Who has the kind of beauty to start wars? Who is the modern day Helen of Troy? This is the question being posed over at Vanity Fair. They’ve put together a list of nineteen women who they consider the most beautiful in the world.

They’re also letting people vote online. Guess who is winning so far? Angelina Jolie with 54%. Second place thus far is Gisele Bundchen with 12%. You can go here to vote and to see the pictorials VF has set up – some of these women are so air-brushed, I wasn’t even sure who I was looking at. I’d never realized how much Gisele looks like Jennifer Connelly, who in turn looks like Queen Rania of Jordan. Here’s the list, with the voting percentages thus far:

Who is the most beautiful woman in the world? That is the question we ask on the cover of the upcoming May issue of Vanity Fair. But since we are asking for your impartial vote, we aren’t ready to show you that cover, or the sultry accompanying spreads, as they are almost certain to sway your opinion.

Of the billions of women on this planet, only 19, we believe, could start wars. These modern-day Helens of Troy come from both hemispheres and include legends and ingenues, a Queen and a first Lady, and at least two bedmates of Leonardo DiCaprio.

Halle Berry 4%
Beyoncé 2%
Cate Blanchett 2%
Carla Bruni 1%
Gisele Bündchen 12%
Jennifer Connelly 3%
Penélope Cruz 3%
Catherine Deneuve 3%
Scarlett Johansson 3%
Angelina Jolie 54%
Elle MacPherson 1%
Kate Moss 1%
Gwyneth Paltrow 1%
Freida Pinto 2%
Queen Rania of Jordan 3%
Bar Refaeli 3%
Natalia Vodianova 2%
Ziyi Zhang 1%
Kerry Washington 1%

[From Vanity Fair]

It’s a pretty multicultural list, I’ll give VF credit for that. But it is a bit ageist. The oldest woman on the list is 65-year-old Catherine Deneuve and after her in descending ages, 45-year-old Elle McPherson, 42-year-old Halle Berry and 41-year-old Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. After that, the list is just international beauties in their twenties and thirties.

I totally realize that this is a poll for Vanity Fair and not, say, Maxim. They’re not rating a woman’s sex appeal, but sometimes sex appeal shouldn’t be thrown aside so quickly. And don’t get me wrong, most of those women are beautiful inside and out. But does someone like Cate Blanchett really have the kind of beauty that men would go to war over? I’m saying that as one of Blanchett’s biggest fans – she’s the most gifted actress of her generation, she’s authentic, earthy and sensual, but her jolie laide kind of beauty isn’t grandiose, it isn’t “Helen of Troy” beauty. Maybe I’m totally wrong though. We’ll see who is victorious when the poll ends – vote early and often!