History Main / ObliviouslyBeautiful

SuperTrope to IAmNotPretty where an attractive character thinks they're ugly. Contrast ProudBeauty and IndifferentBeauty, both of whom are well aware of their beautiful appearances, but one will actively flaunt it while the other simply doesn't care.

* Chihaya of ''Manga/{{Chihayafuru}}'' is described by her fellow students as "Beauty gone to waste" or "Beauty in vain" because of her tomboyish lack of interest in using her good looks for anything. In this case, it's because a) she's focused on [[SeriousBusiness competitive karuta]], and b) she thinks of her CoolBigSis as the pretty one.

* ''Manga/KomiCantCommunicate'':
** This trope is the root of ''why'' Komi has [[NoSocialSkills trouble communicating]]; nearly everyone who encounters her believes she's the most beautiful girl that they've ever seen... [[SoBeautifulItsACurse and as a result believe that they aren't worthy of interacting with her.]] As she's completely ignorant of how pretty she is, she assumes that everyone is avoiding her because there's something wrong with her. As a result she has very poor social skills and an extreme case of social anxiety.
** Agari Himiko suffers from this too, owing to her being a NervousWreck with serious stage fright and image issues, despite being a very cute {{Meganekko}} with a shapely figure.

* [[http://marvel.wikia.com/File:Doctor_Strange_Vol_2_69_001.jpg One issue of]] ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'' has the eponymous character's colleague Dane Whitman (a.k.a. Black Knight) attracting a large amount of attention while doing a morning run on a cruise ship. Dane's worried it's because people can see Strange's AstralProjection accompanying him, and Strange has to point out that no, he's quite invisible, and the real explanation is that Dane's an attractively built young man running around in a T-shirt and some very short gym shorts.

* Rare male example with Cayleb in ''Literature/{{Safehold}}''. He's confident that he looks awful, despite Sharleyan's and Nahrmahn's claims to the contrary. The latter even gets HeightAngst and WeightWoe when he meets Cayleb for the first time.

%%* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'''s Sacharissa Cripslock veers between this and indifference.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' gets a surprise in the sixth book when he wonders why there are suddenly so many girls interested in him. Hermione bluntly tells him that it's because he's grown about a foot over the summer, becoming attractive in addition to his fame.
* Justified with Beauty in ''Literature/BeautyARetellingOfBeautyAndTheBeast''. Growing up with two extraordinarily beautiful older sisters, she's always been considered plain (Beauty being an IronicNickname rather than her actual name), and at the time she leaves home she's still regarded as the least attractive of the three. The Beast's castle has no mirrors in which she can observe herself, so it comes as a shock when she finally sees her own reflection at the end of the book and discovers that not only has she become perfectly lovely, she bears a very strong resemblance to her late mother.
* Tawnee[[note]]Her real name is Betty. But nobody calls her that since everybody who sees her agrees she looks like a 'Tawnee' and not a 'Betty'[[/note]] is an exotic dancer for the Pink Pussycat in ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' who believes she's so popular because she's a very good dancer while thinking she's actually quite unattractive since nobody will ask her out. When in truth the customers couldn't care less about her dancing and the reason they don't ask her out is that she's so over-the-top beautiful that no man with even half a brain would ever think they would ever have a chance with her so don't even try. It takes Cherry and Angua telling her this, then proving it to her by having her destroy a pub by showing interest in one of the patrons does she realize the truth.
* In ''Literature/DoctrineOfLabyrinths'', Mildmay thinks his facial scar renders him repulsive, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Most of the main female characters (and some of the guys) want to sleep with him, random side-characters ogle him, he's explicitly described as attractive or even "beautiful" by others, and he bears such an uncanny resemblance to his famously dazzling brother that people know they're related at first glance. And yet he's oblivious to flirtation, with Mehitabel, Corbie, and [[spoiler: Felix]] literally throwing themselves at him before he twigs that they're interested. In fairness, he had an abusive guardian who repeatedly told him he was ugly (and sexually abused him) when he was younger, so it's clear where his issues come from.

* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': Male example with the Groosalugg, a human man raised in the demon society of Pylea, considers himself hideously ugly. This is because the same features that make him handsome and attractive by human standards are considered ugly by the demons' standards.

* "You Can't Hide Beautiful" by Aaron Lines is similarly themed to Sammy Kershaw's song, where the female focus feels that she isn't beautiful even when she wears a fancy dress to a party. However, the narrator reassures her by telling her that no matter what she wears, "you can't hide beautiful".

* Fir of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' is shocked that Noah fell in love with her at first sight, and even TheStoic Shin defrosts enough to say that she has beautiful eyes. This isn't due to a lack of self-esteem but due to her focus on training in the sword so she can live up to her mother's legacy, making her rather single-minded.

* Erika from ''Webcomic/LivingWithHipstergirlAndGamergirl'' has claimed in so many words that she averts NerdsAreSexy, all while [[MsFanservice showing her off in skimpy clothes]] is a large part of what the comic's all about.

* Played straight and later averted in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society". For most of the episode, Bebe can't seem to figure out why all the boys in her class suddenly find her cool and smart and want to hang out with her. When she finds out [[BuxomIsBetter it's because of her breasts]], she tries to get them reduced so they'll take her more seriously.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}'': The episode "Psyche" plays with the concept by having the women involved aware that they're beautiful but apparently unaware of the consequences. It centers around Duckman being hired by a pair of cartoonishly sexy twins, who can't figure out why 'men are only interested in our bodies' and are trying to figure out why they can't attract nice guys who are interested in their personalities.
* Evangelyne from ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' is extremely modest about her attractiveness, to the point where it seems that she isn't even aware that at ''least'' three separate characters carry a torch for her. A good example is in the fourth episode where she attempts to disguise herself as an "ugly" cursed princess by... wearing a dress, which only has the effect of [[SheCleansUpNicely making her look gorgeous.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'': Starfire's DayInTheLimelight episode "Transformation" starts off with the narrator pointing out that she's "very beautiful, but thinks nothing of it". The entire time her transformation (Tamaranian puberty) occurs, she's less concerned with being pretty and more concerned with simply going back to normal. Eventually she does, with the bonus of having laser eyes now. In general, she doesn't seem to notice when people are physically attracted to her, and in fact responds violently whenever a villain tries to pull the IHaveYouNowMyPretty routine on her.

* Played with by Gadget from ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDaleRescueRangers''. Gadget is undeniably attractive, yet most of the time [[ObliviousToLove doesn't seem to recognize the effect she has on Chip and Dale]] (and sometimes [[VillainousCrush the occasional villain]]). She's rarely seen dressed in anything other than her coveralls, and much of the time her definition of "dressing up" is a flower in her hair. And then you have her infamous red dress, where she's able to jump right into the role of a seductive FemmeFatale.

* Snow White in ''SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' tried to fix her hair and clothes to clean herself up when meeting with the Prince for the first time despite a contender of being the FairestOfThemAll.

** To a lesser extent, Agari Himiko suffers from this too, owing to her being a NervousWreck with serious stage fright and image issues, despite being a very cute {{Meganekko}} with a shapely figure.

* While beautiful may be a stretch, it's sadly common in reality for kids to believe that they're ugly due to being told so by their peers, despite research indicating that a child who is told they're ugly by peers rarely if ever actually ''is'' unattractive.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' [[YamatoNadeshiko Yukiko Amagi]] doesn't seem to realise how interested most of the male students are in her and tends to shoot them down without realising that she's been asked out (to the point that asking her out's known as "The Amagi Challenge"). Similarly, her best friend [[{{Tomboy}} Chie]] has a few admirers but [[spoiler: keeps assuming that they're interested in Yukiko]].
* Fir of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem: Binding Blade]]'' is shocked that Noah fell in love with her at first sight, and even TheStoic Shin defrosts enough to say that she has beautiful eyes. This isn't due to a lack of self-esteem but due to her focus on training in the sword so she can live up to her mother's legacy, making her rather single-minded.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Emma from ''WebComic/MyDeepestSecret'' is, by anyone's standard, a very pretty girl. However, she's [[InsecureLoveInterest desperately insecure]], and is genuinely surprised that her boyfriend thinks she's beautiful, or even agreed to go out with her.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Starfire's DayInTheLimelight episode "Transformation" starts off with the narrator pointing out that she's "very beautiful, but thinks nothing of it". The entire time her transformation (Tamaranian puberty) occurs, she's less concerned with being pretty and more concerned with simply going back to normal. Eventually she does, with the bonus of having laser eyes now. In general, she doesn't seem to notice when people are physically attracted to her, and in fact responds violently whenever a villain tries to pull the IHaveYouNowMyPretty routine on her.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}'' plays with the concept by having the women involved aware that they're beautiful but apparently unaware of the consequences. It centers around Duckman being hired by a pair of cartoonishly sexy twins, who can't figure out why 'men are only interested in our bodies' and are trying to figure out why they can't attract nice guys who are interested in their personalities.

* ''Manga/KomiCantCommunicate'': This trope is the root of ''why'' Komi has [[NoSocialSkills trouble communicating]]; nearly everyone who encounters her believes she's the most beautiful girl that they've ever seen... [[SoBeautifulItsACurse and as a result believe that they aren't worthy of interacting with her.]] As she's completely ignorant of how pretty she is, she assumes that everyone is avoiding her because there's something wrong with her. As a result she has very poor social skills and an extreme case of social anxiety.

* Played with by Gadget from ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDaleRescueRangers''. Gadget is undeniably attractive, yet most of the time [[ObliviousToLove doesn't seem to recognize the effect she has on Chip and Dale]] (and sometimes [[FoeYay the occasional villain]]). She's rarely seen dressed in anything other than her coveralls, and much of the time her definition of "dressing up" is a flower in her hair. And then you have her infamous red dress, where she's able to jump right into the role of a seductive FemmeFatale.

* Taken UpToEleven with ''Creator/AudreyHepburn'', despite being a strong candidate for the title of "Most beautiful woman who ever lived" supposedly never thought she was that great looking, at least according to her son.

* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' Noel is pretty surprised when Litchi compliments her on her looks.

While an InnocentFanserviceGirl can generate this effect due to a lack of a nudity taboo, these characters are often sufficiently attractive that they can cause traffic accidents even when fully clothed. While cunning characters will usually seek to take advantage of this phenomena, and innocent or shy characters will be embarrassed by it, on occasion a character won't even understand what's going on. They may even {{lampshade}} it by wondering aloud why they are a WeirdnessMagnet.

* Country singer Music/SammyKershaw has a song called "She Don't Know She's Beautiful." The song's subject walks down the street and goes to a party and is baffled each time with the stares she attracts. Even in the morning when she wakes up and her hair is a mess, she still doesn't understand why the singer can't take his eyes off her.

* Fir of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem: Binding Blade]]'' is shocked that Noah fell in love with her at first sight, and even TheStoic Shin defrosts enough to say that she has beautiful eyes. This isn't due to a lack of self-esteem, but due to her focus on training in the sword so she can live up to her mother's legacy making her rather single-minded.

* Played with by Gadget from ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDaleRescueRangers''. Gadget is undeniably attractive, yet most of the time [[ObliviousToLove doesn't seem to recognize the effect she has on Chip and Dale]] (and sometimes [[FoeYay the occasional villain]]). She's rarely seen dressed in anything other than her coveralls, and much of the time her definition of "dressing up" is a FlowerInHerHair. And then you have her infamous red dress, where she's able to jump right into the role of a seductive FemmeFatale.

* Personality: an {{adorkable}} character, BrokenBird, etc., might incorrectly presume their awkwardness hides any beauty they might have. For a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, their own attractiveness might be just one of many things they find confusing. Then there are those characters that are too humble to notice or remember how attractive they are to others.

* In ''Film/LiarLiar'', Jim Carrey's character talks to a very attractive and large breasted woman who mentions that everyone has been (seemingly inexplicably) nice to her. Due to his curse he comments that he figures it is probably because of her large breasts. His attempts to backtrack under the curse actually make him say increasingly worse things until he gets an offscreen smack for making literal baby sucking faces at her cleavage.

* Jerin Whistler from ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' is this at the beginning of the novel. This is mostly due to his being extremely sheltered -- his sisters would not approve of strange women telling him that he's pretty, and he doesn't see many men to whom he could compare himself. Only when his old teacher warns him to not walk around unveiled on the ship on which they are traveling, as some women could be tempted to abduct him, does he realize that he is not just average looking.

* Tawnee[[note]]Her real name is Betty. But nobody calls her that since everybody who sees her agrees she looks like a 'Tawnee' and not a 'Betty'[[/note]] is an exotic dancer for the Pink Pussycat in ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' who believes she's so popular because she's a very good dancer, while thinking she's actually quite unattractive since nobody will ask her out. When in truth the customers couldn't care less about her dancing and the reason they don't ask her out is because she's so over the top beautiful that no man with even half a brain would ever think they would ever have a chance with her so don't even try. It takes Cherry and Angua telling her this, then proving it to her by having her destroy a pub by showing interest in one of the patrons does she realize the truth.

* Priestess Rao from ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' seems oblivious to her effect on men and is baffled by Issun's comments about "melons" and being [[GagBoobs "stacked to the ceiling"]]. Ostensibly it's because she is a holy woman and too innocent to understand. [[spoiler:In reality it is because she is the demon Ninetails in disguise.]]

* Didi from ''Webcomic/MenageA3'' is unaware about just how stunningly attractive she is. Exemplified when she strips to a tiny bikini in a park and didn't notice [[DistractedByTheSexy all the men bumping into things because they're distracted looking at her.]]

* Played with by Gadget from ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDaleRescueRangers''. Gadget is undeniably attractive, yet most of the time [[ObliviousToLove doesn't seem to recognize the affect she has on Chip and Dale]] (and sometimes [[FoeYay the occasional villain]]). She's rarely seen dressed in anything other than her coveralls, and much of the time her definition of "dressing up" is a FlowerInHerHair. And then you have her infamous red dress, where she's able to jump right into the roll of a seductive FemmeFatale.

* In ''Literature/DoctrineOfLabyrinths'', Mildmay thinks his facial scar renders him repulsive, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Most of the main female characters (and some of the guys) want to sleep with him, random side-characters ogle him, he's explicitly described as attractive or even "beautiful" in by others, and he bears such an uncanny resemblance to his famously dazzling brother that people know they're related at first glance. And yet he's oblivious to flirtation, with Mehitabel, Corbie, and [[spoiler: Felix]] literally throwing themselves at him before he twigs that they're interested. In fairness, he had an abusive guardian who repeatedly told him he was ugly (and sexually abused him) when he was younger, so it's clear where his issues come from.

* Played with by Gadget from ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDaleRescueRangers''. Gadget is undeniably attractive, yet most of the time [[ObliviousToLove doesn't seem to recognize the affect she has on Chip and Dale]] (and sometimes [[FoeYay the occasional villain]]). She's rarely seen dressed in anything other than her coveralls, and much of the time her definition of "dressing up" is AFlowerInHerHair. And then you have her infamous red dress, where she's able to jump right into the roll of a seductive FemmeFatale.

* Belle from ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' is so preoccupied reading books she doesn't even realize she's considered the most beautiful girl in town. Although [[CrazyJealousGuy given the type]] of attention her beauty attracts, one can't blame her for trying to avoid romantic attention altogether.

* Tawnee[[note]]Her real name is Betty. But nobody calls her that since everybody who sees her agrees she looks like a 'Tawnee' and not a 'Betty'[[/note]] is an exotic dancer for the Pink Pussycat in ''Discworld/{{Thud}}'' who believes she's so popular because she's a very good dancer, while thinking she's actually quite unattractive since nobody will ask her out. When in truth the customers couldn't care less about her dancing and the reason they don't ask her out is because she's so over the top beautiful that no man with even half a brain would ever think they would ever have a chance with her so don't even try. It takes Cherry and Angua telling her this, then proving it to her by having her destroy a pub by showing interest in one of the patrons does she realize the truth.

* Mr. Knightley praises this particular quality in Literature/{{Emma}} when discussing her with Mrs. Weston. Mrs. Weston, who was Emma's nursemaid and raised her after the death of her mother, raves about how beautiful the young woman is; Mr. Knightley agrees with her, and also adds that "as handsome as she is," she doesn't seem to pay much attention to it.