Liz has the body women want

The 41-year-old Estee Lauder model first showcased her curves in the famous Versace safety-pinned dress.

She was named the number one British Body Idol in a poll of 5,000 women for New Woman magazine.

Maintaining the Hurley figure is hard work. She once confessed to eating just one full meal a day and snacking on six raisins, while watercress soup is a staple of her diet.

New Woman editor Helen Johnston said: "She is pencil-slim but still curvy, the ideal most women desperately want.

"However, ordinary women can comfort themselves with the fact it is a 24-hour-a-day job, requires iron determination and probably very little food.

"For most of us, a body like Elizabeth Hurley's would require a lifetime of sacrifice."

Hurley's win does not prove that curves are in. The female celebrity in second place was Victoria Beckham.

"Victoria Beckham is often criticised for her body size, but it seems British women are obsessed with her shape and wouldn't hesitate to swap their body for hers. Women think she looks good," Johnston said.

Former Hear'Say star Myleene Klass was third. Showing off her bikini-clad body in a white bikini on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! has earned her a modelling job as the new face of Marks and Spencer.

Kelly Brook was fourth, followed by Kate Moss and Kate Winslet.

Cat Deeley, Jordan, Sienna Miller and the slender Keira Knightley complete the top 10.
Coleen McLoughlin is at number 11.

The list features a mix of the voluptuous (Nigella Lawson, Kirstie Allsopp, Davina McCall) and the super-skinny (Jemima Khan, Trinny Woodall and Lily Cole).

One-fifth of the top 100 belong to women over 40 - including Hurley.

They include Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren (15th), Carol Vorderman (19th), Joanna Lumley (36th), Felicity Kendal (73rd) and Fern Britton (93rd).

"The variety of women voted onto the Body Idol list is extraordinary in its breadth - from the tiniest size O to far more voluptuous celebrities who women admire and secretly envy for being comfortable in their own skin.

"It's also great to see such a high percentage of women over 40, showing that a sexy shape doesn't have to disappear with age," Johnston said.

The Top 20 Body Idols...

1 Liz Hurley
2 Victoria Beckham
3 Myleene Klass
4 Kelly Brook
5 Kate Moss
6 Kate Winslet
7 Cat Deeley
8 Jordan
9 Sienna Miller
10 Keira Knightley
11 Coleen McLoughlin
12 Jamelia
13 Twiggy
14 Nadine Coyle
15 Dame Helen Mirren
16 Cheryl Tweedy
17 Emma Bunton
18 Kate Middleton
19 Carol Vorderman
20 Fearne Cotton