Her bio describes her as "unconventionally pretty".
Who wrote that? Get some glasses. The word you meant to use was "hot".
I would only use that phrase for maybe Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchette, if you wanted to stretch it.
It tends to look like a backhanded compliment!
Its that man again!!
She has a crooked mouth, squinty eyes and a rather strange nose. Yet she is still sexy... I can see the whole unconventional side to her looks, yes it isn't flattering but it describes her rather well!
shareBtw, a reporter recently mentioned this to her...
Me: Yay! Before I leave you: IMDb.com says you're "unconventionally pretty." Your thoughts?
Barkin: I'll go along with the unconventional part. [Pause.] It's like a Jewish mother. They can never give you a compliment! [Laughs.]
Full interview here: http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-05-25/columns/so-much-to-talk-about-w ith-ellen-barkin/
I think the phrase isn't necessarily negative, and it does seem to fit her. She doesn't have symmetrical, 'typical' features, but she is still widely acknowledged as being good-looking. To me that is unconventionally pretty. Tilda Swinton, on the other hand, would be described as androgynous.
shareI, personally, don't see that as an insult. She is not conventionally cookie-cutter pretty, yet lots of people consider her pretty and sexy in her own right. I, for one, see her as pretty and sexy. You see some Hollywood and other types who get plastic surgery trying to attain a Barbie-like look. That look is a conventional look, pretty or not. Conventional beauty, for me, is an artificially determined value. In my opinion, it only means something to people who like to follow the crowd.
shareI'm attracted to the words unconventionality, unique, unusual, It means, at least to me that it's not cookie-cutter
Accept Loss ~ Jack Kerouac