History Main / WorldsMostBeautifulWoman

* [[TheIliad Helen of Troy]], proving this trope is OlderThanDirt.

** Also amusingly subverted in that the book details what caused Buttercup's predecessors to lose the "Most Beautiful" title (the culprits included an abundance of chocolate and, best of all, worrying too much about losing said beauty).

* In TheBible, an empire-wide beauty contest found Esther to be the most beautiful woman in the Persian Empire, which was a pretty good chunk of the known world at the time. Her prize was unwilling marrying the king and using said marriage to [[GuileHero use her smarts to save the Jewish people]] [[PluckyGirl singlehandedly.]]

* Helen of Troy, specifically described as "the most beautiful woman in the world." Alternately, hers is the face that launched a thousand ships.
** [[YourMom Your face]] launched a thousand ships.

That doesn't mean her life is going to be easy, of course. These women are almost always SoBeautifulItsACurse. She may be the target of a VainSorceress looking to be the FairestOfThemAll, or she may simply be [[SobbinWomen kidnapped]].

* Kriemhild from ''Das Nibelungenlied''. Her beauty is sufficient that Siegfried is not only willing to fight in battles for her favor, but willing to deceive a queen and involve himself in plots that he likely would never take part in otherwise. This is the basis of his tragic flaw.

* JRRTolkien's Middle-earth: Lúthien Tinúviel is "the fairest of all the Children of Illuvatar" to ever live (''TheSilmarillion''). At the time of ''TheLordOfTheRings'', her similar-looking great-great-granddaughter Arwen Undómiel is considered to be the fairest by many (although Gimli favored Galadriel).

* [[LadyOfWar Kea]][[PaleSkinnedBrunette de]] from the TalesOfTheOtori series.

* In TheBible, an empire-wide beauty contest found Esther to be the most beautiful woman in the Persian Empire, which was a pretty good chunk of the known world at the time. Her prize was unwilling marrying the king (and [[HeroicSacrifice saving the Jewish people]]).

* In societies with a tradition of a polygamous monarchy it was common for the King to send recruiting parties composed of trained connoisseurs to find the most beautiful women in his Kingdom for wives. In a large [[TheEmpire Empire]] like Persia or China the selection was so great that the one that was finally picked as the King's favorite was likely to be almost literally the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman.

[[AC:{{Mythology}}]]

Just the fact of a character's [[MsFanservice being]] [[HelloNurse hot]] is not enough to qualify her for this trope. Indeed, many of these women fall into InformedAttractiveness. The character must be explicitly stated to be the world's most beautiful woman. [[FridgeLogic One wonders, of course, how the person who proclaimed her thus managed to see every woman in the world.]][[hottip:*:Then again, exceptional beauty usually leads to fame, if only for a short while. Also, nothing is preventing any other woman from coming up and disputing/debunking that claim.]]

* The title character in the Bukovinan fairy tale "The Flower Queen's Daughter".

* ''OnePiece'''s [[HotAmazon Boa]] [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Hancock]] of the [[PsychoForHire Shichibukai]]. The Risky Brothers claim that her beauty is only rivalled by the Mermaid Princess, whom we have yet to see on-panel/screen.

* Lanfear from TheWheelOfTime is very much this. Or course, she doesn't have to worry about being kidnapped or the like, as she's also the world's most powerful woman...

* Various women in modern times are proclaimed this by one person, group or magazine poll or another: AishwaryaRai, AngelinaJolie, Ornella Muti, Sara Leighton, ElizabethTaylor, Sara Chaudhry and DemiMoore, among many others.

** Not true. The myth of Cleopatra's ugliness is as overstated as the myth of her beauty. The only contemporary who says anything about her appearance is Cicero, and all he says in a letter is that Cleopatra was not "as beautiful as men have said", which does not imply that she was ugly, only that she was not so beautiful as reputed. Considering Cicero disliked Cleopatra, had she been truly ugly he would without a doubt have mentioned it.

* Various women in modern times are proclaimed this by one person, group or magazine poll or another: Aishwarya Rai, Angelina Jolie, Ornella Muti, Sara Leighton, Elizabeth Taylor, Sara Chaudhry and Demi Moore, among many others.

* Lanfear from {{TheWheelOfTime}} is very much this. Or course, she doesn't have to worry about being kidnapped or the like, as she's also the worlds most powerful woman...

* In Irish mythology, Dierdre was prophesied to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

** [[http://www.judgmentofparis.com/survey.htm The Judgment of Paris Survey]]

** And there is Alvida, who proclaims herself as the most beautiful woman in the world. Well, considering what she [[{{Gonk}} looked like]] before she eat her Devil Fruit ...

* In an issue of ''GreenLantern'' from the 1970s, Hal Jordan found the most beautiful woman in the universe in another planet. His friend GreenArrow, who was also there, however, refused to look at her face, claiming that it would spoil the sight of every other woman for him. (Note that Jordan wasn't affected that way. Also, the character's face is [[TheUnreveal never shown to the reader]].)

* OrsonScottCard's ''Hart's Hope''. The Flower Princess, because she will never lie (?).

* [[TheTrojanWar Helen of Troy]], proving this trope is OlderThanDirt.

* Lanfear from [[TheWheelOfTime]] is very much this. Or course, she doesn't have to worry about being kidnapped or the like, as she's also the worlds most powerful woman...

* This title is frequently given to Guinevere in the KingArthur legends.