Look up sexy in the dictionary and you'll find Helen Mirren. Her beauty, charisma and habit of getting her kit off in every movie she stars in have made Mirren one of the sexiest actresses in Britain. Despite having worked in film since the 1960s, she remains as attractive now as when prancing around naked in the Roman soft-core romp Caligula (1980). Having starred in The Long Good Friday (1981), Excalibur (1981), The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) and The Madness Of King George (1994), Mirren found a whole new audience in the TV show Prime Suspect. Her performance as the tough Supt. Jane Tennison made her every man's fantasy powerful woman.

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.

The sex symbol for the MTV generation, Johnny Knoxville came to the attention of the world performing gross-out stunts on the TV show Jackass. Never underestimate the attractiveness to the opposite sex of putting yourself in danger, especially if it involves a hit TV show that then gets made into a movie. Hollywood has since come calling and Knoxville has made the transition to movie star in films like Grand Theft Parsons (2003), Walking Tall (2004) and The Dukes Of Hazzard (2005). According to celebrity magazines, he's now considered sexy enough to turn the head of Jessica Simpson.

Sex is power, and Mel Gibson is one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. The ultra religious star of such films as Mad Max (1979), Lethal Weapon (1987) and Braveheart (1995) is famous for playing unhinged, but morally right, characters that use violence to solve their problems. Gibson's position as a Hollywood heavyweight was set in stone by his decision to pump $25m of his own money into The Passion Of The Christ (2004). The film was a mega hit in God fearing America, and is reported to have earned Gibson over $200m. Purchasing your own island, which Mel did in 2004, can make you very attractive.

A Hollywood sex symbol from the age in which the moustache was sexy, Burt Reynolds had intended to play American Football before injury forced him into an acting career. His performances on TV and in films made little impact until Reynolds starred in John Boorman's Deliverance (1972). The film, about a river-rafting trip from hell, made him a star. The secret of Reynold's success as a sex symbol, and movie star, was to play the bad boy. It also didn't hurt that he was Cosmopolitan Magazine's first ever nude centrefold star.

Zhang Ziyi came to the attention of the world in Ang Lee's martial arts extravaganza Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Her performance, as a sword-stealing temptress, also made us fancy her. Ziyi has gone on to be one of China's biggest stars, in movies like Hero (2002), 2046 (2004) and House Of Flying Daggers (2004). Her undoubted powers of seduction will be tested to the full in Hollywood's adaptation of Memoirs Of A Geisha (2005).

This Partridge Family TV show star was a heart throb for a whole generation of teenage girls. At the peak of the show's success David Cassidy was the highest paid entertainer on television and his fan club was bigger than Elvis Presley's. However, as with many young stars, Cassidy found it impossible to escape his on screen persona, no matter how hard he tried. Even posing naked for Rolling Stone magazine couldn't break the curse of The Partridge Family.

One of Hollywood's most popular romantic leads, Richard Gere famously was once confident enough in his sexual powers to display all in American Gigolo (1980). Less controversial roles in movies like An Officer And A Gentlemen (1982), Breathless (1983) and No Mercy (1986) established him as a genuine movie sex symbol. Don't forget that Gere can act as well, but only when required by a demanding role, as was demonstrated in Internal Affairs (1990). Gere also played one of the few romanticised curb crawlers, in the movie Pretty Woman (1990).

Jordan is a sex symbol in the same way that Barbie promotes a healthy body image to young girls. The British public really shouldn't find her attractive ? comedy boobs, bad make-up and shameless self promotion ? but they just don't seem to be able to help themselves. Marriage to camp Australian Peter Andre should have made her even less sexy, but somehow Jordon continues to shift calendars. She's no mysterious girl, but maybe that's exactly why we all love her so much, she's one of us made good.

Although a little too craggy today, Robert Redford was once one of the sexiest men on the planet. His youthful, all-American good looks caused a stir in women all around the world after his breakthrough film Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969) opened to acclaim. Since then, Redford has often starred in movies as the man who makes beautiful women want to have affairs, such as The Way We Were (1973), The Great Gatsby (1974) Out Of Africa (1985) and Havana (1990). He famously offered Demi Moore $1m to sleep with him in Indecent Proposal (1993), although we suspect he probably didn't need to.