Top Ten Girlcrushes (of 2009/early 2010!)
OK, so I saw that a few people had been posting their top ten girlcrushes and I thought it would be a really fun idea! I had to go away and think about it for a while, but I eventually decided on who to include and why, as well as some runners-up :) I'd originally planned to post this like a month ago; however, the first time I tried to post it LJ deleted the whole thing and I decided to wait until LJ seemed less weird to try again. Then I had exams this month and only just got some free time. So here it is, finally!
I picked these girls/women not only because of their looks (although of course that was a large factor!) but also because of personalities and character since that is a huge draw for me.
Go under the cut to see who I picked!!
*the banners are all made by me and I'm a newbie at graphics (I used my vidding program to do them!) so they're not as good as I'd like them to be, but if you want to snag them anyway, feel free - just drop me a comment to let me know and please credit me!*
RUNNERS UP (in no particular order!)
Blake Lively
Jodie Foster
Portia de Rossi
Anna Kendrick
Kaya Scodelario
Lily Loveless
Dianna Agron
Ellen DeGeneres
Marisa Ramirez
Annabella Sciorra (she so nearly made the top ten! But my general love for her has been going for the last few years and I decided to include more women that I became aware of this year, or became a greater fan of)
AND THE TOP TEN!
10. Emma Watson
I love Emma a lot. Clearly. I've always liked her, but this year I've noticed her more and she's gone up really far in my esteem. At first, most of the attraction lay in how pretty she is, and how well she dresses, but as I watched more interviews I liked her personality more and more - she seems like such a bubbly, sweet girl, and she's humble too. She's never seemed to show off about the money she makes and she's not grown up to be a snobby, showy girl which I think is so great, given how long she's been in the spotlight. I'm impressed by how well she keeps her personal life out of the papers as much as possible, and I'm especially impressed and admiring of how she chose to pursue further education, because she's got enough money to never have to work again. Mostly, I love that she just seems like a regular, hardworking girl.
9. Leighton Meester
This time last year, I had no idea who Leighton was. I only really discovered her around September time, when I ficked on the TV and an episode of Gossip Girl was airing. I immediately thought she was gorgeous, and went off to look her up, and realised she was a great actress too - I don't really like the character of Blair that much (too manipulative for my liking) but Leighton seemed like such a lovely girl in all her interviews. I was excited when I first heard her music - usually I'm not very enthusiastic when actors try to release music or vice versa - but she was a good singer and seemed genuinely enthusiastic and lots of fun. Her music is just so much fun; Leighton doesn't seem to take herself too seriously, which I love, and seems to be doing it for the fun and the experience.
8. Marian Aguilera
It was late 2008 when I first came across Los Hombres de Paco, the Silvia/Pepa storyline and Marian herself. Although the Silvia/Pepa storyline was what first drew me in, I came to love Marian as an actress not only as Silvia but as the many other characters she's played, and in her interviews (despite the fact that I couldn't understand all of her Spanish) she was completely charming. Her vulnerability and yet strength and innate toughness, and of course, her beauty, was what kept me watching her. Not many actresses have the skill to make me as emotionally invested in a storyline as she did, and I was devastated when her character was killed off. Despite that, I appreciate that she wanted to do other things in order to keep variation in her career, and I'm going to keep following her and watching all the films or TV shows that she acts in.
7. Kathryn Prescott
Kathryn first appeared on my screen in the third series of Skins. I hadn't watched Seasons 1 or 2, because at the time it didn't seem like my type of show, and I didn't watch it until the Naomi/Emily storyline was splashed all over my friends list and one of my friends forced me to watch. It's safe to say that Kat's portrayal of Emily, her sweet beauty, and the Naomi/Emily storyline (although omg, it broke my heart last night) as a whole is what keeps me watching Skins, since none of the other major characters (apart from Effy and Katie) really hold my attention or make me like them that much. I mainlined the whole of the third season in one day and by the end I had a new crush. I went off to join as many comms as possible and find out everything I could about Kat. She seems like such a sweet girl who takes pride in what she does (I was especially pleased to read about her views on the fluidity of sexuality) and she acts maturely, yet still knows how to have fun. She has the right balance of work and play, and I love that.
6. Dakota Fanning
Dakota... I've more-or-less followed Dakota as an actress since she first started appearing in films (I Am Sam!) but it's only this year that I've noticed just what a gorgeous girl she's turned into. She's still only 15, but she projects this maturity that I think is rare among young Hollywood, and it's clear she takes her acting very seriously and wants to do the best work she can. I always really thought of her as a little girl, and then the promo pictures from The Runaways started appearing and it was like, 'WHOA'. I hadn't realised how much of a hot badass she'd become in such a short space of time! I started watching more of her interviews and was completely in awe of her attractiveness and also of the in-depth comments she made on her characters. More actresses need to be like Dakota.
5. Taylor Swift
Considering the ~controversy that was the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, I realise that Taylor might not be the most popular choice on this list. Nevertheless, despite all that fuss and bother, I love her and will keep being a fan of her. I think she's a gorgeous, incredibly talented young woman (people forget that she writes pretty much all her own songs, and that is so rare in the music industry these days, particularly among the younger, more pop-based crowd) and I think she deserves all the successes that this year brought her. Whenever I listen to her music I always feel a real connection; everything she writes about is real and true and relatable, and I feel that it's so special that she chooses to share her own life experiences with her fanbase. I've seen her interviews and she is a completely sweet, bubbly girl but she can handle herself with maturity too (I was so impressed by her response to the Kanye/VMA thing last year) and she doesn't seem to have changed at all despite the huge success she's experienced. The thing I love most about her is her enthusiasm for communicating with her fanbase (see her YouTube channel).
4. Kathryn Erbe
I've been a fan of the lovely KE for a couple years now, but my love and admiration for her grew exponentially this year (and this love has increased still since Unofficially Kathryn was set up, and I started kathryn_daily). I've known she was a great actress and gorgeous to boot since I started watching Law and Order: Criminal Intent, but this summer she started doing charity work with American Muttigrees Club, and I have a soft spot for anyone who likes animals! I was especially pleased to see that she volunteered for a charity that was already established (and yet does not have a huge amount of awareness) instead of starting her own or getting involved with a much bigger charity that already has lots of celebrity support. I love that she supported the ethos of the charity by adopting a mutt of her own, Lilah, and she just seems like such a caring, big-hearted woman who loves her family dearly. Although she will be leaving CI soon, I'll keep following her down whatever career path she chooses.
3. Cheryl Cole
Cheryl! Truly, I don't think photographs do this woman justice, I really don't. She's that gorgeous, it needs to be seen in film! I've been aware of Cheryl since 2002 when she first auditioned for Popstars: The Rivals and thought she was a sweetheart and really quite pretty, but apart from her music with Girls Aloud she more or less fell off my radar, which was why it was such a huge surprise when she turned up as a judge on The X Factor (yes, I watch quite a lot of crap TV!) and she was so unbelievably stunning. My mouth was hanging open and it's still a bit of a surprise when I see her on TV because it seems impossible for someone to be that beautiful (although she does have questionable fashion sense at times!). As well as her beauty, I love that she seems like such a sweet, caring person - she really gets invested in the acts she promotes on The X Factor and seems to genuinely care about all of them, which is really good to see on a reality TV show. The only thing that bemuses me about Cheryl is her taste in men, because quite honestly, I think her husband Ashley is a cheating jerk. But. I appreciate and respect that despite all that, she's stayed by him and seems determined to make the marriage work. I'm impressed!
2. Vanessa Hudgens
Van!! I've loved Van since 2006, when the first High School Musical came out. She was pretty much the main reason I liked the film so much (although the music/choreography was pretty awesome too!) and the reason why I watched both sequels. I bought both her albums and enjoy both of them (although it does depress me that Hollywood Records didn't do more to promote her albums and focused instead on certain other artists - she deserved better than that). I'm so excited to see that she's developing her film career and taking on a variety of different roles (I seriously cannot wait to see Sucker Punch, it sounds like it's going to be amazing!). Like most HSM fans, I became completely invested in Van's relationship with Zac Efron and they are my favourite real-life pairing. She is so gorgeous anyway, but when she's with Zac or around Zac her face just lights up completely and it's like magic. She smiles with her lips and her eyes and her whole body and just looks so completely happy to be alive - and this is so so wonderful to see and a great example, I think. One thing I love about her is her completely crazy variety of facial expressions ( this post at cupcakemarriage pretty much evidences everything I love about Vanessa and the Efrons in general). The new set of candids in the post are, I think my very favourite yet, and definitely my favourite set from all the games they've been to. The 17 Again premiere, I think is my favourite ~public appearance because her face is incredible and she just looks so happy! In addition to all this, she has such a lovely, genuine personality that I just can't help but adore her!
1. Kristen Stewart
Kristennnn! I love this girl so much it's actually a bit ridiculous (except not, it's awesome). I've more-or-less followed her or been aware of her for a few years, but this year I became a full-blown fan. Most people associate her purely with Twilight, but that film is definitely not a true measure of her talent. I first saw her incredibly moving performance in Speak, which is one of my favourite films ever, I think. A lot of people judge her based on Twilight, but in my opinion she's one of the best actresses in Hollywood today - she has the ability to make me feel every single emotion that she's feeling and, hell, Jodie Foster says Kristen is one of her favourite actresses, and that says it all really! I am so excited and thrilled that she's branched out so much in her choices of films - I am desperate to see The Runaways and Welcome To The Rileys and from what I've seen she's fantastic in both. If her ability as an actress wasn't enough to make me love her, her bitchface definitely would! I think she's completely beautiful, but I love that she doesn't seem to make a fuss over her looks as many actresses seem to do (one of my favourite outfits of hers is still the one where she wore Converse with her dress!), and yet she's still naturally beautiful. She, like Dakota, places a huge amount of importance in her acting and although many people think the way she stutters when trying to formulate a thought is annoying, I find it adorable and rather endearing - it shows just how much she wants to do justice to her characters and films and everything she has said is very insightful.
In essence: Kristen in HBIC, she is totally badass and awesome, and she's going to be winning a lot of big awards some day. I can't wait to see what other films she works on, because I think that in all of them she will be fantastic. And gorgeous.
That's it! That's my top girlcrushes. I'd love if you could comment with your thoughts and opinions, just be aware that there is to be absolutely no bashing of any of them - if you do your comments will be deleted. I'd also love to know who you find attractive too - sharing is love!
Hope you enjoyed!!
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