How can good looking children have not particularly good looking parents?

[smyshna]

Genuine question, just curious if anyone else has noticed this.

DH is very conventionally attractive. His two sisters are also very pretty and both modelled when they were younger. DH has been scouted too but wasn’t interested.

His parents are lovely people, but neither is what you’d call conventionally attractive. Even looking at photos of them when they were younger, you wouldn’t say either was particularly good looking.

I know genetics is a lottery but it seems quite remarkable that all three children turned out good looking. They’re all genetically related. Has anyone else come across this?

In horse breeding"When the specific cross of one bloodline onto another specific bloodline consistently produces champions, that phenomenon is known as a “nick.”"

Sounds like a "nick" for good looks was produced when your MIL's bloodline crossed with your FIL's bloodline.

Hollywood superstars often have quite plain or average kids, so it goes the other way too.

A lot of beauty is physiological and is to do with environment and not genetics. The shape of your face, which is often the biggest part of a beauty quotient is to do with your diet as a child. It’s also the reason a lot of people need braces, because food has become too soft and so children don’t regularly use their faces for pulling at tough food, so their face bones don’t grow like they’re supposed to, and so mouths end up too small to fit on all the teeth humans grow.

Beauty Potential by T Carney Bowles is really interesting on this.

The same way as anything else. Two super fit healthy parents can have a child with multiple health issues and disabilities.
Two law abiding, intelligent, kind parents can have children who commit serious crimes. Yes, you might say nature/nurture to this, but the point is they did everything to nurture their kids well.
And the only kid I know who looks very like his parents (as in, you'd cast them in a TV show together) is adopted-yet he looks more like his mum and dad than my kids who are biologically mine and my husband's. We do not look that similar, though one of my kids looks like my mum.

Princess was a really weird/ugly looking kid though. She’s definitely grown into her features now though.

Easy. Its the same as you can have two siblings who look similar but one is stunning and the other is average looking.

Beauty is a freak of nature. Slight tweak of genes and someone ordinary can have a stunning child. Or a good looking person end up with someone weird looking. One good example is Paul McCartney - he was gorgeous when he was young but his son is not attractive at all, despite looking like his dad.

You've either just read the title or entirely misread the post.
I initially thought wtf, children?

But the post is clear that it is referring to adults "children" of parents not ACTUAL children.🤦‍♀️

1. some features can be considered more attractive on the other sex. Mum's heavy jawline might not be viewed as attractive, if her son inherits it it might be considered chiselled. Dad's full lips might not suit him, his daughter might pull them off.
2. nutrition affects your face. Less eye bags, better skin, less puffy cheeks, not being overweight, a rosy glow from exercise... all make you look more attractive. Better teeth too.
3. childhood choices like dummy use, braces on teeth can affect your whole face shape.
4. age affects your face. some people have an attractive look in youth that doesnt endure, other people have striking features that only improve with age. A cute child doesnt always become a pretty woman ... and vice versa. Remember the actor who played neville longbottom as a kid then look at him as an adult.

Jude Law was very beautiful. Iris is only modelling due to him. It’s bit much actually. She’s pleasant looking enough but so many children of get the gigs.

The kids must look somewhat like their parents but a better version, I’ve seen people that are good looking, they look like the parents but a much better version, if I saw the parent first I’d say they aren’t good looking but then I see the children and think well they’re v good looking and I defo can see resemblance to the parents but a much better version. They are grown adults now so I’m not referring to the child version.

also how you eat and look after yourself plays a role.

i feel mean saying this but S Solomon’s and her sister aren’t exactly the definition of beauty but their children came out looking good especially her sisters daughter, I reckon the mixture of dna that makes certain features together look better.

Can I just say it's really good to have an enjoyable, somewhat frivolous thread (the kind of stuff you do talk about in real life with friends) and not have it derailed by some sanctimonious git.
I honestly didn't think this would last - I thought there'd be a race to have it shamed out of existence (beauty's only skin deep blah blah etc)

I think its just how features come together. Sometimes really attractive parents have very normal looking kids too.

It’s the fusion of features

This. I've seen plenty of beautiful kids turn into average-looking adults and less commonly, plain kids grow up to become absolute stunners.

Again not to be mean, I have always thought most of the royal family (UK) men and the women aren’t blessed in the looks department, they don’t particularly have features one would desire.

Interesting point.
Last week I met the daughter of a couple I know. Their daughter is 25.
The mum is extremely physically unattractive. The dad is extremely unattractive. Both early 50s. Unattractive to the point of unfortunate. This not based on an 'in my opinion', this is just fact. And no, their personalities do not make up for it. In fact their personalities match their looks.
I will admit that I had thought to myself blimey, with a mum that unattractive and then a dad doubly unattractive their daughters inherited a bad lot of genes. Well I met both last week and blow me down the older one is literally drop dead gorgeous. In every way. Face, hair, figure, skin, everything. I can't get over it. She could model but she's petite and not tall enough, but in every other way she could. Every single feature- she's honestly objectively beautiful.
I am still scratching my head about this.
Meanwhile her sibling, their younger late teenage daughter, looks exactly as I expected her to - a perfect amalgamation of 2 extremely unattractive people.
The 2 sisters would never ever be assumed to be related. Yet they come from the same parents.
Also, neither parent is academically bright. The younger DD isn't either and her path in life reflects this. Yet the older beautiful one has completed a masters with top marks.
Maybe some generations skip and this stunning young woman had a stunning intelligent grandparent? IDK, all I know is, a week later, I still can't get over how she looks like she does from those 2 parents.

don't know if it's already been said but Kate Moss was pretty quirky looking as a young girl but her face morphed into one of the most stunning that I can think of by her teens

I always think the genetic lottery is so well illustrated by one very attractive and one much more ordinary-looking sibling, who somehow still look very alike.

My younger sister is definitely the prettier of the two of us, she’s got very symmetrical features, a beautiful smile and is also blessed with height and even weight distribution.
i noticed recently looking at my dds school photos that they both massively look like her, so the genes clearly skipped me and went to them!

I saw Jude Law in his peak in a cafe in Primrose Hill and he was breathtaking. Just mesmerisingly good-looking. Made everyone else look so average.

I always think this when you look at the McGann brothers. None of them are exactly plain, varying levels of attractiveness but it obviously all came together in Paul McGann who is extraordinarily handsome.

Our children are more good-looking than us! I think they got my nice facial features with my husband’s genes for a good body and complexion.
Genetics are fascinating.

Didn't VB say he is very into his skincare!? All our men could be as luscious with a bit of Creme de la Mer!

He's not my type.

Funny you say that. I saw him in London and he looked teeny tiny and underwhelming to me!

Taste comes into all this a lot I think.

That's funny, I think he was sitting down! Perhaps I was just focused on his face which was so handsome. He might have been less impressive stood up!

I know it isn't fashionable to say anything good about Andrew, but tbf in his youth he was not unattractive, and I have heard a lot of people say that.

I'd rather have a young PA looks-wise than DB, so there you go: it's taste.

Yes his face is attractive, that's true.