The conventional wisdom says this is a city of former class presidents and valedictorians, not prom queens and kings. But after a six-week hunt for the best-looking Washingtonians, we discovered that brains come wrapped in some surprising packages. How did we find these people? We called everywhere from law firms to universities, hospitals to Senate offices. We put a note on the magazine’s Web site asking for nominations. We asked everyone we spoke to: Who’s the most beautiful person you know? We collected hundreds of photos. We had a few rules. No models, no underachievers. In the end, we found a dentist who made us swoon. A law partner who turns heads. A restaurant owner who looks decades younger than he is.

Here are 2006’s Beautiful People:

1. Adam Teicholz
2. Alethia Nancoo
3. Amanda McClements
4. Barack Obama
5. Ben Bradlee
6. Chris Young
7. Dr. Brian Gray
8. John Cecchi 
9. John Hill 
10. Johnny Monis 
11. Katja Brandis
12. Kenya Pierce
13. Mary Ourisman
14. Matt Nickell
15. Michael Robinson Chavez
16. Mojgan Shokri
    
17. Nick Assad
18. Paige Johnson
19. Pamela Aparicio
20. Priya Pandya
21. Roberto Alvarez
22. Sarah Lee
23. Sharif El-Mahdi 
24. Shigeko Bork
25. Torun Walker