MORE is less.

Just look at Canadian actress Emmanuelle Chriqui, who has topped an annual poll of the world’s 99 most desirable women.

The organisers said her appeal was boosted by the fact that she does not feature heavily in celebrity magazines.

The 32-year-old actress, best known for the TV series Entourage, was named by men’s website AskMen.com as the woman with the qualities most men would want in a girlfriend or wife.

She took the title from last year’s winner Eva Mendes.

Previous winners of the annual list of the world’s Top 99 Most Desirable Women, now in its 10th year, include Katherine Heigl, Beyonce, Jessica Alba and Adriana Lima.

“Hearing what the vote is made of is the biggest compliment of all because it’s about being a well-rounded woman. That’s really empowering and is just a massive compliment to me,” Chriqui said in a statement after coming 12th last year.

In second place in this year’s poll, which attracted about eight million votes, was American model Marisa Miller and third was British actress Kate Beckinsale.

Not overexposed

AskMen.com’s editor-in-chief James Bassil said Chriqui’s role in Entourage as a sweet, ideal girlfriend had helped her in the survey – but so had the fact that she is not over-exposed.

“We don’t see a lot of her. She is not a very public person so it leaves some room to the imagination. She is not out there making a spectacle of herself which could sully her image,” he told Reuters.

“A lot of the behaviour we see in the media is not the kind of behaviour that you want to see in a girlfriend or wife.

“You can get over-saturation and we don’t want to see their real and sometimes stained and depressed sides of their lives.”

She told AskMen.com: “I feel like I want to be known first and foremost for my work. The rest is not my priority.

“I want people – if they think of me – to think of a film they really enjoyed or something that they saw. I am more comfortable that way.

“I don’t think everybody needs to know my business.

She said she was totally stunned when she topped the poll.

“I laughed because I thought that is so crazy! It’s such a massive compliment. I don’t understand how or why, but I think it’s so lovely.

“I laughed about it because I didn’t understand desirable woman – in what context? Is it because of fans of the show?”

She said knowing what the vote is made of is the biggest compliment of all because it’s not just about being “hot” but about being a well-rounded woman.

She said: “That’s really empowering. People recognise that I care about other things. That’s a massive compliment.”

She has appeared in a list of films including Don’t Mess With The Zohan, and TV series The O.C. and Entourage.

Celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears who appear regularly in the media did not feature at all in this year’s list.

Spears reappeared on the list in 2009 after a few years’ absence but was out of favour again in 2010.

“It has to do with a lack of mystery and enigma,” said Mr Bassil.

He said it was interesting to note that Megan Fox has fallen from second place to No 11 in 2010 after a year of heavy publicity for the American actress.

Newcomers to this year’s list included Italian model/actress Elisabetta Canalis, 31, who debuted at No43.

Mr Bassil put it down to the fact that she is dating Hollywood idol George Clooney.

Said Mr Bassil: “All the top women we see in this list are pretty well-behaved and respectable women. We don’t see a lot of them parading around in public unless it is in the framework of their careers.”

Here are the top 10 women with their position in last year’s poll in brackets.

1. Emmanuelle Chriqui (12)

2. Marisa Miller (3)

3. Kate Beckinsale (10)

4. Alessandra Ambrosio (6)

5. Jessica Alba (15)

6. Beyonce (50)

7. Penelope Cruz (25)

8. Cheryl Cole (20)

9. Eva Mendes (1)

10. Miranda Kerr (46)

This article was first published in The New Paper.