A century of sex symbols

By Chris Lee and Patrick Kevin Day Bombshells. Sex kittens. Pin-up girls. In Hollywood, such creatures have always been in plentiful supply. But just about once in a generation, a bona fide sex symbol will come along to stand out from the pack: some beautiful Valkyrie whose mere photograph is enough to flutter the collective pulse and whose appearance on a red carpet causes both flashbulbs and eyes to pop. These women are synonymous with the S-word because they make men think impure thoughts rather than associate them with any particular movie role, product or publicist-constructed persona. Every era gets the sex symbol it deserves -- at least, so goes pop cultural thinking on the matter. What then to make of Megan Fox? To be sure, she is the newest "it" girl to ascend into the vaunted pantheon of sex-bomb goddesses. Here is a look back at a gallery of some sex symbols, bombshells and ingenues of yesteryear. Call them the proto-Foxes ... Megan Fox: Sex-bomb or just a bomb? (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)