Best-Looking Celebrity Babes of the 80s

(Dude, was she singing to Darth Vader in that video?)

Susanna Hoffs

Susanna Hoffs was the petite brunette lead singer of girl-group The Bangles. I loved her big head of hair, heavily lined eyes, and sweet smile; she had the girly/sexy thing down pat. Fun fact: Prince thought she was awesome and wrote mega-hit “Manic Monday” for her. Check out The Bangles’ video, “Going Down to Liverpool” - that’s family friend Leonard Nimoy driving the limo! “In Your Room”, and “Eternal Flame” were huge hits for The Bangles, but my favorite is “Walk Like an Egyptian.” Check out the eye shift that Susannah does around 2:38 – I thought she was SO pretty here. I, uh, may or may not have practiced that move in the mirror at home. Repeatedly.

Number Four:

Glynis Barber

LT80s fans in the United Kingdom were nuts about Glynis in the eighties. The blond bombshell’s big break came with the sci-fi TV show, “Blake’s 7,” in 1981. In 1982, Glynis had the title role in the TV show, “Jane.” She portrayed a sexy WWII heroine in the show, which featured cutting-edge cartoon-infused camera work. She’s best known, however, for her work as Harriet Makepeace in the British cop drama “Dempsey and Makepeace.” Glynis went on to act in various television shows, including “Night and Day,” “Eastenders,” and “Emmerdale,” as well as doing stage work and big screen roles.

Deborah Harry		Susanna Hoffs		Glynis Barber		Molly Ringwald		Olivia Newton-John

Number Three: A FIVE-WAY TIE!!

Molly Ringwald

Molly Ringwald made us all want to be redheads in the eighties. A muse of John Hughes and charter member of the Brat Pack (she starred in films such as “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “The Pick-up Artist”) Molly’s small screen career began with a stint on “Diff’rent Strokes.” She played Molly Parker on “Facts of Life” and sang on two Disney albums before 1984’s “Sixteen Candles” catapulted her to stardom. In the past few decades, Molly has acted in scads of movies and TV shows, but for many of us, it’s the 1980s Molly that we know and love best. Here’s Molly as awkward, angstful, adorable Samantha Baker in “Sixteen Candles”:

Olivia Newton-John

Young Olivia’s family moved from England to Australia when she was six years old. There, the radiant blonde sang with friends and, as a teenager, because a regular on Australian TV and radio shows. After moving back to England as a young adult, she released her first solo album in 1971 and became a genuine pop sensation. She crossed barriers with pop-country hits such as “Let Me Be There,” and made a splash in film with 1978’s “Grease.” “Two of a Kind” and “Xanadu” weren’t quite as successful as “Grease,” but Olivia’s musical career more than made up that. Her most successful album, 1981’s “Physical,” was followed up by double platinum “Olivia’s Greatest Hits Volume 2.” Sometimes she was good-girl bobby-soxed Sandy, and sometimes she was bad-girl tight-leather Sandy, but Olivia was always so lovely. Here she is in her biggest hit to date:

Want more Olivia? Check out 10 Things You Might Not Know About Olivia Newton-John.

Paula Abdul

Laker girl was discovered by the Jacksons in the early 80s. They hired her to choreograph the video for their song “Torture.” It was all uphill from there for the athletic and curvy dancer, who choreographed music videos and dance sequences in hit movies and TV shows. In 1988, Paula released her first album – “Forever Your Girl” – and we LOVED her playful dance music. “Straight Up”, “Forever Your Girl”, and “Opposites Attract” huge hits for Paula, who went on to a fab career on the charts and on TV shows such as “American Idol.” Here’s my personal fave Paula Abdul song, “Cold Hearted Snake”:

Brooke Shields

Undeniably gorgeous, Brooke Shields has been a noted beauty her entire life. Her first acting role, at age 11, was in the 1976 movie “Alice, Sweet Alice” (also released as “Communion” and “Holy Terror.”) In 1978, Brooke portrayed a child prostitute in Louis Malle’s scandalous film “Pretty Baby.” She was a child model, too; at age 14, she was the youngest model to ever appear on the cover of “Vogue” magazine. Like “Pretty Baby,” her movies “The Blue Lagoon” and “Endless Love” were subject to some underage-sexiness scandal. Brooke Shields went on to a fabulous career on stage and screen, including TV shows “Suddenly Susan” and “Lipstick Jungle.” Here’s a teenage Brooke in one of her racy commercials for Calvin Klein Jeans:

Paula Abdul		Brooke Shields		Samantha Fox		Phoebe Cates		Madonna

Samantha Fox

Another British babe rounds out our number three 80s hotties: Samantha Fox. In 1983, her career began as a Page Three Girl (read: topless model) in “The Sun” at age sixteen. She also modeled for various British men’s magazines and was a UK Penthouse Pet. Samantha released her debut single “Touch Me (I Want Your Body)” in 1986, and it became a #1 hit in seventeen countries. Samantha acted as a child and formed her first band at age 14; since the success of “Touch Me,” Samantha has gone on to more modeling jobs, multiple albums, and television appearances. And yes, she’s still gorgeous.