Chronology of Celebrity Crushes

1989: Kim Basinger (Batman) *


You can debate how to pronounce her name: BASE-in-ger, BASS-in-ger, BASE-in-jer, or BASS-in-jer (the first is correct). You cannot, however, debate how gorgeous she was. I know she was already a sex symbol at this point, but Batman was my first real exposure to her. At the end of the movie, when she was kissing all up on the Joker on the roof of the cathedral, it's no wonder he had such a big smile on his face.

Post-Batman thumbs-up: Sex scenes in The Getaway, a memorable role as a corpse in Tom Petty's video for "Mary Jane's Last Dance," an Oscar for L.A. Confidential, and immortalization in The Simpsons.
Post-Batman thumbs-down: a nasty divorce from Alec Baldwin, a relationship with Prince (why do women think he's sexy?), a bankruptcy filing after she bought a small town in Georgia for some reason, and a dwindling acting career. But at least she definitely still has her looks!


* Note: this is the second year in a row that my choice was from a Tim Burton-directed, Michael Keaton-starring film. Those guys were on fire in the late 80s!