Top 25 Sexiest Women Alive!

25. Penelope Cruz
How much do we love Penelope Cruz? Let's count the ways. One, the 38-year-old Spanish actress just gets hotter as she gets older, proving that MILFs aren't just urban myths. Two, she has a habit of sleeping with her co-stars—her resume includes former boyfriends and cast-mates Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon, and current husband Javier Bardem. And three, and perhaps most importantly, she isn't afraid of a chainsaw. She's been cut in half by magicians twice in her life, once by legendary illusionist David Copperfield. That would be cool even if she wasn't easy on the eyes. But when a beautiful and talented woman agrees to have her torso separated from his legs for fun, well, excuse us if we swoon.

24. Jennifer Love-Hewitt
There are so many reasons we love Love, but after flipping through her dating roman a clef,The Day I Shot Cupid, it really comes down to one word: vajazzling. Go ahead. Google it—and then thank us later

23. Alessandra Ambrosio
When Victoria’s Secret needed a model to represent their now-ubiquitous “Pink” line of lingerie, they went first to Alessanda Ambrosio. And if you needed even more proof that nobody pulls off a bikini like her, you got it in 2012: Ambrosio was also chosen as the first woman to model the company’s “fantasy bra” and belt, made entirely out of precious stones.

22. Miranda Kerr
A Victoria’s Secret Angel and Australian supermodel—a.k.a Mrs. Orlando Bloom—Kerr is a practicing Buddhist with a daily practice of yoga and meditation and an affinity for steamed veggies and fresh fruit. With those lips and those eyes, she’ll definitely whip you into shape. And, we guess, have you begging for more.

21. Alison Brie
When your debut performance is playing a dog—"Toto" in a community theater production ofThe Wizard of Oz—it doesn't really bode well for a future in acting, much less as the "hottest" anything. But Alison Brie, 29, has definitely blossomed into one of our favorite actresses, with recurring roles on shows like Community(as Adderall-addicted nerd Annie) and Mad Men (as repressed housewife Trudy). We'll definitely keep watching, as long as she promises not to reprise her early work as a children's birthday clown. Yes, you read that correctly. Long before she was a regular presence on prime time TV, she put on makeup and made balloon animals for children. Is there anything in this world quite as disturbing as a hot clown?

20. Adriana Lima

Proving that diamonds are, indeed, a girl’s best friend, this Brazilian goddess wore rocks and little else on an indelible 2007 Vanity Fair cover with other Victoria’s Secret Angels. We got the message: Adriana, we’re ready to propose

19. Brooklyn Decker
As you probably remember from our hotly-debated Hottest Women of All-Time list last year, Decker made the cut at number 50, beating out such timeless beauties as Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, and Grace Kelly. Were we drunk? Displaying the first symptoms of dementia? Not at all. It's easy to dismiss Decker—the 25-year-old daughter of a pacemaker salesman (insert your own "and you'll need a pacemaker because she'll stop your heart" joke here)—as just another swimsuit model. She's appeared in (almost) every Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue since 2006, but her near-naked visage was nowhere to be found in the latest edition. You could almost hear the collective whimper from heterosexual men everywhere. Little did we realize how much we'd come to depend on those annual photos of Decker wearing the clothing equivalent of a postage stamp.

18. Katrina Bowden
If you have any doubt that Katrina Bowden belongs on this list, consider this irrefutable evidence: She once attended the Immaculate Heart Academy in New Jersey, where she wore a Catholic school girl uniform. You're welcome for that mental image. More recently, she's charmed us as Tina Fey's dim-witted personal assistant on NBC's 30 Rock, a woman whose only goal in life is to "marry rich and then design handbags." It takes a special talent to be surrounded by iconic comedy legends like Fey and Alec Baldwin and not get completely overshadowed. Granted, some of Bowden's "special talent" is looking spectacular in short-shorts. But sometimes genius is knowing when to work with what you've got.

17. Blake Lively

This Valley Girl made good has always made our heart stop, especially after that scalding bathtub scene in Oliver Stone’s Savages. And then she broke it—just a little—when Ryan Reynolds wisely put a ring on it in 2012.

16. Jessica Alba
When we named Jessica Alba one of our 100 Hottest Women of All-Time last year, we felt confident she wasn’t going anywhere. After a short break from filming to spend more time with her husband and two daughters, Alba’s returning in a big way with two high-profile sequels: Machete Kills and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, as well as the comedy A.C.O.D and the kids’ movie Escape From Planet Earth. 

15. Rihanna

We probably don't need to tell you Rihanna is a pop superstar, since her nine singles that reached number one have been played in every club, bar, wedding, and shopping mall you've been to since she signed with Jay Z in 2005. But you might not know that she was only 17 when her first album was released, and in the intervening seven years, she's sold more digital copies of her songs than any recording artist in history—beating out the Beatles, Elvis, and even Aretha Franklin. If only her choice of boyfriends was as sharp as her ability to make hit records. 

14. Kate Upton

In one year, Upton rose from being a rookie inSports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue to its MVP in 2012, earning her (very rightful) place on the cover. Now there’s nary a glossy she hasn’tgraced at some point—and for good reason: Upton has the spunky personality to match the blistering hot bod that’ll ensure the soon-to-be 21-year-old remains a staple of dorm room walls for many years (okay, decades) to come.

13. Emma Stone
Last year, the world couldn’t get enough of Emma Stone after she scored breakout roles inThe Help and The Amazing Spider-Man. We were proud to be on the bandwagon, too: We named her the #2 most beautiful woman of the year in 2011. While things have been quieter for Stone as of late, that could change very, very soon. The woman you may know as the perfect girl next door is primed to become one of the world’s hottest femme fatales when she stars in the upcoming Gangster Squadalongside Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling. Hey, girl: Just keep doing what you’re doing.

12. Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift isn’t just one of the hottest women in the world, she’s also the hottest performer in music. Her last album, Red, sold 1.2 million copies in its first week. The only thing that gives us pause about the 5’11, 22-year-old stunner is the competition: Over the past year or two, she’s dated Twilight star (and Men’s Health cover guy) Taylor Lautner, Grammy award-winning musician John Mayer, Academy Award-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal, and as if that weren’t enough, she’s now off-and-on with a Kennedy. Those fleeting relationships haven’t always worked out (surprise), but Swift’s trick is channeling those frustrations into her music, where she’s quickly become one of the industry’s most reliable hitmakers.    

      11. Bar Refaeli
Let's just come right out and say it: We're fans of the recent trend of busty supermodels with feminine posteriors, as opposed to the rail-thin walking coat hanger look. Just look at how Israeli model Bar Refaeli fills out a bikini on the cover of Sports Illustrated, or demonstrates the flattering lines of a Victoria's Secret Wonder Bra (not that she needs it). Refaeli has been modeling professionally since she was 15, and has been in just about every publication you can think of. Is it any wonder that Leonardo DiCaprio dated her for so long?

10. Amber Heard
Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do you? Because the luscious and lithe Heard owns aDirty Harry-style .357 Magnum. If that’s not enough bang for you, we hear that Heard also drives a ’68 ‘Stang, and ain’t afraid to put the pedal to the metal. As for that film oeuvre, it could be said that Heard’s favorite piece of wardrobe is her birthday suit. We say amen to her feral—and very naked—turn in Bret Easton Ellis’ The Informers.

9. Gisele Bündchen
Umlauts are not usually sexy. They bring to mind führers and heavy metal bands. But Gisele Bündchen, 32, has single-handedly obliterated our umlaut aversion. She's like a fashion model blitzkrieg; unstoppable, and easily destroying the competition. She's been so busy that she purportedly turned down 20 million dollars to be the spokeswoman for Clonaid, the human cloning company. Which, on the one hand, was probably a smart business decision. (The Guinness Book of Records credits her as "the world's richest supermodel," so she doesn't need the money.) But still, can you imagine if Clonaid was able to use their cloning technology to build an army of Bündchens? There could be a Bündchen in every home! Okay, probably not realistic, but we can dream, can't we?

8. Beyonce
Last name? Who needs a last name? Like fellow sex icon Madonna, Beyoncé does just fine with a single, three-syllable moniker. And in the last decade-plus, that name has become synonymous with spectacular pipes, formidable acting skills, and most importantly, skintight suits. She’s also known for a remarkable string of hits: Beyoncé’s third album, “I Am Sasha...Fierce”, set a record in 2008 with six Grammy wins in the same night. Unbelievably, things only seem to keep getting better for Knowles—in 2012, she not only gave birth to her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, but also landed a spot as the headliner of the Super Bowl 47 halftime show this February.

7. Angelina Jolie
We’re pretty sure Lord Byron had a time machine, zipped into the 20th Century, feasted his eyes on Angelina Jolie, and only thencomposed his best work. Wild spirit, loose cannon, voluptuous goddess, Jolie is an Oscar-winner, mother to six children, and a beautiful, beautiful enigma we can’t wait to see as Sleeping Beauty’s nemesis in 2014’sMaleficent.

6. Scarlett Johansson
Who knew that the little button from North would blossom into the poignant and ethereal damsel of Lost in Translation or the shapely ass-kicker of The Avengers? Johannson’s got serious acting chops, a figure that makes hourglasses blush, and she croons Tom Waits tunes, too. In love yet?

5. Jennifer Aniston
What more can we say about Jennifer Aniston? Last year, we voted the 43-Year-Old actress the sexiest woman of all-time. Hardly any stars have been as ubiquitous on the world’s magazine covers over the past two decades—and that shows no signs of changing. Hell, even her commercials now go viral. If you don’t believe us, check out the hilarious “Jennifer Aniston Sex Tape” that she made for Vitamin Water. Just, you know, keep your expectations in check.

4. Jennifer Lawrence
Ned Beatty got the wrong end of the Appalachian woods in Deliverance. Had he just prowled a little further into the hillside, he might have landed instead in the arms of this crossbow-wielding, squirrel-eating hourglass. An international superstar thanks to The Hunger Games, Oscar-nominated for Winter’s Bone, and buck-naked and blue for X Men: First Class, Lawrence is the world’s greatest reason to get lost in the wilderness

3. Christina Hendricks
Last season’s Mad Men found a major business deal hanging in the balance of whether or not Hendricks’ Joan Harris would sleep with a client. It played like one of the series’ most realistic moment, because Harris is just that exquisite—that hourglass figure, those pillowed lips and bedroom eyes. Even Helen of Troy has nothing on Hendricks.

2. Mila Kunis
By now, everyone knows Kunis is the perfect woman—preternaturally beautiful, but also appreciative of a good fart joke. No, really. She’s perfect. If still you doubt, just know that this Ukranian beauty loves to play World of Warcraft. And did you see her getting freaky with Natalie Portman in Black Swan?

1. Katy Perry

How can a woman know when her breasts alone have reached pop icon status? Maybe when showing a little too much of them gets your sing-a-long with Elmo banned fromSesame Street. Luckily for men everywhere, Katy Perry had enough of a sense of humor about the whole fiasco to make jiggling her ample rack, barely contained by a tight Elmo t-shirt, the centerpiece of a sketch on Saturday Night Live that same week. Of course, Perry has more going on than newsworthy DDs: She took a bad breakup and turned it into the raw material of the year’s most successful album,Teenage Dream.  She is our sexiest woman of 2013.