matinee idol
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Even better, he has used his beauty not to become a matinee idol but to unsettle and surprise us, portraying characters whose handsomeness is very much the point but not the whole story.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
Former matinee idol Brendan Fraser, with the lead actor win for his wrenching turn as a morbidly obese man in “The Whale,” reached the climax of a his own comeback story.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2023
In 1945 she eloped with the matinee idol Richard Cromwell, who was 16 years her senior but the relationship failed after less than a year after he revealed he was gay.
From BBC • Oct. 11, 2022
He has matinee idol looks, but if you film him from another angle, he can look very disturbing, and that makes him rather ambiguous, and I wanted this ambiguity for the audience.
From Salon • Apr. 29, 2022
Many of them called greetings to Cliff Lowell, who responded with his bored smile, like a matinee idol who feels he needs a vacation.
From The Thunder Bird by Bower, B. M.
