History Main / TheBeautifulElite

* Most of the founding families of Gotham.
** The Wayne family has this reputation among Gotham's citizens. There's ''extremely'' handsome and charismatic playboy [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]]. Aside from that we have his sons and daughter (adopted and not): [[Characters/NightwingDickGrayson Dick Grayson]], [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd Jason Todd]], [[ComicBook/Robin1993 Tim Drake]], [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]] and adorably precocious Damian Wayne. ''All'' of them, Dick in particular, are portrayed as exceedingly good-looking.

* Franchise/WonderWoman is the princess of the Amazons and is considered to be as beautiful as Aphrodite. Despite this, she is one of the kindest and sweetest people you'll ever meet in the DC universe.
* ''Franchise/XMen'':

* Siegfried's ''Contra Mundi'' team in the ''Literature/TrinityBlood'' manga. Perfect skins, stylish, expensive uniforms and haircuts, and ''[[BishieSparkle ohmygod, he sparkles!]]''. (Then [[spoiler:Cain shows up naked and ruins the effect. Nice butt, though]].)
* Subverted in ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry''. The [[BigScrewedUpFamily Ushiromiya household]] is filthy rich, composed of good-looking people with ''astonishingly'' good fashion sense and... well, pretty. That is, until the murders start. The first incident of the series consists of 6 people locked in a shed with their faces almost completely gone. BeautyIsNeverTarnished, this is [[CruelAndUnusualDeath not]]. And one or more of them may be the culprit...
** Averted with Hideyoshi and George, who are overweight and not especially attractive, but played straight with the rest of the main cast, excluding non-Ushiromiyas.
** Witches, on the other hand, take this trope and veer it straight into TheFairFolk territory. They're very beautiful and grandiose, and [[{{Squick}} they'll be sure to make their murders just as grandiose and magnificent]].
* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' may be the peak of the evil version. Utena's school is literally a palace, complete with royal gardens, and the marble walls are draped in roses and ivy. Everyone is beautiful and has their closet packed with skeletons. It is, deliberately, a more extreme version of almost any portrayal of royal courts on television.
* Just about every character in ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}'' is beautiful and either endured some trauma in their past or ''will'' in their present life.

* ''Literature/VampireHunterD'' where most of the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Nobles]] and [[{{Dhampyr}} Dhampyrs]] are inhumanly beautiful, but hide predatory instincts behind their suave demeanour. One of the novels mentions that even the most kind-hearted Noble can't spend more than three days in the presence of a human without succumbing to the desire to drink their blood.
* Pegasus J. Crawford and Siegfried von Schroider of ''Manga/YuGiOh'' are both impossibly rich, intellectual and [[{{Camp}} glamorous]]. Unfortunately, they're also ''very'' unhappy with their lives.

* Shuu Tsukiyama from ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', known as the "[[RedBaron Gourmet]]" for being an exceptionally PickyPeopleEater. In stark contrast to most Ghouls that are orphaned and living in poverty, Tsukiyama is the son of an extremely powerful and wealthy family with connections in both human and Ghoul society. As a teenager, he was the SchoolIdol of a prestigious private Academy and is known for his eccentric but high-end taste in fashion. [[AmbiguouslyBi Kaneki]] notes that he "looks like a model", though quickly learns that his cultured demeanor hides a ruthless and twisted killer even by Ghoul standards. Later in the series, he uses his considerable wealth to assist and remain close to Kaneki, having become a {{Yandere}} StalkerWithACrush. [[spoiler: The sequel implies the result of having developed into a better person is that he's become grief-stricken and in poor physical condition -- while leaving him looking [[TheOphelia beautiful and frail during the times he's not loosing control of his sanity]].]]
** Kanae from the sequel is an beautiful girl from the upper levels of Ghoul society prone to looking down on everybody and she's jealous of Sasaki/Kaneki having Tsukiyama's attention to the point that she wants to kill Sasaki/Kaneki.
** The [[ArtEvolution art has improved greatly]] by the sequel leading to characters that looked plain or merely interesting looking before to be considered drop dead gorgeous. They are not without their flaws and hidden darkness though, [[DarkAndTroubledPast and not without reason]].

* Griffith of ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' is a textbook example of the evil version. He's an excellent commander, a masterful swordsman, graceful, elegant, [[DudeLooksLikeALady beautiful]] and charismatic. He's also got [[{{Yandere}} serious problems]], mostly involving his greatest warrior Guts. When Guts leaves the Hawks, it starts a downward spiral for Griffith that would culminate in the betrayal of all the Hawks in order to become Femto during the Eclipse. He retains his beautiful looks after becoming Femto, lipstick included, and is prone to looking down upon and even scorning his former subordinates, Guts included.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
** Dark Eldar . Tall, pale and beautiful, but also complete sociopaths who literally feed on pain and suffering. Their Craftworld cousins are slightly more benevolent, in that they won't kill you for fun (but will kill you if they have any reason to do so).
** A lot of Elite class in the Imperium society, and plenty of military commanders look down on the regular RedShirt Guardsmen, viewing them as mere CannonFodder.
* ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'':
** The Daeva are a [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstruction]] of the trope. In their [[{{Splat}} Clanbook]] it is stated that they're "[[SuperStrength stronger]], [[SuperSpeed faster]] and [[VampiresAreSexGods sexier]] than you". Even before the Embrace most of them were already attractive humans and after and it they become [[InhumanlyBeautifulRace drop-dead gorgeous]], thanks to their [[SignatureMove core Discipline]], [[{{Glamour}} Majesty]], that allows them to enthrall people with their presence. The Clanbook does make a point of the fact that anyone who knows enough about the Daeva (including the Daeva themselves) tends to find [[UncannyValley something off about them because their beauty is artificial]] and they are [[LackOfEmpathy incapable of love]]. One of the illustrators noted that the Daeva are essentially sex objects rather than people.
** {{Subverted|Trope}} with one of their Bloodlines, the Carnival -- an entire bloodline of [[TheFreakshow freaks]]. Imagine having the hungers and desires of someone who could trade entirely on their looks, but looking like you just crawled out of an auto wreck.
** The Toreador, [[TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade their Old World counterparts]], are more of a TragicMonster version of the trope. The Toreador obsessively pursue physical perfection and beauty, art and emotion, as a way of trying to compensate for their undead status and remind themselves of how they once were alive -- a battle they're all ultimately doomed to fail at because [[CreativeSterility being Embraced removes their creative spark]]. Toreador ''[[FullyEmbracedFiend antitribu]]'' take this [[MadArtist exactly as badly as you'd expect]].

* Many of the ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' are like this, particularly ones old enough to reach a permanent Essence rating of 6 or higher (who can thus raise their Appearance stat to beyond-human levels). Abyssal Exalted, unless they are so horrifically ugly that their Appearance is permanently 0, actually ''have'' to become this as they grow stronger.

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', this trope is taken to to its LogicalExtreme by the elves of Lorwyn. They are narcissists who view themselves as superior to the other races of their world, and whose society's hierarchy is based on physical beauty. "Faultless", the lowest caste, ranks just below "immaculates," who rank below "exquisites." At the top of the chain are the "perfects," who are so privileged that they're allowed to murder "eyeblights" (beings who are not beautiful, i.e. non-elves) at their discretion.

* Caroline Lee in ''WebVideo/TheLizzieBennetDiaries'' is a gorgeous {{Socialite}} who pretends to be friends with the Bennet sisters, but she actually manipulates her brother and other people around her. Some of her ways are downright nasty, like deleting messages for his brother from his girlfriend and other sabotages.

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'': The residents of Eagleton, the much nicer and more pristine town neighboring the main characters' hometown of Pawnee. They're certainly rich and beautiful, but they're also insufferable snobs who just '''love''' to rub their wealth into the faces of the more working class small-town Pawnee. This [[ConspicuousConsumption massive spending]] ends up getting them in trouble in the sixth season when [[spoiler:the town is bankrupt and is forced to become absorbed into Pawnee as a new sub-district]].
* The upper-class society depicted in the ''Series/BlackMirror'' episode "[[Recap/BlackMirrorNosedive Nosedive]]" where everyone is physically fit and impeccably dressed, and the surroundings are very well-kept and clean-cut (with pretty pastel colors to brighten it all up). The jerkass part comes from the fact that, in this world, '''everything''' in your life is dictated by how high your social media rating is, and those living in the upper classes are those with the highest ratings. The whole society is essentially a StepfordSuburbia CrapsaccharineWorld. And given this episode was written by Mike Schur and Rashida Jones of ''Parks and Rec'' fame, one could even say it's like Eagleton taken [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to Eleven]].
* ''Series/CarruSel'' with Jorge del Salto. Jorge is rich, mean, and arrogant- and at least one of the girls points out how handsome he is when he first transfers to the school, even though none of them actively crush on him let alone date him. Downplayed with Maria Joaquina- who is pretty, wealthy, and haughty, but not cruel. Averted with David- who is rich and cute (to the point where he has two love interests), but never malicious.

* The Clan Warrior Caste in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''. Effectively the Clan's nobility. They aren't ''actually'' engineered for attractiveness but considering they're all genetically engineered to be strong and fast many of them are very attractive. They usually have the best living conditions, and are tied with the Laborer Caste for getting the best food. They are constantly extolled as the pinnacle of their society and the ones who every other member of the society is working to support. Even sympathetic Clan warriors tend to be kind of a jerk to people they do not view as other warriors, and depending on the Clan their rights may extend to the ability to injure or kill members of other castes without recourse.
* Espers that work for Abraxis in ''TabletopGame/PsionicsTheNextStageInHumanEvolution'' qualify. They work for an amoral megacorp and are fit, well-dressed, and rich, in addition to having formal training in psytalents and combat.

* Manfred von Karma of the ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' series was a man murderously obsessed with "perfection". So instead of LA attorneys, all members of his family (Edgeworth, Franziska, and himself) live more like European nobility than LA lawyers, from {{Classy Cravat}}s, to expensive cars, to globetrotting lifestyles, to perfect prosecution records, to [[RoyallyScrewedUp terribly dysfunctional family dynamics]].
* Barok van Zieks and his late brother Klint of ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' take it even further than the von Karmas, showcasing BlueBlood at its most ominous yet opulent and aesthetically pleasing. Barok goes as far as to shout his objections [[PaintingTheMedium in ornate blackletter]] rather than the usual speech bubbles.

* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'': Professor X was born beautiful and lives in an old-fashioned BigFancyHouse on a magnificent estate. Every stick of furniture and decorative item inside of his residence are SimpleYetOpulent. Ditto for his impressive collection of vintage cars and the inside of his personal plane. Xavier is enamoured with classic three-piece suits which cost a pretty penny, and he was quite the peacock when he was younger. ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' and ''Film/XMenApocalypse'' accentuate his delicate facial features, his vanity and the splendour of his lifestyle. While he is generous to those he cares about, and he's the most altruistic character of the film series, it's made crystal clear that he ain't no Buddha--Charles derives great pleasure from basking in the luxury that his incredible wealth provides.

* In ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' Padme can be seen having an intellectual discussion, using proper grammar, while sitting in a green field against a waterfall and dressed in a golden summer gown.

* In the dystopian sci-fi film ''Film/InTime'', the rich people from New Greenwich, due to their being able to afford the time and luxury to live refined lives, embody this trope.
* In ''Film/PainAndGain'' Daniel arranges for the gym to have a lot of attractive people (including deals for strippers to join) to increase the clientele. This contrasts with women who are shown to be really unattractive, but with hints of Daniel being an UnreliableNarrator at these points.
* In ''Film/StarryEyes'', literally everyone who works for Astraeus Pictures is beautiful and successful, though by the end it's not clear if they're technically human anymore.

** ''Series/EmilyInParis'': The FishOutOfWater main character moves to Paris to take a job with a French marketing firm, and is drawn into a world of decadence.
* In ''Series/TheCosbyShow,'' everyone's in brand-new clothing, their hair is always perfect, they live in a large, beautiful house, and the parents are highly educated professionals with excellent jobs and never a shortage on cash. Cosby was criticized for making the main characters such perfect elite, as it was thought that this was not representative of the African-American experience, but he insisted on providing role models for black viewers.
* Many, many, many sitcoms on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and Creator/DisneyChannel take place in a world where everyone is LivingInAFurnitureStore, everyone looks pretty except for ([[InformedAttribute we're told]]) the resident HollywoodHomely, and everything is decorated in bold, gaudy primary colors. Examples include ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'', ''Series/ICarly'', and (probably the worst offender) ''Series/{{Zoey 101}}''.
* The BBC comedy series ''Series/BeautifulPeople'' both supports and subverts this trope.

* Jackson from ''Series/TeenWolf'' seems at first glance to be a jerk version of this - his adoptive family are incredibly wealthy, he drives a Porche, is captain of the school lacrosse team, has a gorgeous girlfriend, etc, however, it is later revealed that he suffers from crippling insecurity issues due to being adopted, and has to be the best or he risks a breakdown. And this is before the supernatural gets involved...

* ''Series/AlmostHuman'' has Chromes, people who were lucky and wealthy enough to have been genetically enhanced at a young age, meaning that they're almost universally beautiful, intelligent, extremely healthy, and possess a great deal of sociopolitical clout.

* In the ''Series/BlackMirror'' episode "[[Recap/BlackMirrorNosedive Nosedive]]", this applies to those with rankings above 4.5- 'high fours.' They're universally gorgeous, rich, and Instagram-perfect.
* The Witches and Warlocks In ''Series/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'' are all Beautiful Glamorous, Elegant and Sophisticated [[LadyOfBlackMagic Zelda Spellman]] for example looks like a classic hollywood star. And the students of the [[WizardingSchool Academy of Unseen Arts]], are also very sexy attractive and seductive.
* In ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance'', Vapra clan members are the most fashionable and beautiful of the Gelflings, as well as the race's scholars and seemingly the main providers of All-Maudras.
* ''Series/SchittsCreek'': The Roses used to be this, and through most of the series, the goal is to regain their status. We get glimpses of their former life throughout, such as the {{flashback}} to one of their famous Christmas Parties and visits from David's famous photographer ex Sebastien and later Alexis's socialite pal Klair.