For years we've been fed the line that women are attracted to men with wealth and power – an alleged 'truth' that's seriously reported on by research-driven social psychologists (who claim women are driven to such behaviour in their quest to give any potential offspring the best start in life) and gleefully reinforced in celebrity tabloids across the land.
Whether it's another insight into the bizarre life of the terrifyingly pneumatic US model Anna-Nicole Smith or endless back-biting about the gold-digging motivations of the soon-to-be ex Mrs McCartney-Mills, we've long become accustomed to the notion that this is a relationship status quo so inviolate that somewhere, surely, it must be quite literally written in stone.
The reality, however, is a little less black and white. In fact, it's men who are more prone to the pursuit of a superficial 'ideal', merrily parading the trophy girlfriend or trading the older wife for a younger, more malleable model as soon as circumstance allows (witness James Blunt's gobsmacked 'I can't believe my luck' face at being a whey-faced, skinny no-mark whose baffling musical success has given him an access-all-areas pass to that hallowed dating land entirely populated by supermodels).
However, women, like men, can – quite genuinely – be blinded in matters of love and lust, as research at a US university recently revealed. But while a perfectly formed pair of breasts might, broadly speaking, be all it takes to convince a disconcertingly large number of men that a future mate's up to the task of long-term companion, a woman's blindness often works in reverse. A man's intellectual achievements, GSOH or simply a predisposition to be kind to animals and/or strangers is all it takes to transform a squat, balding geek into George Clooney in the relevant smitten woman's eyes.
Now that more women than ever are wielding economic power equal to – or greater than – that of their male counterparts, women are putting their money where their mouths are and showing that they prize brains and a sensitive disposition alongside (and often over) brawn.
Not that that makes it any less bizarre when these incongruous pairings turn up on the pages of Heat magazine. But at least we can console ourselves that such couples are in it for the lovin' rather than the turn of his generic, well-rounded pecs or the ker-ching of his bank account.
Five celebrities who've picked brains over brawn…
Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller
It all had to start somewhere and what better example of intellectual might proving to be more than a match for physical beauty than the tale of the actress and the playwright? Monroe was THE great beauty of her day and had her pick of dazzlingly rich, successful men. She chose the sensitive thinker, instead, in the form of Arthur Miller, writer of The Crucible and Death of a Salesman, and the odd couple wed in 1956. The marriage might not have lasted, but she set the standard proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that, for women, personality can trump it over looks every time.
Dita von Teese and Marilyn Manson
And so on to one of the most celebrated sensual beauties of the modern day. On the surface, burlesque superstar von Teese's marriage to the King of Darkness could merely be an extension of the allure of the whole rock star thing. But quite frankly bagging Manson doesn't have the same cachet as getting it on with a member of The Strokes (a la Drew Barrymore). Von Teese is on record as saying what she loves about Manson is the way he 'gets' her – surely the best qualification bar none for being part of the Brains Over Brawn gang.
Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich
You can tell Julianne Moore really loves her hubby, screenwriter/direct Bart Freundlich, because she keeps ending up in his movies (most recently in Trust the Man). Not that Freundlich's untalented – his sensitive, wordy, emotionally driven films are moderately well received by critics. It's just that the star of huge hits such as Boogie Nights, Magnolia and The Hours (not to mention her three Oscar nominations) can cherry-pick Hollywood roles. Opting to work for a low-budget indie flick reveals a loyalty and dedication to her man that smacks far more of labour of love than career move.
Emma Thompson and Greg Wise
The short, pithy biography of actor Greg Wise on an internet film site opens with the line, “Perhaps best known for being Emma Thompson's partner…” Ouch! But Wise and Thompson have been together for over 10 years, since their first meeting on the set of Sense and Sensibility (which she not only starred in but also wrote), and to all intents and purposes the pair seems blissfully happy. Thompson had already done the Marriage of Egos thing with former hubby and fellow thesp Kenneth Branagh. Looks like second time round she got it right.
Kate Moss and Pete Doherty
Well what other reason could the coolest chick in the world have for hanging out with such a loser? He might have been teetering on the verge of rock star greatness when she first met him, but Doherty has long since lost any semblance of credibility with a career that smells more of desperation than teen spirit these days. Still, La Moss seems determined to stand (and sing) by the man she remains quite clearly smitten with, despite his numerous well-publicised shortcomings. La Belle et La Bete indeed.
