Styled logo

A Meta Analysis of "Most Iconic Swimsuit" List Articles

16 Lists. 152 Women. 5 Men.

By Buck HardcastlePublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 7 min read
1

There are multiple lists on the internet of the most iconic swimsuits. This article is an examination of 16 of those lists that appeared as top Google results. The lists were:

1. The Most Iconic Swimsuit Moments in Movie History --Harpers Bazaar

2. 23 Bikinis That Changed Everything --Best Life

3. The Most Iconic Swimsuits of All Time --Marie Claire

4. The 17 Most Iconic Swimsuit Moments of All Time --Redbook

5. The 27 Most Iconic Swimsuit Moments Of All Time --Elle

6. 16 of the most iconic swimsuits of all time --Insider

7. Over 120 of the Most Iconic Bikini Moments in Movies --PopSugar

8. 18 Iconic Bikini Moments --Elle

9. MOST ICONIC SWIMSUIT MOMENTS FROM TV AND FILM --Wonderwall

10. Dive Into These 21 Chic Swimsuit Movie Moments --Vogue

11. The 8 Most Iconic Bikini Moments of All Time --Allure

12. 9 Most Memorable Swimsuits in TV and Film History, From Jean Harlow to Halle Berry --The Wrap

13. The Most Iconic Swimsuit Moments of All Time --Essence

14. The Most Iconic Swimsuit Moments in Pop Culture History --People

15. 4 most iconic bikini moments in movie history --In the Know

16. Top 20 Best-Ever Bikini Moments --Shape

Before even getting into the actual lists 2 things pop out. One is that while you might expect these kind of lists to be created for male consumption, all most all of them were written by publications geared towards women. The second is that they are all presented as lists of swimsuits generally or bikinis specifically. Of course by themselves the swimsuits are just bits of fabric, the real interest is in the women who are wearing them.

I went through the lists and gave women points based on how many lists they appeared in. For example Elizabeth Taylor was mentioned on 6 lists for her appearance in the 1960 movie Suddenly Last Summer, so she has 6 points.

Everyone could only get one point per list. Some lists had numerous repeat entries. For example the PopSugar list gave Blake Lively 7 entries for her appearance in the 2016 film The Shallows. Giving her a point for each would have completely skewed the results. Lively's score is 4.

Fame is no indication of high ranking on this list. Madonna, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift are all household names but each of them only has one point. This is because to have a high rank you generally had to appear in a swimsuit in a movie. One of the few non-actress to appear is Micheline Bernardini (3 points) who is generally credited as wearing the first bikini on on July 5, 1946 at the Piscine Molitor swimming pool complex in Paris. Her bikini, designed by Louis Réard, is supposedly small enough to fit in the match box she's holding or to be pulled through a wedding ring. Micheline was a 19 year old exotic dancer.

The movie 2002 Blue Crush was frequently cited on lists, but the actresses varied in how often lists mentioned them. From left to right: Mika Boorem 2, Michelle Rodriguez 4, ​Kate Bosworth 8, Sanoe Lake 3.

The youngest women to appear on lists were Sue Lyon (6 points) and Brooke Shields (4 points). They were both 14 when appearing in 1962's Lolita and 1980's The Blue Lagoon respectively.

The oldest woman to appear on lists was Sigourney Weaver (1 point) who was 52 when appearing in 2001's Heartbreakers next to Jennifer Love Hewitt (1 point). The second oldest woman to appear on lists was Jennifer Lopez (2 points), who was 49 when appearing in 2019's Hustlers

Ashley Graham is the only plus size model to appear on any list, getting 4 points for her appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Other women who received points from SI covers include Tyra Banks (2), Beyoncé (4) and Kate Upton (3).

While most of the lists exclusively listed women, a few men did make appearances. The top ranking man was Sacha Baron Cohen (3 points) for 2006's Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Other men listed included Daniel Craig (2 points), Dwayne Johnson (1 point), Zac Efron (1 point) and Elvis Presley (1 point). Ok, technically Jude Law and Burt Lancaster were listed also, but that was because they were in the photo with their co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow (5 points) and Deborah Kerr (4 points) respectively.

Neve Campbell has a distinction of earning a point without actually appearing in a swimsuit on any list. And the funny thing is, in the 1998 movie Wild Things she actually does appear in a swimsuit. Her co-star Denise Richards has 7 points.

To receive points a specific individuals have to be named. Hence no points were awarded to entries such as "Random Party Girls" in 2012's Project X.

Here are the top scoring women:

The 8 Pointers

Rachel McAdams in 2004's The Notebook.

Demi Moore in 2003's Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. At 41 she beat out her co-stars Cameron Diaz (4) Drew Barrymore (0) and Lucy Liu (0).

​Kate Bosworth in 2002's Blue Crush.

Pamela Anderson from 1989-2001 serries Baywatch. Anderson is the highest scoring actress from a TV show. And while the serries featured many other women in swimsuits; Yasmine Bleeth, Gena Lee Nolin, Brooke Burns, Erika Eleniak, Donna D'Errico, and Carmen Electra to name a few; none of them made an appearance on any list. Several people from the 2017 Baywatch movie did make the list though: Dwayne Johnson (1), Zac Efron (1), Alexandra Daddario (1) and Kelly Rohrbach (2). The next highest scoring woman from a TV serries was Sally Field (4) for the 1965-66 serries Gidget.

Marilyn Monroe is unusual in that her points didn't come from one particular movie. Different lists give her points for 1952's Clash by Night, 1953's How to Marry a Millionaire, 1962's Something's Got to Give and from various modeling shots.

The 10 Pointers

Carrie Fisher from 1983's Return of the Jedi. This is the only sci-fi film on any list, though you wouldn't actually want to go swimming in that getup.

Raquel Welch in 1966's One Million Years B.C. Raquel frequently had multiple entries on lists, other films mentioned included The Biggest Bundle of Them All, Bedazzled, and Fathom.

The 11 Pointers

Angelina Jolie in 2003's Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life. That's right, one of the top scores was from a sequel to a video game movie.

Phoebe Cates in 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

The 14 pointers.

Ursula Andress in 1963's Dr. No.

Halle Berry in 2002's Die Another Day. Halle also appears on lists for Race the Sun and Dark Tide.

Brigitte Bardot was 17 when she appeared in what is generally cited as the first film to include a bikini, 1952's... The Girl in the Bikini.

Here is the complete list:

14 points

Brigitte Bardot

Ursula Andress

Halle Berry

11 points

Phoebe Cates

Angelina Jolie

10 points

Raquel Welch

Carrie Fisher

8 points

Marilyn Monroe

Pamela Anderson

​Kate Bosworth

Demi Moore

Rachel McAdams

7 points

Pam Grier

Salma Hayek

Denise Richards

Jessica Simpson

6 points

Elizabeth Taylor

Sue Lyon

Gloria Hendry

Farrah Fawcett

Bo Derek

Angela Bassett

5 points

Gwyneth Paltrow

Elizabeth Hurley

4 points

Deborah Kerr

Sally Field

Brooke Shields

Michelle Rodriguez

Cameron Diaz

Jessica Alba

Brooklyn Decker

Selena Gomez

Vanessa Hudgens

Blake Lively

Beyoncé

Ashley Graham

3 points

Virginie Ledoyen

​Sanoe Lake

Ashley Benson

Rachel Korine

​Kate Upton

Micheline Bernardini

Romy Schneider

Sacha Baron Cohen

2 points

Esther Williams

Annette Funicello

Honor Blackman

Jacqueline Bisset

Christina Ricci

Ludivine Sagnier

Anna Faris

Kristen Bell

Regina Hall

Taraji P. Henson

Gabrielle Union

La La Anthony

Meagan Good

Dakota Johnson

Margot Robbie

Reese Witherspoon

Nicollette Sheridan

Tyra Banks

Mika Boorem

Kelly Rohrbach

Natalie Wood

Jennifer Lopez

Daniel Craig

1 point

Jane Russell

Sophia Loren

Joan Blackman

Jayne Mansfield

Sharon Tate

Trina Parks

Izabella Scorupco

Keira Knightley

Léa Seydoux

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Lawrence

Kim Kardashian

Eliza Dushku

Neve Campbell*

Eva Mendes

Deborah Foreman

Devon Aoki

Sara Foster

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Vanessa Kirby

Aly Michalka

Ashley Scott

Uma Thurman

Arielle Kebbel

Chloe Sevigny

Sarah Paxton

Taryn Manning

Eva Amurri Martino

Amy Schumer

Madonna

Kelly Clarkson

Chelsea Dawn

Sigourney Weaver

Riley Steele

Kate Hudson

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Malin Akerman

Cody Horn

Shailene Woodley

Renee Zellweger

Tara Reid

Debra Messing

Kristin Davis

Kathryn McCormick

Shirley Eaton

Amanda Seyfried

Michelle Trachtenberg

Julianne Hough

Jane Fonda

Naomi Watts

Dania Ramirez

Anne Heche

Lake Bell

Sarah Jessica Parker

Rebecca Ferguson

Mila Kunis

Kirsten Dunst

Kristen Stewart

Penélope Cruz

Olivia Munn

Barbra Streisand

Alexandra Daddario

Oona Chaplin

Laurie Fortier

Claire Danes

Katharine McPhee

Darlanne Fluegel

Lisa Taylor

Alison Lohman

Audrey Hepburn

Faye Dunaway

Jayne Mansfield

Nancy Sinatra

Twiggy

Rita Hayworth

Elvis Presley

Jaclyn Smith

Brooke Shields

January Jones

Dwayne Johnson

Zac Efron

Constance Wu

Paris Hilton

Jean Harlow

Betty Grable

Jayne Kennedy

Eartha Kitt

Diahann Carroll

Rihanna

Taylor Swift

celebrity looks
1

About the Creator

Buck Hardcastle

Viscount of Hyrkania and private cartographer to the house of Beifong.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.