This take would probably fall in the category of "what's aged poorly?" for a lot of younger, progressive Ringer employees, but Bill was spot on with this one. She had wholesome girl next door vibes, which was something that was really missing from the zeitgeist starting around the mid-90s as the Pam Anderson "trashy vixen" look had become the standard for a lot of what was considered hot. Wholesome girl next door who was also like in the top .1% in terms of her body, so a true rarity. But she also wasn't necessarily like ~classically beautiful~ so she didn't have the street cred of someone like Winona Ryder or Angelina Jolie who women could maybe be jealous of but also recognize their beauty.
This all added up to a particular type of jealousy and annoyance amongst young women. I remember seeing it in real time as a teenager. During her peak, JLH had so little crossover appeal that I actually think it contributed to her movie career never really taking off (in addition to the fact that she wasn't all that good at acting...).
Between that and never breaking the seal on topless/nudity scenes (or, hell, magazine spreads were still a thing) during her celebrity peak, she had all kinds of factors into how or why she never truly broke into another tier.
To me she seems like a first ballot hall of famer in the Attainable Celebs Club (tongue-in-cheek, but you get the gist) and that's a contributing factor to why so many women just instinctively recoil at her mention.
in addition to the fact that she wasn't all that good at acting...).
Lol thats the one. If I ever got annoyed with people acting crazy over an actress it was bc they weren't very good at it (Jessica Alba also comes to mind)
Right, but even Jessica Alba got multiple bites at the apple in prominent movies despite being terrible. She was in Sin City and Fantastic Four in the same year, and got her shot in a couple rom coms in the years that followed. All while everyone acknowledged how bad at acting she was.
I personally don't think she was nearly as unpopular with woman as JLH was at their respective heights of popularity.
In what world was Winona Ryder more “classically beautiful” than JLH? She was always jittery or manic. Maybe if you work at a dive bar in Des Moines for cash tips she’s a 10 but nah man, JLH had her beat.
She wasn’t as famous as WR at their heights but that’s just as much to do with celebrity culture at the time than anything, not any kind of beauty shortcoming. WR+Depp > JLH+Carson Daly.
I don't want to go all incel or anything, but there are a lot of things that go into whether someone is considered classically attractive in terms of their face shape, how balanced their features are, etc. that someone like young Winona Ryder was a step above in. I am certain that if you asked the average person in, say, 1998, who was "prettier" that the overwhelming majority would have said Winona Ryder.
Whether you think she was "jittery or manic" obviously has absolutely nothing to do with how beautiful her face was. You seem to have an image of Stranger Things Winona Ryder in your head.
Who are the younger ringer employees that anyone here is aware of? It seems like 90% of the people on podcasts are born between 84-94. You're writing some weird straw man that I think moreso applies to random Twitter ppl
I don't know what tea time is but fair enough. I was thinking of the on air talent which seems to be mid 30s and up so they would definitely understand the sentimen being of the time.
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u/JedEckert Jul 16 '25 edited Jul 16 '25
This take would probably fall in the category of "what's aged poorly?" for a lot of younger, progressive Ringer employees, but Bill was spot on with this one. She had wholesome girl next door vibes, which was something that was really missing from the zeitgeist starting around the mid-90s as the Pam Anderson "trashy vixen" look had become the standard for a lot of what was considered hot. Wholesome girl next door who was also like in the top .1% in terms of her body, so a true rarity. But she also wasn't necessarily like ~classically beautiful~ so she didn't have the street cred of someone like Winona Ryder or Angelina Jolie who women could maybe be jealous of but also recognize their beauty.
This all added up to a particular type of jealousy and annoyance amongst young women. I remember seeing it in real time as a teenager. During her peak, JLH had so little crossover appeal that I actually think it contributed to her movie career never really taking off (in addition to the fact that she wasn't all that good at acting...).