Zara on 'world's most beautiful' list

Zara Phillips has achieved a coveted place on an annual list of the most beautiful people in the world.

She joins Britons Nigella Lawson and Craig David. While none possesses conventional model looks, all appear to have charmed America, prompting their inclusion on the prestigious 50 Most Beautiful People In The World list.

They appear alongside stars such as Britney Spears and Jennifer Aniston. Miss Phillips, 21, "continues to update the face of the Windsor family", according to the US magazine People, which compiled the beauty poll.

It notes with approval that she has worn a gold tongue piercing and "cohabits" with her jockey boyfriend Richard Johnson.

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, said: "Zara has that aura. She'll look good beside William."

The appeal of Nigella Lawson is also at odds with the majority of super-slim blonde pop stars and actresses that cluster the beauty list and America's general obsession with all things slim.

The television chef has managed to charm her American counterparts after her Channel 4 show Nigella Bites was bought by a US cable network. The magazine concludes that Lawson's philosophy of putting the enjoyment of food before "deprivation and skinniness" has won the "allegiance of foodophiles both abroad and stateside".

Her brother Dominic Lawson, who edits the Sunday Telegraph, told the publication: "Nigella has a proper woman's body. She is not a model. She is 100 per cent woman."

Singer Craig David has won a following of adoring females through his music, boyish good looks and his constant protestations that he is waiting to meet his dream woman.

The woman who tops this year's poll belongs to the more familiar territory of Hollywood superstardom - flamehaired Australian actress Nicole Kidman. Others included in the list, which is not compiled in any order, are Halle Berry, Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts, as well as male stars Denzel Washington and Lord Of The Rings actor Viggo Mortensen.

Danielle Dubin of People magazine said that the list was not solely motivated by physical perfection.

She said: "We are looking all year round for people who intrigue us. Zara is a royal we are not familiar with and we would like to see more of her."

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