The 25 Hottest Women in Costume Dramas

Fantasy role play so sexy you'll want to play dress-up.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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It's hard to deny that a gorgeous woman looks damn good when she's wearing nothing but her birthday suit. But we also can't argue with the fact that there is something subtly sexy about a hottie wearing an in-your-face dress from a century during which men seduced women with Shakespeare quotes instead of pickup lines. And by "something" we mean the flesh poppin' out of the top of that corset. 

Inspired by Laura Linney's role in Hyde Park on the Hudson, as Franklin Delano Roosevelt's (Bill Murray) beautiful distant cousin, with whom he has an affair (What was with that dude and cousins?), Complex decided to put together a list of the 25 Hottest Women in Costume Dramas, actresses who looked hot while leaving a lot to the imagination. Not to worry: With Hollywood's reinterpretation of the bygone days, every acceptable inch of skin is displayed, highlighted, and glamorized in. Turns out the 18th and 19th centuries were a lot more fun than we imagined.

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Compiled by Valeriya Safronova (@vsaffron)

25. Gwyneth Paltrow as Viola de Lesseps, Shakespeare in Love (1998)

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24. Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp, Vanity Fair (2004)

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23. Scarlett Johansson as Griet, Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)

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22. Diane Kruger as Marie Antoinette, Farewell, My Lady (2012)

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21. Michelle Pfeiffer as Madame de Tourvel, Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

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20. Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria, The Young Victoria (2009)

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19. Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen, Becoming Jane (2007)

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18. Julie Christie as Lara, Doctor Zhivago (1965)

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17. Winona Ryder as Mina Murray, Dracula (1992)

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16. Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, Gone with the Wind (1939)

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15. Cameron Diaz as Jenny Everdeane, Gangs of New York (2002)

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14. Natassja Kinski as Tess, Tess (1979)

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13. Elizabeth Berridge as Constanze Mozart, Amadeus (1984)

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12. Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabeth (1998)

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11. Emmy Rossum as Christine, The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

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10. Isabelle Adjani as Adèle Hugo/Adèle Lewly, The Story of Adele H. (1975)

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9. Uma Thurman as Cécile de Volanges, Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

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8. Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, Cleopatra (1963)

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7. Thandie Newton as Sally Hemings, Jefferson in Paris (1995)

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6. Olivia Hussey as Juliet Capulet, Romeo and Juliet (1968)

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5. Keira Knightley as Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina (2012)

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4. Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn, The Other Boleyn Girl

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3. Gong Li as Empress Phoenix, Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)

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2. Monica Bellucci as Dracula's Wife, Dracula (1992)

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1. Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette, Marie Antoinette (2006)

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