TOP 50 list of the hottest women of the world, April '98 ======================================================== (Numbers within parenthesis indicates last months positions) 1 (7) Helen Hunt, actress, USA 2 (2) Kim Basinger, actress, USA 3 (1) Kate Winslet, actress, UK 4 (40) Madonna, singer/actress, USA 5 (8) Celine Dion, singer, Canada 6 (3) Sarah Michelle Geller, actress, USA 7 (9) Mariah Carey, musician, USA 8 (4) Jennifer Lopez, actress, USA 9 (5) Gillian Anderson, actress, USA 10 (6) Calista Flockhart, actress, USA 11 (-) Heather Graham, actress, USA 12 (12) Melissa Joan Hart, actress, USA 13 (11) Salma Hayek, actress, Mexico 14 (26) Nicole Appleton, singer, Canada 15 (24) Pam Grier, actress, USA 16 (13) Courteney Cox, actress, USA 17 (27) Sharon Stone, actress, USA 18 (10) Neve Campbell, actress, Canada 19 (16) Janet Jackson, musician/actress, USA 20 (30) Angelina Jolie, actress, USA 21 (18) Charlize Theron, actress/model, South Africa 22 (14) Jada Pinkett, actress, USA 23 (21) Gwyneth Paltrow, actress, USA 24 (25) Jennifer Aniston, actress, USA 25 (17) Martina Hingis, tennis player, Switzerland 26 (22) Lisa Kudrow, actress, USA 27 (15) Michelle Yeoh, actress/stunt woman, Malaysia 28 (29) Ashley Judd, actress, USA 29 (20) Jennifer Love Hewitt, actress/singer, USA 30 (41) Natalie Imbruglia, actress/singer, Australia 31 (42) Mira Sorvino, actress, USA 32 (19) Fiona Apple, musician, USA 33 (28) Demi Moore, actress, USA 34 (-) Anne Heche, actress, USA 35 (47) Inés Sastre, model/actress, Spain 36 (38) Laetitia Casta, model, France 37 (Re) Eva Herzigova, supermodel, Czech Republic 38 (32) Claire Danes, actress, USA 39 (34) Georgina Grenville, model, South Africa 40 (-) Emily Watson, actress, UK 41 (23) Courtney Love, singer/musician/actress, USA 42 (37) Alicia Silverstone, actress/model, USA 43 (31) Victoria Addams, singer, UK 44 (33) Jewel, musician, USA 45 (43) Natalie Portman, actress, Israel 46 (35) Teri Hatcher, actress, USA 47 (Re) Minnie Driver, actress, UK 48 (39) Gwen Stefani, singer, USA 49 (36) Geri Halliwell, singer, UK 50 (46) Jenny McCarthy, actress/model, USA Bye to: Emma Lee Bunton, singer, UK Milla Jovovich, actress, Ukraine Liv Tyler, actress/model, USA Pamela Anderson, actress/model, Canada Nicole Kidman, actress, Australia The list is as usual based on qualities such as beauty, sex appeal, charisma, intelligence, recent efforts and charm. Although it may not seem so, THE LIST IS BASED ON A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE OF THINGS. Newcomers in this months chart: - Heather Graham has been around for a while, but she hasn't really been noticed by most of us until lately, when she all of a sudden seem to be everywhere. She was one of the "Scream 2" girls and she also starred as Rollergirl in Hollywood's latest flirt with the Adult Film Industry, "Boogie Nights". Although it is not polite to talk about a woman's age, it is hard not to comment on the fact that although Heather turned 28 a couple of months ago, she still can look like she's in her late teens or early twenties when she wants to. Next up, she will be "Lost in Space" in a movie about to be released in the beginning of April, in which she stars towards to favorites of mine, "Party of Five's" Lacey Chabert and the classy beauty (and once girlfriend of Tom Cruise) Mimi Rogers. - It looks like Minnie Driver finally will become a star, but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Minnie, who has done some brilliant acting in films such as "Circle of Friends", "Sleepers" and "Grosse Pointe Black" now risks to be most famous for her dramatic breakup with Matt Damon, who she starred against in "Good Will Hunting". Minnie got dumped by Matt on national TV, when Matt to Minnie's surprise announced on "Oprah" that he was single. That was kind of a surprise for Minnie, who thought they still were an item. Matt is now dating Winona Ryder, while Minnie tries to recover by working hard with several new movies. Plus, she is a new entry on this list and actually not because of this real life drama, but because she is a great actress... - There's more to Anne Heche than being Ellen DeGeneres' girlfriend. On the other hand, very few people knew who she was before she was publicly linked to Ellen, so that was not a bad move for her, from a career point of view. Anne co-starred against Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman in "Wag the dog", the satire about an American president trying to cover up his sex affairs by starting a war (now that would never happen right...?). You will also be able to see her soon in "Six days, seven nights", a movie in which she stars against Harrison Ford. Anne is playing in the big league now... - Once in a while, I choose to promote an actress who may not get that much attention, but still is brilliant. Emily Waters certainly fit in that category, although she did get some attention when she was nominated for an Oscar as best actress for "Breaking the Waves" a year ago and actually won the price as best actress at the European Film Awards, the year before. Recently, she could be seen in "The Boxer", a movie about Northern Ireland. The acting she did in that movie was truly worth an Oscar, but she was never nominated for it. When all is said and done, that really doesn't matter though. I'm sure she'll continue to do great movies and that is what really matters. - The era of the supermodels is definitely over by now, but many of the models who became world famous in the late 80s and the beginning of the 90s are still very popular. Cindy and Claudia still makes tons of money each year, Naomi and Kate are still found in the gossip columns and Stephanie and Nikki both have made strong comebacks as models after having some babies. A model who have been popular throughout the years and who have continued to mainly be a model is Eva Herzigova. Eva is still a very popular model and was featured in this year's Swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated, as well as the Pirelli Calendar. Keep up the good work, Eva! Movers: - Well, traditionally speaking the April list each year tend to be very influenced by the Academy Awards ceremony that takes place about a week before the list is released and this year is no exception. Therefore, we have a new number one, the Oscar winning Helen Hunt who grabbed this year's best leading actress award. Helen was nominated alongside four British actresses and some say that the fact that she was the only American nominated was what really gave her the Oscar. I would have to disagree. Although Kate Winslet was my favorite, Helen definitely deserved her Oscar. As a bonus, she singed up for another season of "Mad about you", for which she will earn about a million dollars per episode. Not bad, but probably a fair deal, considering that the "Seinfeld" show will end soon, something which will lead to stiff competition about who will manage to make the new number one sitcom. - Congratulations to Kim Basinger who received an Oscar in the category "best supporting actress". Kim surely deserved that one... - Nicole Appleton, one of four members in British girl group All Saints, is now dating Brad Pitt. The speed with which she seem to swap boyfriends is remarkable, last month she was still seeing the former Take That member Robbie Williams. Now, if Nicole has any sense at all, she'll stick to the most popular bachelor in the world for a while... - Sharon Stone has shown an interest in signing up for the sequel to "Basic Instinct", at the moment given the imaginative title "Basic Instinct II". That should be good news for anyone who enjoyed her performance as the stone cold (bad joke) Catherine Tramell. Sharon read the script and thought it was brilliant, so I guess that it now only is a question of money. Sound like the kind of role that would give Sharon her largest acting fee ever. Almost made it into the list (we'll see next month): - Jennie Garth, who plays Kelly in Beverly Hills 90210. - Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, yet another beauty from the same show (but about to leave it). - Joey Lauren Adams, yet another American actress who is doing well. - Katie Holmes, who can be seen in "Dawson's Creek". - Claire Forlani, perhaps most well-known as one of the "Mallrats". - Rachael Stewert, TV host of Black Entertainment Television's "Planet Groove" and "Caribbean Rhythms". - Kari Wuhrer, the princess of B-movies in the 90s. - Gabrielle Reece, model and sports woman. - Jenna Elfman, the star of the new ABC sitcom "Dharma & Greg". - Kellie Martin, teen star now pursuing an academic career(?). - Geena Davis, combining brains with beauty can never be a bad thing... Comments, nominations, etc. are as always welcome. Just remember that a nomination such as "Ms. x should be in because of her big hooters" hardly will be taken seriously. Until next month, / Mauvaise Honte