Elvis Presley
celebrity,Elvis Presley,celebrity men
elvis presley
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the birth of Elvis Presley, the undisputed king of rock ‘n\' roll (he is still the best-selling solo artist in the history of pop music, 33 years after his death). He was music\'s first sex symbol - he had the voice, the looks, the orgasmic gyrations - and caused lust-induced hysteria among the world\'s teenage girls. The guy sure had it. After 24 years at the top, the actor and musician\'s life was cut short when he died of a heart attack in August 1977 at home in Memphis, Tennessee, aged 42. Here we round up our 10 favourite heart-throbs who were also cut down in their prime.
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Picture: Elvis Presley strums an acoustic guitar in a portrait photograph from 1956.
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Don\'t miss the women who influenced Elvis Presley\'s life
Heath Ledger
celebrity,celebrity news,heath ledger
heath ledger
The young Australian actor became a teen favourite after appearing in romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You. He cemented his heart-throb status playing a medieval hunk in A Knight\'s Tale and romancing a series of Hollywood beauties, before taking on quirkier and darker roles - see his Oscar-winning performance as The Dark Knight\'s Joker - which played down his looks. We still loved him anyway. He died of an accidental drug overdose in New York in 2008, aged 28.
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Picture: Heath Ledger pictured in 2005 at screening of Casanova in New York.
River Phoenix
celebrity,celebrity news,river phoenix
river phoenix
Posters of the late \'80s/early \'90s heart-throb adorned many a teenage girl\'s bedroom (yes, including ours), thanks to his captivating mix of matinee idol looks, self-assured swagger and grungy, couldn\'t-give-a-damn style. The cute kid in Stand By Me became a cool, handsome star in My Own Private Idaho and Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. The guitar-playing, songwriting actor had it all. Sadly, he never realised his full potential when, aged 23, he died of a drug overdose on Halloween in 1993 outside the Los Angeles nightclub, The Viper Room.
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Picture: The actor poses for a portrait session in 1988.
James Dean
celebrity,celebrity news,james dean
james dean
The original rebel without a cause made many a heart flutter with his brooding bad boy looks, rugged sexiness and the misunderstood, mysterious persona he portrayed on screen. He had the lot.
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In 1955, the 24-year-old movie star\'s Porsche Spyder crashed head-on with another vehicle in California and he was killed instantly. Despite starring in just three films he remains one of cinema\'s most handsome and iconic stars.
Michael Hutchence
celebrity,celebrity news,Michael Hutchence
michael hutchence
A rock god that just oozed sex appeal, Hutchence lived the hedonistic lifestyle of sex, drugs and rock ‘n\' roll. The ladykilling, supermodel-dating INXS frontman had dalliances with Kylie, Helena Christensen, Paula Yates, Elle Macpherson and Belinda Carlisle, to name a few, proving that most women can\'t resist a good looking rock star. He was found hanging in a Sydney hotel room in 1997 after allegedly experimenting with autoerotic asphyxiation, having consumed alcohol, cocaine and prescription drugs. Mystery still surrounds his death.
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Picture: On stage with INXS at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
John F Kennedy
celebrity,celebrity news,John F Kennedy
john f kennedy
Even presidents aren\'t immune to heart-throb status. John F Kennedy had classic all-American good looks, class, style and he just so happened to be the most powerful man in the world at the time, even bedding Hollywood golden girl Marilyn Monroe in the process. America\'s most popular president was assassinated in Texas in 1963 aged 46.
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Picture: John F Kennedy pictured in 1954.
Jimi Hendrix
celebrity,celebrity news,Jimi Hendrix
jimi hendrix
Often lauded as the best electric guitarist ever, Jimi Hendrix had sex appeal by the bucketload. The Seattle-born musician combined sexy lyrics, acrobatic stage moves (including playing the guitar with his teeth and behind his back) with bad boy attitude. Sexy as hell. The legendary performer died in London in 1970 after choking on his own vomit. He was 27.
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Picture: Jimi Hendrix performing onstage at the Civic Auditorium in Bakersfield, California in 1968.
John Lennon
celebrity,celebrity news,John Lennon
john lennon
As one of the world\'s most iconic singer songwriters, the Beatles guitarist and peace activist was used to being greeted by frenzied groups of screaming, hyperventilating girls as \"Beatlemania\" swept the world. As the Liverpudlian group\'s popularity grew, more and more hordes of fans lusted after the band, with police resorting to using high pressure water hoses to control the crowds, in hysteria that has rarely been seen on this scale since. The legendary singer was murdered, aged 40, outside his New York apartment in 1980 by stalker Mark Chapman.
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Picture: The Beatles star pictured strumming an acoustic guitar circa 1964.
Jim Morrison
celebrity,celebrity news,Jim Morrison,the doors
jim morrison
The American singer, songwriter and poet, best known as the lead singer of the Doors, is widely regarded to be one of the most charismatic frontmen in rock history. His pin-up good looks, theatrical stage persona and poetic lyrics made him perfect groupie fodder, as well as the poster boy and crush du jour in his \'60s heyday. Morrison died in his Paris apartment in 1971 aged 27 from a suspected heroin overdose.
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Picture: Jim Morrison performs with the Doors in New York in 1967.
Kurt Cobain
celebrity,celebrity news,Kurt Cobain,Nirvana
kurt cobain
Not a classically handsome kinda guy, this angsty, brooding, anti-heart-throb became a pin-up nonetheless for grunge music fans and regular girls alike. The Nirvana frontman committed suicide in 1994 at home in Seattle, aged 27.
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Picture: Kurt Cobain performing with Nirvana on MTV Unplugged in New York in 1993.
