THE HOTTEST POP CULTURE ICONS
PART THREE: THE 80s

Perhaps no decade added more to the pop culture lexicon of America than the 1980s. With pop rock, prime time soaps and supermodels making a name for themselves, America's long-standing love for the bright and shiny found its roots in the Me Decade. All I can offer is a random sampling of the hotness that is leftover from one of the most sizzling 10 years ever.

Bust out your Bananarama, dial 867-5309 and put on your shades, 'cause we're going back to the future as I present the five hottest pop culture icons of the 1980s.

Christie Brinkley
Uptown girl of my wet dreams


Though she came to fame in the 1970s thanks to her Cover Girl status, she didn't become synonymous with masturbation until the 1980s. After her three consecutive "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit covers, no red-blooded male could deny his thirst for the girl in the ferrari. Just look at the effect she had on poor Clark Griswald in Vacation.

Because she made everything sexy, from make-up to sports cars, Christie Brinkley is one of the hottest pop culture icons of the 1980s.

Whitney Houston
Voice like a golden harp, temper like a pitchfork


You either love Whitney Houston because or in spite of the fact that she's crazy. Even still, when you take away the attitude, the legacy, and the incomprehensible husband, you're left with a strikingly beautiful woman. Aside from beauty, the only trait you can't take away from Whitney is her voice. You can keep Mariah Carey. I'll take this set of lungs any day.

Because of her beauty, talent and irrepressible bitchiness, Whitney Houston is one of the hottest pop culture icons of the 1980s.

Heather Locklear
Can Sammy Jo come out and play?


Though the resident scene-stealer on Dynasty was that old hag Joan Collins, everyone knew Heather Locklear was the hot one. And long before she stepped into the mini-skirts of Melrose Place, she knew how to heat up prime-time TV. Whether avoiding death in a Moldavian massacre or convincing a gay man to sleep with, impregnate and marry her, Locklear's Sammy Jo was the trendsetter in subtle manipulation. In a decade polluted with trashy evening soap bitches, she was the classy one.

Because she's the queen of Aaron Spelling's bad girls, Heather Locklear is one of the hottest pop culture icons of the 1980s.

Teela
Hotter than She-Ra


Even if He-Man hadn't been She-Ra's sister, he would have been a fool for choosing her over Teela. Confident, athletic and disarmingly flexible, Teela was the hottest cartoon warrior ever of all time period. Whether taking charge of Man-at-Arm's fleet or kicking some Evil-Lyn ass, she showed that single-cell animation could provide an erotic world all its own.

Because she could take She-Ra in a fight, Teela is one of the hottest pop culture icons of the 1980s.

Helen Slater
The triple threat



Helen Slater had exactly three big roles in her career (all in the 80s), and then *POOF* off to whatever-happened-to land. But talk about presence. First, she was Supergirl. Then, she kicked 80s ass as Billie Jean, the campy yet misunderstood runaway from The Legend of Billie Jean. Finally, as Michael J. Fox's straight-laced love interest in The Secret of My Success, she showed that corporate could be sexy. She still works regularly in television, but Helen Slater's heyday came from being the versatile babe of the 80s.

Because she was both super hero and champion of teenage injustice, Helen Slater is one of the hottest pop culture icons of the 1980s.