Welsh beauty is in the genes

[Menydh]

Welsh beauty is in the genes

BBC News
February 18, 2003

The secrets of Welsh beauty have been revealed as a magazine survey names Kylie Minogue - whose mother is from Wales - and Catherine Zeta Jones as some of the sexiest women in showbusiness.

Kylie tops the list in the poll by glossy gossip magazine Heat while heavily pregnant Zeta Jones, nominated for an Oscar for her song and dance performance in the big screen musical, Chicago, is put at No. 10. Only two other British women are named in the survey - Victoria Beckham (5) and Liz Hurley (8).

The results are set to give a boost to thousands of women in Wales whose dark-haired good looks can often go unappreciated at home and abroad.

Heat magazine's deputy features editor, Jo Carnegie, said the survey showed that Wales was finally taking its place in Britain as an exporter of showbusiness talent, style and beauty.

She said: "Wales has been seen as a bit of a backward country - England has always put out the most stars followed by Scotland with people like Sean Connery and Ewan MacGregor.

"The survey shows that Welsh people have as much going for them as the rest of the stars in Hollywood.

"Both Catherine and Kylie are still sticking close to their roots - Catherine has given her son a Welsh name and Kylie often goes back to see her relatives.

"Catherine is a case of a natural Celtic beauty.

"She stands out in Hollywood as the one with the curves and the jet black hair - that comes from her Welsh blood - when a lot of women can look a bit bland."

The idea of classic Welsh features that are passed down through the generations is one supported by Swansea-based academic, Professor Paul Brain.

The evolutionary zoologist has done a number of studies on the link between biology and psychology and believes the Welsh gene pool has elements which can help women with a Welsh heritage in the beauty stakes.

"In Welsh women, I suspect that it is something to do with their overall shape - the symmetry of their facial features is very regular.

"They tend to have long lustrous dark hair and are pretty fine boned."

The success of Kylie, 34, and Zeta Jones, 33, has come as no surprise to author Cardiff-based Terry Breverton who two years ago published a book on the 100 top Welsh women.

He said Kylie and Zeta Jones come from a long line of beauties whose Welsh heritage is underplayed.

The British fashion icon, Mary Quant, creator of the Biba image in the 1960s, is perhaps the most recognisably beauty-orientated Welsh woman.

But other lookers include the actress Sian Phillips, once married to actor Peter O'Toole, and the veteran pop singer Petula Clarke.

Even Hollywood actress Bette Davies was considered to have a striking look when she first hit the big screen.

"With Welsh women, the contrast in their looks - between the Celtic dark hair and the white of their skins - is an attractive combination.

Mr Breverton said pictures of historical Welsh beauties, such as Nell Gwyn, the mistress of Charles II, showed they had full lips.

Zeta Jones has put down much of her initial popularity in Hollywood to the way her mouth curves up at the end, making her look as if she is naturally smiling.

He said: "Kylie has very full lips and Mary Quant has very full lips - this full lips thing keeps coming through."

Stiffyn Parry, actor and founder of the London-based social network Sws - Social Welsh and Sexy - said Welsh people have always been beautiful but no one had taken any notice.

He told News Online: "We have always had a steady stream of beautiful people making an impression around the world.

"But it's only really through the careers of the likes of Kylie and Catherine Zeta Jones that people have started to sit up and take notice.

"Zeta Jones is typically Welsh looking and has dark skin which is not unusual in the south west region of Wales.

"Those who said the Cool Cymru era had passed are very wrong."

Professor Brain suggested it was no accident that image-obsessed industries like Hollywood put such importance on the looks and attractiveness of their stars.

"He said people who are considered sexually attractive are often endowed with other socially positive qualities such being thought of as exciting, interesting and responsive.

Beholder

"As long as you get past the first barrier, of being sexually attractive, you get everything else."

But, the professor warns, no matter how much dark Celtic good looks women in Wales may be able to call upon at the dressing table, the final judgement has to be left, as the proverb tells us, to the beholder.

"It really depends on who's asking the questions," he said.


[source]

[Sigel]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

Catherine is a case of a natural Celtic beauty.

There is no doubt that she is a beautiful lady. I've noticed her portrait on the banner for Wales.

One of the finest-looking race traitors a Jew ever got his hands on IMHO.

[Menydh]

Damn it.. still beautiful though..

[etoile noir]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

Damn it.. still beautiful though..

indeed she is. and thanks to whoever put her on the welsh banner. i think i use that as my banner to decorate my screen!

as to the other two british women, Victoria Beckham and Liz Hurley, Hurley i understand, meaning i can see her beauty. But surely not Victoria Beckham! she's not even attractive despite or maybe in spite of the ridiculous amounts of cosmetic "enhancements" she's put herself through. she's so totally fake. in fact i find her presence on the list an insult to the other women there.

[Exeter]

I was going to say the same, before I saw this
http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/archives/001047.html

I agree on Victoria Beckham. She is not even average. Liz Hurley is hot!

Originally Posted by etoile noir

indeed she is

as to the other two british women, Victoria Beckham and Liz Hurley, Hurley i understand, meaning i can see her beauty. But surely not Victoria Beckham! she's not even attractive despite or maybe in spite of the ridiculous amounts of cosmetic "enhancements" she's put herself through. she's so totally fake. in fact i find her presence on the list an insult to the other women there.[/quote]

[Scoob]

Originally Posted by Exeter

I was going to say the same, before I saw this
http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/archives/001047.html

I agree on Victoria Beckham. She is not even average. Liz Hurley is hot!

I don't think Zeta-Jones' features have changed significantly. The earlier photo might simply reflect a different aesthetic in makeup, hair, and lighting 10+ years ago. Note that the trend now is to emphasize her "exotic" appeal.

[Exeter]

Neither do I. I have seen that picture elsewhere too. I just remembered that link.

I haven't thought about the trend, but I think she looked more exotic in her natural (it looks more so) state. One cannot make any British woman exotic looking. She look Berid in the older picture, almost like some NW African Berbers.

I saw the same in Sarah Jessica Parker. Look at pictures when she is younger.

http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/archives/000463.html

My point was that their beauty is somewhat fake and that there are more beautiful people girls/women in many European cities. Those are just not famous. I do find Catherine Zeta-Jones charming, but that is not the same as being beautiful (which I don't think is completely subjective).

Originally Posted by Scoob

I don't think Zeta-Jones' features have changed significantly. The earlier photo might simply reflect a different aesthetic in makeup, hair, and lighting 10+ years ago. Note that the trend now is to emphasize her "exotic" appeal.

[Scoob]

Originally Posted by Exeter

My point was that their beauty is somewhat fake and that there are more beautiful people girls/women in many European cities. Those are just not famous. I do find Catherine Zeta-Jones charming, but that is not the same as being beautiful (which I don't think is completely subjective).

I agree, but this is true of most celebrities. But think of school: it isn't usually the best looking students who become involved in drama and acting, but often the socially marginal ones (who tend to be average or even below average in looks).

And of course, in any urban area, one sees quite a large variety and number people, and probably looks most at the best looking ones, which skews people's ideas of "averageness." While looking at a crowd of 500, I often find myself looking at just a few beautiful faces, and not even noticing other ones. If you took a representative sample of bathers at a crowded European beach in the summer and photographed them in scanty clothes, you might be shocked at how un-beautiful people really are even compared to a "homely" celebrity such as Catherine Zeta-Jones or Jessica Parker. So there are some major unconscious ascertainment biases at work IMO.

[Exeter]

But think of school: it isn't usually the best looking students who become involved in drama and acting, but often the socially marginal ones (who tend to be average or even below average in looks).

I'm not sure if I have observed that but it could be true. I have met both drama students who are extroverted partygoers and who are quite attractive (or know how to dress trendy, not that I think that is nicer, I prefer the more traditional) and also the ones whom are really shy and somehow make up for their introverted nature when they act.

It might be true that drama (and boxing) school is one of the ways working class people can reach a higher status in society (with fame and money), but I was of the impression that some drama schools are associated with the upper middle class. Or maybe they teach working class kids middle and upper class mannerisms. RADA in England, is a top drama school, but Roger Moore went there and he has working class roots. His RP speech is probably acquired from RADA. Michael Caine who went there a few years later spoke Cockney (you know the beginning of the PC era, and with it came greater acceptance for regional accents).

Originally Posted by Scoob

So there are some major unconscious ascertainment biases at work IMO.

You make some great points. That holds true for anthropological observations (just think of the old school British anthropologists who travelled to Ireland and they wanted to see what is different) too. I guess that we're often guilty of seeing what we want to see.

[Dr. Solar Wolff]

Isn't Elizabeth Taylor Welch? This combination of dark hair, light skin and light eyes is beautiful. We see a British reporter on CNN named Paula Hancocks who fits this description and I have wondered if she is of Welch descent but her name indicates otherwise.

[Exeter]

The combination that you described is common among North-Atlantids. It's a nice contrast, although it exist among other people too. It's disharmonic. Some Slavs have that combination too.

Paula Hancocks look North-Atlantid.

Originally Posted by Dr. Solar Wolff

Isn't Elizabeth Taylor Welch? This combination of dark hair, light skin and light eyes is beautiful. We see a British reporter on CNN named Paula Hancocks who fits this description and I have wondered if she is of Welch descent but her name indicates otherwise.

[Gil]

Paula Hancocks:




I would say north atlantid + alpine + dinaric.

It's a nice contrast, although it exist among other people too. It's disharmonic.

Why disharmonic? Disharmonic in the sense that dark skin = dark hair /light skin = light hair?

[Exeter]

Yes, in that sense. I don't see it as anything negative. I think it's the nicest combination, although the face matters too. It's partial depigmentation. I prefer it over blonde hair and brown eyes.

There's a strong correlation between blonde hair and blue (or grey) eyes among Scando-Nordids. Many Scandinavians know blue eyes only with blonde hair. It was very telling when a Swedish guy I was hanging out with in Denmark pointed out to a guy who had blue eyes and almost black hair. He said wrongly why doesn't he have blue (he meant blonde) hair?

It's disharmonic in the Scando-Nordid sense, where there's a correlation between fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. The fair skin of Scandinavians don't look as pale either, but it's mostly because of the blonder hair. I have seen Scandinavian girls who have dyed their hair very dark. They look as pale.

Originally Posted by Manji

Why disharmonic? Disharmonic in the sense that dark skin = dark hair /light skin = light hair?