in the comedy Doctor Detroit where she met and married Dan Aykroyd before almost rounding out her big screen in Spies Like Us and The Couch Trip, two additional Dan Aykroyd movies. Although Dixon left the limelight as an actress, it’s still hard to forget Tom Hanks’ whispering, "Sonny, Sonny, Sonny."
#4. Jami Gertz
Not only was Jami Gertz one of the most beautiful girls of the ‘80s, she was one of the hottest, most popular actresses of the entire decade. And really, she didn’t really turn into a major Hollywood star on the scale of some of her contemporaries on her way up the acting ladder. After breaking out with Tom Cruise in Endless Love, Gertz went on to land roles in Sixteen Candles, Mischief, Quicksilver, The Lost Boys, Less Than Zero, and Renegades. That’s not to mention her work on the small-screen in Square Pegs, The Facts of Life, and Family Ties. Although other more higher profiled ‘80s actresses commanded much of the spotlight, if Gertz didn’t land all of those roles, there’s no doubt the decade wouldn’t have been the same. Gertz’s stint in Lost Boys still stands up today as one of the best (and hottest) female vampire roles of the last 25 years.
#3. Kelly LeBrock
Before she became Mrs. Steven Seagal in the late ‘80s, big time model turned actress, Kelly LeBrock, solidified herself as one of the hottest up-and-coming stars of the decade after she landed a major visible (and often barely clothed) role as the mysterious object of Gene Wilder’s desire in The Woman in Red, playing the beautiful woman in the red dress. As it turned out, LeBrock, was also the woman Steve Wonder was referring to in one of THE MOST overplayed songs of the ‘80s from the film’s soundtrack in "I Just called to Say I love You". LeBrock’s most memorable role came in the huge geek friendly John Hughes hit Weird Science in which two early computer geeks create the perfect girl on their computer, who materializes in the shower. What guy can forget a dripping wet Kelly LeBrock behind steamy glass? For a lot of ‘80s geeks, it was a dream come true on the big screen. The cool thing about Weird Science was how it showed that Kelly LeBrock could really act, which still confounds me why she didn’t break out to even bigger heights beyond the Seagal action movies. The two things we’ll never forget about Weird Science - Bill Paxton and his greasy pork sandwich and Kelly LeBrock.
#2. Michelle Pfeiffer
First, let’s forget about Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen, Grease 2 and Amazon Women on the Moon. Everyone has their Piranha 2 like James Cameron. Although Michelle Pfeiffer didn’t really come into her own as a huge Hollywood star until the early ‘90s, it was her roles in Scarface, Into the Night, The Witches of Eastwick, Tequila Sunrise, Married to the Mob, Dangerous Liaisons, and The Fabulous Baker Boys that made her one of the most hottest and easy on the eyes actresses of the ‘80s. If you asked a bunch of guys who the hottest female star of the day was, Michelle Pfeiffer’s name was at the top of most lists. For proof of Pfeiffer’s smokin’ hot sex appeal, all you need to do is find a poster or still image from The Fabulous Baker Boys. Not only was Pfeiffer one of the most beautiful and popular actresses of the ‘80s, it carried over into the ‘90s and the 2000s as well. Writer David E. Kelley’s a lucky man.
#1. Phoebe Cates
I have to admit that Phoebe Cates’ role in the now classic cult hit Fast Times at Ridgemont High caught my eye like everyone other guy’s in the ‘80s, but it was Private School that I was trying to sneak into the theater to see. I can’t remember how I eventually did it, but that was the Phoebe Cates movie I wanted to see most in the early ‘80s. Cates wasn’t the biggest actress or the most popular of the ‘80s, but she carved out her own unique space in the decade. Although Cates landed a role in the Steven Spielberg produced hit Gremlins and later a part in Bright Lights, Big City, which gave a new air of credibility as an actress, it was her persona as the hot teen girl guys wanted to see most in movies that furthered her career throughout the decade. It’s hard not to think of Cates and movies like Fast Times, Private School, Date with an Angel and Shag without thinking of fun, campy comedy and young sexual tension. In a lot of ways, Cates is the Debbie Rochon of campy teen comedies... and that’s pretty damn hot.
Top 10 Hottest Actresses of the ‘80s
by Larson Hill
Throughout the ‘80s there were many popular actresses that were dubbed "hot" for a variety of reasons. Some were so popular with fans that their careers exploded, propelling them into the A-list stratosphere, while others were the hottest actresses of the day on TV. Some were so drop-dead gorgeous that they left a lasting impact that grown up geeks still can’t shake to this today and some were just downright easy-on-the-eyes hot.
Although it’s tough to nail down any top list from the ‘80s since actresses were more visible than ever before thanks the dawn of VHS and the home entertainment market plus the birth of the MTV generation, here’s our list of the Top 10 Hottest Actresses of the ‘80s.
#10. Heather Locklear
One of the most epic battles of the ‘80s was the clash of the TV blondes and the competitive war between Heather Locklear and Heather Thomas. Almost at the same time, Heather Locklear co-starred in T.J Hooker with William Shatner while Thomas co-starred opposite former Six Million Dollar man Lee Majors in The Fall Guy. Guys either liked Locklear or Thomas, but rarely both. Obviously Locklear won the battle, having gone on to even bigger heights after landing a recurring role on one of most popular shows of the ‘80s in Dynasty while still working on T.J. Hooker. Locklear tried to make the leap into film with a role in the movie version of Stephen King’s Firestarter, but she mainly earned her fame as a TV actress. Although Dynasty proved that Locklear could hold her own alongside seasoned TV greats John Forsyth, Joan Collins, and Linda Evans, she still projected a "sweet girl" image to her fans. What we didn’t know about Locklear back in the ‘80s is that she had a wild side and penchant for bad boy rockers, which shocked everyone at the time. In case you didn’t know, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee was married to Heather Locklear for seven years before tying the knot with Pam Anderson. After moving on to become an even bigger primetime soap star in the ‘90s on Melrose Place, Locklear has long been considered the go-to girl of TV.
#9. Tawny Kitaen (Whitesnake Video)
Taking a page from Heather Locklear, model/actress Tawny Kitaen shot to superstardom in the ‘80s as "that girl in the Whitesnake video". Ask any guy who grew up during the dawn of the MTV generation and he’ll tell you it’s true. It’s safe to say that a lot of grown up ‘80s metal heads still don’t know her name. But after rolling around on the hood of David Coverdale’s car in the video for Whitesnake’s "Here I Go Again", Kitaen became one of the most recognizable female images of the ‘80s. Kitaen’s acting career actually began three years earlier in 1984 when she co-starred next to Tom Hanks as his bride-to-be in Bachelor Party, but then sidetracked into gigs with big hair heavy metalers RATT and Whitesnake before eventually winding up on the completely opposite side of the fence as co-host on America’s Funniest People in 1992. Having been romantically linked to a variety of well-known names in the ‘80s, Kitaen dodged a deadly romantic bullet after allegedly dating O.J. Simpson. The ‘80s were Kitaen’s good years.
#8. Erin Gray
At this very moment, there’s a nation of grown-up sci-fi geeks who still secretly love Erin Gray from her days as Col Wilma Deering on the ‘80s TV series Buck Rogers. Gray’s skin tight, nearly painted on jumpsuit helped to make her the poster girl for an entire generation of geeks hitting puberty in the ‘80s. Sure it was cool to see Gil Gerard kick Draconian butt each week, but to a lot of teenage guys in the ‘80s, Erin Gray’s presence on Buck Rogers was must see TV. The cool thing was, Gray could hold her own with the show’s villains and actually served as a strong role model for young women too beyond her smokin’ hot sci-fi sex appeal. The second best thing about Buck Rogers was the fact that actress Pamela Hensley in the role of Princess Ardala almost beat out Gray as the hottest scfi-fi babe of the day. In a round about way, TV geeks got two sci-fi hotties for the price of one... which was free.
#7. Jennifer Beals
You can’t have an ‘80s list of hot actresses without Jennifer Beals. You just can’t. Long before The L Word, Beals was one of the most iconic women of the ‘80s thanks to one film, Flashdance. There’s really not a lot more you can say about Beals as far as the ‘80s are concerned. Not only was she defined as an actress by Flashdance for an entire decade, the film’s popularity helped to defined the ‘80s. If it wasn’t for Beals’ performance as a steel welder trying to dancer her way into Pittsburgh’s most respected dance school, one-piece workout suits and tights probably wouldn’t have become huge fashion symbols of the decade. If it wasn’t for Beals’ final watery splash in Flashdance, guys probably wouldn’t have been treated to The 20 Minute Workout either. Jennifer Beals made such a splash with Flashdance it took her a decade to get her acting game back on track when Quentin Tarantino cast her in Four Rooms.
#6. Morgan Fairchild
Aside from being the love dream of John Lovitz on Saturday Night Live, Morgan Fairchild was everywhere in the ‘80s. The most amazing thing about Morgan Fairchild is that she doesn’t look any different today at 58 than she did when she broke out in 1980 on the primetime soap Flamingo Road at 30. Go to Google images and punch in Morgan Fairchild’s name to see for yourself. Fairchild was one of the few actresses of the ‘80s and beyond who balanced the image of classy cougar and sexy bad girl at the same time. If you can find The Seduction on DVD, you’ll see one of best nude scenes of the ‘80s, which would have relegated most actresses to successive roles in movies like Caligula. Instead, Fairchild went on to become one of the most popular actresses of the ‘80s, turning up in everything from Magnum, Hotel, Simon and Simon, and Falcon Crest to the acclaimed Civil War miniseries North and South and PeeWee’s Big Adventure Although we’re not too sure, we think the word MILF came into being because of Morgan Fairchild.
#5. Donna Dixon
For an actress who didn’t leave behind a huge body of work in the ‘80s, she certainly left a lasting image in the heads of a lot of guys. For a brief period in the early ‘80s, Dixon was the object of desire of Tom Hanks’ cross-dressing character on the short-lived series Bosom Buddies. Although Suzanne Somers had already established herself as the ditzy blonde of the late-70s, Dixon followed suit for two years in the role of Sonny Lumet, who, for most of the series, never caught on to the fact that one of her best friends looked exactly like Tom Hanks in drag. Following her role in Bosom Buddies, Dixon went on to co-star in the comedy Doctor Detroit where she met and married Dan Aykroyd before almost rounding out her big screen in Spies Like Us and The Couch Trip, two additional Dan Aykroyd movies. Although Dixon left the limelight as an actress, it’s still hard to forget Tom Hanks’ whispering, "Sonny, Sonny, Sonny."
#4. Jami Gertz
Not only was Jami Gertz one of the most beautiful girls of the ‘80s, she was one of the hottest, most popular actresses of the entire decade. And really, she didn’t really turn into a major Hollywood star on the scale of some of her contemporaries on her way up the acting ladder. After breaking out with Tom Cruise in Endless Love, Gertz went on to land roles in Sixteen Candles, Mischief, Quicksilver, The Lost Boys, Less Than Zero, and Renegades. That’s not to mention her work on the small-screen in Square Pegs, The Facts of Life, and Family Ties. Although other more higher profiled ‘80s actresses commanded much of the spotlight, if Gertz didn’t land all of those roles, there’s no doubt the decade wouldn’t have been the same. Gertz’s stint in Lost Boys still stands up today as one of the best (and hottest) female vampire roles of the last 25 years.
#3. Kelly LeBrock
Before she became Mrs. Steven Seagal in the late ‘80s, big time model turned actress, Kelly LeBrock, solidified herself as one of the hottest up-and-coming stars of the decade after she landed a major visible (and often barely clothed) role as the mysterious object of Gene Wilder’s desire in The Woman in Red, playing the beautiful woman in the red dress. As it turned out, LeBrock, was also the woman Steve Wonder was referring to in one of THE MOST overplayed songs of the ‘80s from the film’s soundtrack in "I Just called to Say I love You". LeBrock’s most memorable role came in the huge geek friendly John Hughes hit Weird Science in which two early computer geeks create the perfect girl on their computer, who materializes in the shower. What guy can forget a dripping wet Kelly LeBrock behind steamy glass? For a lot of ‘80s geeks, it was a dream come true on the big screen. The cool thing about Weird Science was how it showed that Kelly LeBrock could really act, which still confounds me why she didn’t break out to even bigger heights beyond the Seagal action movies. The two things we’ll never forget about Weird Science - Bill Paxton and his greasy pork sandwich and Kelly LeBrock.
#2. Michelle Pfeiffer
First, let’s forget about Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen, Grease 2 and Amazon Women on the Moon. Everyone has their Piranha 2 like James Cameron. Although Michelle Pfeiffer didn’t really come into her own as a huge Hollywood star until the early ‘90s, it was her roles in Scarface, Into the Night, The Witches of Eastwick, Tequila Sunrise, Married to the Mob, Dangerous Liaisons, and The Fabulous Baker Boys that made her one of the most hottest and easy on the eyes actresses of the ‘80s. If you asked a bunch of guys who the hottest female star of the day was, Michelle Pfeiffer’s name was at the top of most lists. For proof of Pfeiffer’s smokin’ hot sex appeal, all you need to do is find a poster or still image from The Fabulous Baker Boys. Not only was Pfeiffer one of the most beautiful and popular actresses of the ‘80s, it carried over into the ‘90s and the 2000s as well. Writer David E. Kelley’s a lucky man.
#1. Phoebe Cates
I have to admit that Phoebe Cates’ role in the now classic cult hit Fast Times at Ridgemont High caught my eye like everyone other guy’s in the ‘80s, but it was Private School that I was trying to sneak into the theater to see. I can’t remember how I eventually did it, but that was the Phoebe Cates movie I wanted to see most in the early ‘80s. Cates wasn’t the biggest actress or the most popular of the ‘80s, but she carved out her own unique space in the decade. Although Cates landed a role in the Steven Spielberg produced hit Gremlins and later a part in Bright Lights, Big City, which gave a new air of credibility as an actress, it was her persona as the hot teen girl guys wanted to see most in movies that furthered her career throughout the decade. It’s hard not to think of Cates and movies like Fast Times, Private School, Date with an Angel and Shag without thinking of fun, campy comedy and young sexual tension. In a lot of ways, Cates is the Debbie Rochon of campy teen comedies... and that’s pretty damn hot.
Jami's positively better than Michelle or Kelly.