Beauty in the eye of the beholder

Last week, I have listed the men who are my personal favourites. Now I shall unveil LOL8's, my top 10 personal favourites of the women I love.

I don't know why, for women, I do not go purely for looks. I'm stricter because there are just too many many many with the beauty but what about brains? Besides looks (which not necessarily must be stunning), they had to have a certain X factor, a certain charisma, a certain special something that is attractive, that makes them a star. I have come across many beautiful ladies in real life whom are attractive plus the X-factor. It is not nice for me to dig out all the women I know personally for this posting, so I will pick only the higher profile celebrities whom everyone know. And it's not the usual suspects of dumb blondes (aka Paris Hiltons of the worlds) or sweet young things (aka Jolin Tsais of the world).

1. Tang Na 堂娜
She is the only idol I would admit to. Those who are close to me knows she is my idol, and not many people know who she is. Nana is a China-born actress/singer known in Taiwan. I noticed Nana when she was acting in the early days, her acting was superb. Her singing was what impressed me. Mostly sob songs, she has a powerful voice with hits like 別戀 and 退路. I will never forget her concert when she belted out my favourite song 庆幸 and she cried. After a serious car accident when she was 27, she turned to yoga to recuperate. She is in her early 40s now and is a yoga instructor, with DVDs, books, fashionwear line and she owns a cafe. She is a brave woman, a very quiet person who talks calmly. I would consider her a Sophisticated Beauty. The accident affected her deeply, she said: "痛,提醒我还活着", to which I would like to add.... life is pain and suffering, but at least we have a precious human life.

2. Lee Young Ae 李英爱
LYA is a South Korean actress who is very well known in Southeast Asia, Middle East and Europe and her fan base easily numbers hundreds of millions. Known as the 'Oxygen Lady' because of her beauty (no cosmetic surgery at all), her popularity grew by leaps and bounds due to her performance in the incredibly successful Korean drama Dae Jang Geum (Jewel In The Palace). She has been a great ambassador of many titles (including Goodwill Ambassador in 2004 by UNICEF) as well as been involved in numerous charity events. She personally made many donations to schools and hospitals. She has earned a number of Best Actress awards. I love LYA not because of her popularity, but because of her thoughts in her autobiography and books. And I just love to hear her speak. She is very patient and calm and speaks ever so gently (unlike younger bitchy loud-mouthed actresses) and she is very shy off-screen. Now 38, she has a Masters in Theatre & Film and is multi-lingual in many languages. I would consider her a very Dignified Beauty.

3. Chen Xiu Wen 陈秀雯
She is a veteran Hong Kong actress. Although she may not be a stunning beauty, I remember her good acting skills when I was a kid watching HK serial 浮生六劫 starring her, and the late Leslie Cheung, Yue Hua and Alex Man. I feel the younger HK actresses nowadays are so over-rated. Actresses like Chen Xiu Wen in the older days were so different. They just concentrated on acting and often portrays her girl-next-door roles convincingly. I would consider her a Demure Beauty.

4. Princess Diana
Everyone knows her. I liked her ever since her fairy tale wedding to Prince Charles and even more when I saw her pictures with Baby William (she loved her boys dearly). Princess Di has done a great job in community work, a great humanitarian involved in several charity projects. Although she was the People's Princess and had high-profile fame as Her Royal Highness, it was a pity her personal life was so ill fated. I always remember her downcast, seductive yet sad eyes, I often wonder, exactly how happy she was after her divorce. I would call her an Enigmatic Beauty.

5. Jeon Do-yeon
She is another highly-acclaimed South Korean actress who has won many awards including best actress at Cannes Film Festival in 2007. She is most famous for her extraordinary portrayal of a broken woman who has lost everything in the movie, Secret Sunshine, which I watched. Not exactly a true-blue beauty (she has small eyes), what captured my attention was her smiles. She was so bright and cheery which made her nose and eyes crinkled whenever she smiled. Even her smiles were mentioned in the Korean drama, Lovers In Prague. She is truly a Sunshine Beauty. She is 38, married, and just gave birth to a daughter this year.

6. Aung San Suu Kyi
Although I am not familiar with the political life of this Prime Minister Elect of Burma, she is a high profile lady who has fought hard for democracy for her country. She was a Nobel Prize winner in 1991. To this day, Myanmar's military junta has placed her under house arrest for about 14 years on and off. It is rare to see such resilience in this petite and pretty lady. She is an outstanding example of the "power of the powerless". She is truly a Heroic Beauty.

7. Jaclyn Smith
My all-time favourite American actress, she was one of the original Charlie's Angels. To me she was a moving model among the complex faces in Hollywood. A number of style mavens and magazine polls have attested to Smith's popularity and declared her one of the most beautiful women in the world. I remember watching her in Charlie's Angels when I was very young and has remembered her since for being such a stunning beautiful lady. In my eyes, no American actress has replaced her so far. She is truly an Elegant Beauty.

8. Angelica Lee 李心洁

Discovered by Taiwan's director-actress-singer Sylvia Zhang Ai Jie, Angelica is a Malaysian who is based in Taiwan. She started out as a singer. She did not make an impression as a singer to me. However at that time, I saw in her a certain star quality which I thought would be better if she went into acting. Indeed, she was a natural when she acted. Angelica starred in The Eye, the hit Asian horror film, winning her the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress, Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Festival and a Hong Kong Golden Bauhinia Award. She is among the very few Asian artists to be awarded as Berlin Film Festival Best Newcomer Awards in 2004 for her role in Betelnut Beauty. In her early 30s, this star has a long way to go. She is definitely a Pleasant Beauty.

9. Faye Wong 王菲
Many would know this Queen of Pop. Faye is a Chinese singer, songwriter, actress and model. She is an icon popular in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and to some extent in the West. I do not find Faye a natural beauty and I didn't like her much when she was younger. However with the birth of her second daughter (born with a cleft lip), she has spent recent years taking care of her, as well as setting up charity events to help the unfortunate. She has also gone spiritual, learning the Dharma from her guru, Lama Zopa Rinpoche (who is also my guru). She seemed happier being married to Li Ya Peng compared to her previous marriage. I love her one song 红豆 alot. Awaiting her comeback. I would call her the really Aloof Beauty.

10. Natassja Kinski

I bet nobody in their 20s or younger even know Natassja Kinski. She is a German model, then actress in the 1970s, who has appeared in more than 60 international movies. Natassja speaks German, French, English, Italian and Russian fluently. Now 48, she is a vegetarian and suffers from mild narcolepsy. I think I saw one of her earlier movies when I was a kid. She was simply ravishing, very sexy and high-spirited. Her sex appeal was very raw, with seductive eyes and pouty lips. I would call her the Sexy Beauty.

It is weird to note that, many of these ladies I notice, when they were much younger, they did not look as good or attractive compared to their current looks (even though they may have aged). In fact, they look better and better as they age. Maybe it is because of the wisdom and experience they gained, a more laid back attitude as one gets older, more at ease with themselves as well as to those around them. I guess, that is what makes them more beautiful?