Perhaps the biggest change in Hollywood the last 10-or-so years (apart from the endless reboots and remakes) has been the social redemption of nerds. We did it guys, we’re finally part of the normal people! We’ve somehow turned the social ladder all the way upside down and ended up on top. We even have some of the most attractive people around, and your typical let’s-use-this-as-an-excuse-each-Saturday-to-not-have-to-go-outside TV shows or movies have caught on. While some of these may not look like much on the screen, every single one of them is attractive by pretty much any standard today.
10. Melissa Rauch
Known best for her role as Bernadette Rostenkowski (try saying that 10 times in quick succession) in the hit Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady TV show/love child “The Big Bang Theory”, she’s known for being that amazing-looking blonde in real life.
9. Emily Bett Rickards
Every superhero needs a trusty cyber-sidekick because, let’s be fair, no superhero has the time to read his own GPS map. In the TV show “Arrow”, Emily plays the somewhat neurotic technology wizard Felicity Smoak. The “smoaking hot” pun pretty much writes itself.
8. Amanda Seyfried
Playing Anita Lesnicki, the nerdy sidekick of a cheerleader succubus in “Jennifer’s Body”, was supposed to make Amanda look like an everyday or even less-than-average girl. It failed, but how could it not when the actress is obviously very attractive.
7. Gillian Anderson
In the 90s, the biggest nerd around was pretty much Dana Scully. “The X-Files” was revamped this year for a tenth season, and Gillian still looks amazing.
6. Emma Watson
Known for having played nerd-among-wizards Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” series for the bigger portion of her life, puberty hit her in the best way possible. Wingardium Leviosa indeed.
5. Alyson Hannigan
We all remember computer-savvy Willow from “Buffy” and that huge band geek Michelle in “American Pie”, so Alyson pretty much has the nerd roles locked down. She’s also a hot redhead.
4. Alison Brie
While she might not always look like much playing the nerdy Annie Edison in “Community”, I’m pretty sure I would have had better results at school if Alison was in my study group.
3. Ariel Winter
Who knew that the textbook nerd Alex Dunphy from “Modern Family” was actually played by a bombshell? This guy didn’t. I think we can all agree Haley isn’t the hot sister anymore.
2. Zooey Deschanel
If you’ve seen “New Girl”, you can easily think of a handful of things that make dear Jess the nerdiest, quirkiest teacher in town. And probably twice as many things that make Zooey Deschanel a gorgeous human being.
1. Zoe Saldana
Playing the highly intelligent multi-linguist Uhura in JJ Abrams’ “Star Trek” reboot and having a relationship with Spock makes Zoe a fictional Star Trek nerd living every non-fictional Star Trek nerd’s dream. To top it off, she’s stunning.
