Robbie's sex symbol status has more to do with his cheeky chappy persona than his tattooed torso, though that probably doesn't hurt. The charismatic crooner effortlessly wins over ladies and lads alike ? an amazing stage presence, mixed with a tortured soul and Rob's inability to find love, leave fans swooning. Nothing left to do then but prance around in some underwear with a tiger motif on the front, and Robbie's sex symbol status is assured.

Women find Colin Farrell's bad boy persona impossible to resist (especially women in Hollywood it seems). Hailing from Dublin, Farrell's early role on British TV in Ballykissangel (1996) gave us no idea of what was to come. Plucked from nowhere by Joel Schumacher to star as a Texan G.I. in Tigerland (2000), Farrell's performance caused a stir in Hollywood. Roles in Minority Report (2002), S.W.A.T. (2003) and Alexander (2004) have demonstrated that he is an actor of genuine talent. Farrell's hard-drinking fast-living lifestyle harks back to the age of Richard Burton and Oliver Reed, and Hollywood is all the sexier for it.

Possibly the sexiest rock-chick ever, Debbie Harry had worked as a Playboy Bunny and sang in a band called Wind In The Willows before she met Chris Stein in 1973. The two fell in love and created the band Blondie, which would go on to become one of the most successful bands of the 70s and 80s. Her wild lifestyle, seductive vocals, crazy personality and impossible blonde beauty made her the ultimate front woman and the fantasy of fans across the world. Still sexy.

Peter Jackson's The Lord Of The Rings trilogy turned Orlando Bloom into an overnight star. The film's younger female fans fell madly in love with Legolas, an elf with flowing blonde hair and androgynous looks ? although it must be noted that Viggo Mortensen gave him a run for his money. Rather than fade away, Orlando has gone on to become one of the most sought after actors in Hollywood and has starred in Pirate Of The Caribbean (2003), Troy (2004) and Kingdom Of Heaven (2005). His matinee idol good looks throw females everywhere into mass hysteria.

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.

Uma is an unconventional beauty. She may be blond blue-eyed and statuesque but she also has an ethereal quality and a self-proclaimed 'unusual face' which only add to her universal appeal. But Uma still knows how to do sexy vamping it up on the dancefloor with John Travolta in Pulp Fiction (1994) and kicking butt as a murderess bride in Kill Bill (2003). But her latest starring role as Swedish bombshell Ulla in the big screen remake of The Producers could be her sexiest yet.

The thinking lady's crumpet, Alan Rickman started the Hollywood trend of using Englishmen when supreme villainy was required in a blockbuster. He stole the show from Bruce Willis, as the despicably charming Hans Gruber, in Die Hard (1988) and was far sexier than the mullet haired Kevin Costner in Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves (1991). The secret of Rickman's charm lies in his voice. Is it just us, or was Marvin the robot actually sexy in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy?

Forget the woman that Michael Jackson wants to look like, at the peak of her stardom, Elizabeth Taylor was one of the sexiest people ever to have walked the Earth. Her striking beauty wowed Hollywood, and the world, in such films as Giant (1956), Raintree County (1957), Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958), Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) and Butterfield 8 (1960). Taylor was paid a colossal $1m in 1963 to star in Cleopatra, where she met husband number five Richard Burton. Their stormy romance steamed up tabloid papers across the globe.

Considered by many as the ultimate sex symbol, Madge's sexiness spans three decades. And at 47, some say she's looking better than ever ? check out her recent 'Hung Up' video, where she prances about in a pink leotard, for proof. From her 1980s obsession with crucifixes and lace, to the pointy bras and platinum hair extensions of the 1990s, Madonna oozes sex, never more blatantly than with the release of her 'Sex' book in 1992. She's also squeezed in a few film roles, most notably Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and Evita (1996), for which she won a Golden Globe. Not only that, but now she's a Brit!

One of the finest actors America ever produced, Marlon Brando was a powerful sex symbol. Forget the incredibly large man we knew towards the end of his life, Brando in A Street Car Named Desire (1951), Julius Caesar (1953), The Wild One (1953) and On The Waterfront (1954) was the sexiest thing the screen had ever seen. His acting revolutionised Hollywood, without Brando there would be no James Dean, Paul Newman or Robert De Niro. He also remained a potent force well into middle age, as his towering performance in the explicit Last Tango In Paris (1972) demonstrates.