It wasn't Sarah's blonde locks or girl-next door appeal that first made her a sex symbol, it was her ferocious butt-kicking in the title role of long-running TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Men quivered in delight as the petite actress defied the odds to slay vampires and demons twice her size. Yep, Sarah was jailbait for demons, and the viewing public lapped it up. More recently, Sarah has had big screen success in Cruel Intentions (1999) and Scooby-Doo (2002), also squeezing in a wedding to co-star Freddie Prinze Jr during that year.

Scarlett Johansson has the power to make grown men go weak at the knees. A blonde bombshell with acting talent to burn, she graduated from indie roles in films like Ghost World (2001) to international stardom in Lost In Translation (2003). As the object of Bill Murray's desire in Sofia Coppola's Japan set movie, Johansson seduced the world. The opening of the film, in which the camera lingers on her shapely behind, is one of the sexiest moments captured on film. Further roles as a seductress in Girl With A Pearl Earring (2003), In Good Company (2004) and Match Point (2005) have confirmed Johansson as a peerless sex symbol.

The writer of one of the sexiest songs in pop history, Serge Gainsbourg was an unlikely sex symbol himself despite being rather ugly he managed to seduce some of the world's most beautiful women. Although an iconic figure in France, Gainsbourg is best remember internationally for his Vatican scaring song Je t'aime Moi non plus in 1969. This erotic song, featuring the ecstatic moans of his then girlfriend Jane Birkin, reached the number one spot in countries around the world.

Sharon's career may have had its ups and downs, but her sex symbol status has remained steady since she first rose to fame in Total Recall (1990). A self-proclaimed feisty feminist, Sharon has courted controversy throughout her career, never more so than that infamous scene in Basic Instinct (1992) where she crossed and uncrossed her shapely legs, and then later claimed she felt pressured on set. Whatever the truth, it did wonders for Sharon's sex appeal.

Those trousers! That cheeky smirk! That glint in his eye! Yes, like him or not, Simon Cowell has the (se)x factor. As one of the most powerful people in the UK music industry, Simon has guided the careers of acts as varied as Westlife, Robson and Jerome, and the Teletubbies. His bulging bank account is definitely attractive, regardless of what you think of his dress sense. Simon's appeal is global, as he rakes in millions each year as a judge on American Idol.

This Mediterranean sex bomb is one of the most beautiful women to have ever graced the big screen. Best remembered as the voluptuous siren of many Italian sex comedies, Loren was also the first actor to win an Oscar for a performance entirely in a foreign language (for Two Women in 1961), proving she could also act as well. She starred in The Pride And The Passion (1957), El Cid (1961) and The Fall Of The Roman Empire (1964). Loren is famously once supposed to have said "sex appeal is 50% what you've got and 50% what people think you've got". Well, she had 100%.

One of the hottest actors of any generation, girls wanted to sleep with Steve McQueen and men wanted to be him. He specialised in playing the cool, brooding loner in roles like The Blob (1958), The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), Bullitt (1968) and The Thomas Crown Affair (1968); the latter features one of cinema's sexiest scenes in which McQueen plays a sensual game of chess with Faye Dunaway. He was top of Charles Manson's death list, was filmed by the FBI attending an orgy, and was taught martial arts by Bruce Lee.

It's hard to believe that a man who looks, and talks, more like an accountant than a footballer manager could be a sex symbol, but that is exactly what Sven has become. After guiding England to victory over Germany and the World Cup in 2002, Svens previously unknown ability as a womaniser hit the headlines after news leaked of an affair with presenter Ulrika Johnsson. Since then, his trousers down philosophy has got him into trouble time and time again. Like any true Don Juan however, Sven always gets away with it.