The 25 Hottest Sitcom Stars of the '90s

Helen Hunt hits the big screen on Friday as a sex surrogate in the oddly feel-good flick The Sessions, a film festival hit which ought to be the best film she's made in over a decade. It's mind-boggling to think that it's been 15 years since she and Jack Nicholson both won Oscars for leading roles in As Good as it Gets.

But dig this: It's been a solid 20 years since Hunt made her debut as a primetime comedy vixen on Mad About You. That show ran from 1992-1999, and put Hunt in a select group of comedy babes in the decade that was otherwise defined by grunge music, Bill Clinton, and O.J. Simpson.

Here are the top 25 funny hotties who jockeyed for laughs in primetime throughout the '90s—do you remember all of them?

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TV Show: Step by Step

Step By Step is the story of a lovely lady who meets a fellow one day, and knowing it's much more than a hunch, they get married. Each is bringing up three kids of their own, thus forming a sort of bunch. Apparently this is common in TV land.

Staci Keanan, who played the oldest of the six kids, was all too familiar with these nontraditional families. In the '80s, she was an only child with an extra dad and a lack of moms on My Two Dads. As a young adult on Step by Step, she was called on to mother those young ones, who seemed to have doubled in number overnight.

TV Show: Empty Nest

Kristy McNichol had been a child star in the '70s and had peaked early. After successes that included the TV series Family and the movie Little Darlings, her behavior became erratic and her reputation went south. In 1988, she was a 26-year-old wash-up, or so it seemed.

Then, she showed up on Empty Nest playing one of the grown daughters of the older couple seeking meaning in their lives now that their parenting duties are over. For McNichol fans—and there were many—this was a welcome and triumphant return. She lasted 100 episodes, then left the show in 1992, reportedly due to her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. She returned for the show's final episode in 1995, but has not acted on screen since.

TV Show: Mad About You

Helen Hunt played Jamie Buchman, a PR specialist, freshly married to Paul Reiser's character, a documentary filmmaker who doesn't seem to make many films. So she's the breadwinner, which is nice, and she's clearly better looking than her husband.

Who among us would not want to be rescued from our mediocre careers by a Helen Hunt type? Leaving us free to pursue husbandly buffoonery wearing baggy sweaters and those high-waisted '90s jeans. Ah, that's the life.

TV Show: Martin

Martin Lawrence's character on his self-titled show was a classic comedy man-child, creating half-hour dramas by shooting his mouth off. And there by his side was the ever-dependable Gina (Campbell-Martin) to calm him down and make it all better.

But life didn't imitate the bliss of art. In real life, Tisha filed a sexual harassment suit against Lawrence and bailed during season five.

TV Show: Wings

Playing Cassandra "Casey" Davenport, Yasbeck provided a much-needed jolt of sex appeal to the show during its last three seasons. Casey is so hot that she burns down a house by removing her bra. Well, what actually happened was that, in the heat of passion, her discarded bra landed near the fireplace and caught fire. But still, at least we had a bra-flinging hottie on a sitcom. June Cleaver never flung her bra—so far as we know.

TV Show: Moesha

Remember that time on Moesha when...just kidding, we're not going to assume you watched Moesha. Maybe a few minutes here and there, just to absorb some of the charm of Brandy Norwood, the fresh-faced, perpetually smiling actress who played the title character.

Brandy was already mega-famous as a musician. Her self-titled debut album contained two singles, "I Wanna Be Down" and "Baby," that topped the Billboard R&B chart. Moesha was one of the few shows on the fledgling UPN with any sticking power (it lasted six seasons), which we can only conclude was due to Brandy's hotness.

TV Show: Home Improvement

Debbe Dunning played Heidi, also known as the Tool Time Girl. She was essentially a Barker's Beauty of the small-time fix-it program hosted by Tim Allen. There was really little reason for her to be on the show; it didn't make sense that a small-time fix-it program would have such a high-quality babe, and it was kind of weird that family man Allen could get away with such an unnecessary sexist touch. Thank goodness sitcoms have no interest in realism.

TV Show: Weird Science

Cast yourself way, way back, to the year 1985. There was, arguably, nobody hotter than Kelly LeBrock, who starred as computer-generated nerd-arouser Lisa in the movie Weird Science. Meanwhile, in Spies Like Us, a lovely model-turned-actress was making her screen debut: Vanessa Angel, playing a sexy Russian agent who hooks up with Dan Aykroyd after nuclear war is averted to the tune of "Soul Finger," by the Bar-Kays.

Nine years would pass and then in 1994, Weird Science hit the airwaves as a TV show. Kelly LeBrock was no longer hot enough to play Lisa, but guess who was? Vanessa Angel. Fun fact: Weird Science ran for five seasons. Five! Can you believe that? We can't.

TV Show: Will & Grace

There's no question Debra Messing is a very pretty comedic actress. It's also pretty clear that her character Grace was the train wreck you spent your dating life trying to avoid. Grace was neurotic, she would eat her sadness, she was messy —sort of the Cathy comic-strip come to life, but with the possibly-redeeming power of beauty.

Nowadays, Messing is taking a break from comedy by focusing on more dramatic fare. She's currently on NBC's musical drama, Smash.

TV Show: NewsRadio

Khandi Alexander's Catherine Duke is a classic example of a hot character who can't master her own hotness. As a news anchor at the radio station, she can't be too zany, but her willingness to slap her male co-workers when she feels wronged is what really gives her away, and makes her so alluring.

When she hauls off and whacks a guy, asking, "Were you just undressing me with your eyes?" it's pretty clear that she wants, desperately, for a man to undress her with his eyes. We know for a fact that a lot of male home viewers were doing it, if that's any consolation.

TV Show: Spin City

Heather Locklear is a sex symbol who spans a few decades. In the early '80s, she jumped into big-time TV with runs on Dynasty and TJ Hooker. She spent most of the 1990s playing the devious Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place, but at the decade's tail end, she took a role opposite Michael J. Fox on Spin City. Her reputation was such that she was never "that actress on Spin City." Spin City was always "that show Heather Locklear is on."

TV Show: Hangin' With Mr. Cooper

Holly Robinson was a known hottie coming off a little show called 21 Jump Street before jumping into Hangin' With Mr. Cooper. It was an understated sitcom about a high school P.E. teacher who shares a house with two female roommates. One is his childhood friend, and the other is the disarmingly attractive Vanessa Russell (Robinson). While Mr. Cooper had a crush on Russell, America had a crush on Holly Robinson. But ultimately, NFL star Rodney Peete's crush on Holly Robinson was what mattered. The two were married in 1995, halfway through the show's run.

TV Show: Full House

On Full House, Loughlin played Rebecca "Becky" Donaldson, the sexy, sensible woman who would eventually tie down the unattainable Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos). Thing is, she's the co-worker of his brother-in-law Danny Tanner (Bob Saget), left a widower by the death of his wife, who was also Jesse's sister. Danny clearly had dibs! But Jesse snatched her up, the dirty dog.

TV Show: The Wonder Years

There is nothing quite like the allure of your buddy's hot older sister, and if your buddy was Kevin Arnold from The Wonder Years, you were in luck. Kevin's older sister Karen (D'Abo) is a hippie, a free spirit yearning to ditch suburban life for the thrill of the new age dawning somewhere more exciting (perhaps San Francisco). This may not be in the script, but we're pretty sure Olivia D'Abo's character smokes a lot of doob and doesn't wear a bra.

TV Show: Saved By The Bell

Elizabeth Berkley played Jessie Spano, president of the class that moved through Bayside High over the course of the show's four seasons. Jessie was a bit of a geek, which caused problems as the actress playing her grew increasingly sexy. By the series' end, you had this strange feeling that despite all the high grades and extracurricular activities, Elizabeth Berkley was destined to end up a stripper. Which she did, in the film Showgirls.

TV Show: Friends

Courteney Cox had emerged as a bona fide babe during the '80s as Bruce Springsteen's partner in the "Dancing in the Dark" video and Alex P. Keaton's girlfriend on Family Ties. At the start of Friends, in 1994, she was the only star, and we're pretty sure she would have ruled the show if not for two things: her character's anal-retentive personality, and Jennifer Aniston's hairdo.

You wouldn't necessarily want to date her character Monica Geller, but if she were your dorky buddy's younger sister and you lived across the hall, you would definitely make every effort to walk in on her in her bathrobe.

TV Show: Seinfeld

On Seinfeld, Louis-Dreyfus played Elaine Benes, and was saddled with hair and wardrobe choices that, to the modern viewer, are difficult to look at. Elaine was sexy in a different way, though: a thirtysomething urban equivalent of a tomboy. She rides along with the weird male characters, and often shows them to be the wussies they truly are. She competes with them in a contest to see who can go the longest without masturbating (finishes in third place, out of four), and in another episode, dismisses one-night-stand sex as "yada yada yada."

Think you're man enough for Elaine Benes? Think again.

TV Show: Unhappily Ever After

Nikki Cox played the vixenish daughter in Unhappily Ever After, which has been described as a knockoff of Married... With Children. So, she is somewhat equivalent to Christina Applegate, yet much more conniving and, according to the show, a virgin. On the whole, while just as visually satisfying as Christina Applegate, Nikki Cox was slightly cursed by having a character who was much less likeable.

A year after Unhappily Ever After ended, Cox got her own show, Nikki, but it never quite caught on, and Cox didn't really realize her potential until she booked a recurring role on Las Vegas.

TV Show: Jenny

The former Playboy Playmate of the Year landed her first TV job on the dating game-show Singled Out. During the course of over 130 episodes, she constantly reaffirmed her hotness while adding another line to the resume: comedienne.

It was only a matter of time until she got her own sitcom, Jenny, which ran for just 13 episodes, but that failure is beside the point. Jenny turns 40 in two weeks and just appeared on the cover of Playboy for the 6th time. That is the point.

TV Show: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Parsons' character Hilary Banks was hard to love. Her first line on the show was "Dad, I need $300!"—to buy a hat. Spoiled, ignorant and somewhat proud of it, she was the antithesis of street-smart Will (played by Will Smith). But over time, Hilary became more lovable, as we learned that there was a good person beneath that shallow exterior. She also grew into her looks quite a bit, and in addition to being lovable, became lust-able.

TV Show: Home Improvement

Pamela Anderson played the first Tool Time girl. To learn about the inherent sexiness of this character, see Debbe Dunning's entry in this list. What else do you need to know? Oh, that it's Pamela Anderson. We don't need to explain who Pamela Anderson is, or why some people have found her sexy, do we? Didn't think so.

TV Show: Saved by the Bell

Kelly Kapowski was the all-American girl in the SBTB bunch, a cheerleader who rarely gets in trouble and is nice to everyone. And why not? It's easy to be nice when everyone you meet is disarmed by your beauty.

Thiessen was more defined in the '90s by her role on Beverly Hills, 90210, but she never would have been cast as femme fatale Valerie Malone if she hadn't put in those five solid years on Saved by the Bell (yes, including The College Years).

TV Show: Married With Children

Married with Children was a truly groundbreaking show. Here were characters with flaws that made them unlikeable by the standards of sitcoms, and yet that unlikeability had a certain charm. The dad, generally annoyed by his family, liked to escape by sitting on the toilet reading the newspaper. The mom was lazy and sex-deprived. The son was a dirtbag (okay, we never warmed up to Bud). And the daughter, Kelly Bundy, was all big hair, tight halter tops, exposed navel, and a certain morally casual attitude. A bit of a loosey goosey.

Kelly was America's first promiscuous sitcom daughter, and Applegate had the mannerisms, face and body to do her justice. The young, male TV-viewing public had needs, and Kelly fulfilled them—in back of the gymnasium, perhaps, for five bucks a pop.

TV Show: Clueless

Stacey Dash attracted a lot of attention last week when she told the Twitterverse she'd be voting for Mitt Romney. Aggressive progressives mocked her by saying she has lived up to the show she was on: she was on Clueless then and she's clueless now. Get it?

If we're going with analogies, then you could say—and it would to be nicer to say—that Stacey was hot back when she appeared as Dawn, Cher's BFF in Clueless the movie and TV show, and she's even hotter now.

TV Show: Friends

Friends burst out of the gate in 1994 featuring three attractive actresses, but the established hottie was Courteney Cox. Aniston, who played Rachel Green, had been on the canceled Ferris Bueller TV show, but was basically a nobody.

And then, all of a sudden, there was this thing called "the Rachel" haircut. Every woman wanted their hair done like the girl on the hot show. With the haircut, the TV fame, and a true gift for comedy (trivia: she turned down a spot in the Saturday Night Live cast to take the Friends job) combined, Aniston became a big star and, before you knew it, the (former) wife of the sexiest man in the world, Brad Pitt.