FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World 1998

FHM's 100 Sexiest Women was an annual listing compiled by the monthly British men's lifestyle magazine FHM. The list was compiled each year by the magazine based on votes from their readers on women whom they believed to the "sexiest". Each list was first announced by FHM through both a dedicated issue of their magazine and a section on their official website, FHM.com. The first list was published in 1995 and was voted for by a panel of 250 judges; the inaugural winner was the German supermodel Claudia Schiffer. From 1996 onwards, the poll was instead voted for by the general public, with, at its height, several million votes being cast each year. Subsequent winners included the Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova, the American actress Halle Berry, and Jennifer Lopez. At 36 years old, Berry was the oldest woman ever to top the listing, while Lopez was the first to top it more than once. The list ran every year from 1995 to 2015; by the time FHM ceased publication in January 2016, the 100 Sexiest Women list had been compiled 21 times.

Alongside the 100 Sexiest Women list, FHM also twice published a "Most Eligible Bachelorettes" list, in 2006 and 2007, to celebrate qualities such as "talent, star quality and cash". These lists were topped by the American actress Mischa Barton and Rod Stewart's daughter Kimberly Stewart, respectively. To commemorate the 10th and 20th anniversaries of the 100 Sexiest Women list, two one-off charts were compiled in April 2004 and May 2014, respectively to recognise the sexiest women up to those points. The winner of the 2004 list was the English singer Louise Redknapp, who had placed on every 100 Sexiest list since 1996, while the 2014 chart topper was Rachel Stevens, who had peaked at number two in 2001, 2002, and 2004.

The first 100 Sexiest Women list was published in 1995, and was compiled exclusively by a panel of 250 judges; the German supermodel Claudia Schiffer topped the inaugural list. The following year's poll was the first to be opened up to the general public – a total of 10,000 votes were cast, with the American actress Gillian Anderson being announced as the winner that September. A spokesman for FHM described her as the "thinking man's crumpet" and a "surprise winner"; Anderson had posed half-naked on the front cover of the magazine earlier that year.

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