I Do not think that elizabeth taylor was the most beautiful woman in the world, I think Lucille Ball was, in her younger years not many woman could compete with Lucy and even in her middle aged years she was still so beautiful, i wonder if desi ever knew how lucky he was to have a woman like that madly in love with him, even when they made her up as a common house wife in I Love Lucy she was still more beutiful than your common house wife of the time.

I Do not think that elizabeth taylor was the most beautiful woman in the world, I think Lucille Ball was, in her younger years not many woman could compete with Lucy and even in her middle aged years she was still so beautiful, i wonder if desi ever knew how lucky he was to have a woman like that madly in love with him, even when they made her up as a common house wife in I Love Lucy she was still more beutiful than your common house wife of the time.

Liz Taylor had bigger hooters than Lucy (though Lucy's weren't bad) and Liz was more than 20 years younger. Liz also opted for more glamorous parts that capitalized on her beauty. Lucy did that herself to some extent earlier in her career, but was more interested in doing comedy, even if it meant taking a pie in the face, which isn't exactly a sexy thing to do. But if you compare images of Liz when she was at her physical peak to Lucille Ball when she was at hers (and when Lucy wasn't making a goofy face, which wasn't all that often), I would have to say Lucille Ball had, overall, superior features to Liz's, at least facially. Her nose was perfect, her big blue eyes were gorgeous, she had beautiful cheekbones, and the contours of her face were like that of a goddess. But I think her great beauty gets overlooked because Lucille Ball used that expressive face to exhibit the myriad funny faces, which are what we tend to remember the most about her.

I choose Liz only because as a young child I thought she was beautiful. I didn't think it of Lucy. Now that I'm older Lucy is beautiful but I still have to pick Liz. Even if she was overweight. If I were a man I would've picked Liz.

The eye of the beholder . . .

More pics. You be the judge.

And one of Liz . . .

I still pick Liz. ;)

I still pick Liz. ;)

That's cool, but I'm going to stick with Lucy.

And a few more . . .

I would pick Lucy for sure! Her personality made her more beautiful.

Lucy for sure.

Here's an early color shot of Lucy (as a brunette), I have no idea when the pic was taken.

I pick LIZ......... Montgomery:)

Here's an early color shot of Lucy (as a brunette), I have no idea when the pic was taken.

Absolutely stunning woman, even as a brunette.

I once read in a special edition of LIFE Magazine that Lucy was born with the most perfect nose, eyes and lips. Perfect compared to any other celebrity of her time. She also had some of the best legs ever. According to LIFE, her face was perfect for the camera, moving and still camera. Very photogenic.

Funny though and a bit sad, I just can't see Lucy as "attractive" in the sense we are all talking. It feels very much like finding your mom attractive for some reason. Yuk.

Funny though and a bit sad, I just can't see Lucy as "attractive" in the sense we are all talking. It feels very much like finding your mom attractive for some reason. Yuk.

Wow, you must have one gorgeous mom! This is the first time I've ever heard someone they didn't think of Lucille Ball as attractive. That seems rather odd to me since, after all, it was her beauty that first launched her career. In the late 1920's, she began her career as a model in New York City for Hattie Carnegie, the hugely successful dress designer whose clients included movie stars and royalty. And later, Lucy's beauty was her ticket to Hollywood when she was brought out West to be a Goldwyn Girl. The primary qualification for being a Goldwyn Girl was to be stunningly beautiful. From there, her career in films grew in the '30s and early '40s, mostly in glamour parts. And during World War II, she even became a pin up model, like Betty Grable, for soldiers overseas. I think one of her biggest challenges later on was trying to make her gorgeous self look like a regular housewife on "I Love Lucy"

I've never thought of Lucy as overly attractive. Then again I have no knowledge of her past carrers, etc. My thoughts are from the I Love Lucy and my impressions are derived mostly from her slapstick nature. She looks "appealing" to me and not ugly but certainly no one to fantasize about...

I've never thought of Lucy as overly attractive. Then again I have no knowledge of her past carrers, etc. My thoughts are from the I Love Lucy and my impressions are derived mostly from her slapstick nature. She looks "appealing" to me and not ugly but certainly no one to fantasize about...

Okay, I understand where you're coming from. Lucille Ball's career spanned some sixty years, but her work in television completely overshadows everything else she did in that long career. And when we think of her, we tend to remember all the goofy expressions she made and outrageous costumes she wore, which were anything but sexy. And this is one thing that made her so unique. It's hard to think of any other performer who had been known for her beauty that had the courage to hide that beauty for the sake of a laugh, or even a tear. Years later, Lucy even allowed herself to be as unattractive as possible for the role of Florabelle, a bag lady, in "Stone Pillow." I can recall around that time the late Bette Davis remarking on why she wasn't acting in films as often as she'd like, derisively saying she kept being offered bag lady roles, implying such unglamorous roles were beneath her. And Bette Davis was certainly not unlike most actresses of a certain stature. But Lucille Ball didn't care. She saw what the role was, and understood the important message "Stone Pillow" was trying to convey, and went after it with complete professionalism. (I highly recommend this film, by the way. The script has its weaknesses, but overall, it accomplishes its purpose and Lucy delivers an amazing performance.) So although Lucy used her beauty to break into the acting profession, once there, her goal was to perform, not to be pretty.

People who followed Lucille Ball's career in motion pictures prior to "I Love Lucy" had to have been somewhat surprised by the direction it took once she moved to television. Up to that point, she was known for performing in light comedies, musical comedies, detective dramas, and a few heavy dramas. Along the way, she had taken an occasional pie in the face, but for the most part she was left to look pretty for the cameras and become MGM's "Technicolor Tessie" (though by 1950's "The Fuller Brush Girl" it was becoming clear that Lucy was destined to be a clown). But after having her career guided for years by these movie studios, who usually wanted to bank on her looks, with "I Love Lucy" and her (and Desi's) own Desilu Productions, she was able to perform doing what she wanted to do: make people laugh. And if that meant contorting her face to perform as a drunk, or go toothless as the Queen of the Gypsies, so be it. Her goal for many years had been to do comedy and make people laugh. So when finally given this chance to do all-out comedy, she went after it with complete gusto. And in the process, the country fell in love with her and pretty much forgot about her career before television. Before TV, she was known as a beautiful movie star; after TV, she was known as "that crazy redhead." And speaking of what this beautiful woman was willing to do to make people laugh, check out this PBS site: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/education/lesson13_overview.html They have actually used Lucille Ball for a lesson plan on how a beautiful woman can transform herself into a clown.

I think Lucille was very pretty, particulary in her younger days. Elizabeth Taylor, she was known for her beauty. To me, no contest...Elizabeth's beauty was breathtaking. All in the eye of the beholder, but I think most people would agree...maybe not on an I Love Lucy message board though.

It's hard to think of any other performer who had been known for her beauty that had the courage to hide that beauty for the sake of a laugh....

I totally agree that Lucy was beautiful and did this to the max. But there is another obvious example right in the world of fifties sitcoms: Audrey Meadows in the Honeymooners. A well-known anecdote says that she had to de-beautify herself to get the role of Alice in the first place.

I totally agree that Lucy was beautiful and did this to the max. But there is another obvious example right in the world of fifties sitcoms: Audrey Meadows in the Honeymooners. A well-known anecdote says that she had to de-beautify herself to get the role of Alice in the first place.

Yes, that's very true, excellent point... she had someone wake her up at like 3 in the morning, take pictures of her without makeup and send the pics to Gleason, who didn't recognize her (she'd already auditioned for the show)... when told it was Audrey, Gleason reportedly said words to the effect of 'any dame that would go that far to get a part, deserves it'...

Meadows was already well known as one of the most beautiful women in country by that time, and Gleason originally didn't want her to play Alice, because she was just TOO beautiful for that part.

And even though they sort of 'un-glamorized' Audrey for the show, she was still gorgeous.

I've always thought that, even though Alice thought their apartment was dingy and could use a lot of fixing up, it never appeared that way to Ralph...because every time he came home, Alice was there! :)

Audrey's older sister Jayne was gorgeous in those days as well...we used to watch her in reruns of the original "I've Got A Secret" as one of the panelists. Jayne was six years older than Audrey and, of course, I don't think she ever considered 'unglamorizing' herself. Jayne was married to Steve Allen from 1954 until his death in 2000.

I know its a toughy but lucy is just so heart wrenching. WOW what a knock out, and I believe the statement was when she was the same age as liz was.
Put those 2 togather in their 20s and lucy in my opinion wins it, but not bt alot

i think in there younger years they were both beautiful. I just can't choose. But I think Lucy aged more gracefully then Elizabeth has.

I grew up only knowing Lucy on her sitcoms. I have always thought she was pretty, but her overdone makeup and curly/frizzy hair styles detracted from her true beauty.

Elizabeth Taylor is a woman who is hard to take your eyes off of. The only time I didn't focus on her was when she played opposite Paul Newman in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Then I couldn't take my eyes off of him!

Lucy may win the votes as the most beautiful, but Liz wins for most sexy.

Lucy may win the votes as the most beautiful, but Liz wins for most sexy.

Okay, that I can agree with. Lucy had one of those clasically beautiful faces: perfect big blue eyes, perfect nose, perfect cheek bones. But Liz Taylor didn't. Liz's facial features, especially her eyes, were beautiful in an odd and exotic sort of way. But sexy? Yeah, I'll have to hand that to Liz. Though Lucille Ball doing that Hawaiian dance in "Dance, Girl, Dance" comes close.

There is no such thing as "the most beautiful woman in the world" because people would never agree on one person. I don't find Liz Taylor attractive at all. My pick for the most beautiful woman during her younger years is Lana Turner.

I agree with Tap Dancer.

But in my honest opinion I would say Vivian Vance was!!! To me, she was always prettier than Lucy. After all, I think most of us know why Lucy came up with that contract joke!! :) ;)


http://i16.tinypic.com/49b334k.jpghttp://i12.tinypic.com/2cfbihx.jpg

They were both beautiful ladies. Elizabeth had the dark exotic beauty while Lucy had the sparkling beauty.

Lucy is beautiful but Liz is stunning so i pick........LIZ

i think in there younger years they were both beautiful. I just can't choose. But I think Lucy aged more gracefully then Elizabeth has.
oh no elizabeth taylor in the last 10 years just started to age, even at her 75th bday party recently she looked beautiful,probally lucy aged quicker because of her smoking