Just like Oprah, I too have my favorite things.  Chocolate croissants, salami, Coca Cola in a styrofoam cup with crushed ice, anything that starts or ends with the word “pizza.”  Can you tell I haven’t eaten yet?  I paid tribute to one of my all time favorites recently with an article reflecting on the beauty of the redhead.  Those were good times, but the last thing I want is for someone to accuse me of discrimination!  No no, I appreciate you non-gingers out there as well.  So, I think it’s time to tackle the next shade of hair and present to you, the brunette!!

You all thought I was going blonde didn’t you?  Too easy and frankly a little trite, I much rather prefer the dark and mysterious tones of the brunette.  From milk chocolate to warm and smokey, from golden to auburn and all the way down to light chestnut, the brown haired scalps of television actresses have hypnotized us since TV went color.  Gentlemen prefer blondes, but they marry brunettes!  Here then are my Top 5, no Top 10…

wait, Top 11 favorite brunettes of television!!

UPDATE: So, I tend to do a lot of things at once and as I was clearing out some notes from my desk, I noticed I’d scribbled a name down for this list on the back of a page and totally forgot to include this wonderful brunette!  So, I’d like to apologize to Glee’s Lea Michele who is stunning and clearly a Top 5 contender if not #1!!  I’ll make it up to you!

11. Jenna Fischer (The Office)

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I just couldn’t leave Jenna Fischer off this list!!  She is the cool, fun, sexy work wife we all want when we’re stuck in a cubicle job and on top of that, she introduced us all to the idea of “second drink!”

10. Morena Baccarin (Firefly, V)

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I’ll admit, her closely shorn locks on V fall short of the best look she’s had, but as the high class, super concubine Inara on Firefly, Morena melted the hearts of geeks across multiple galaxies.   Tack on stints on Stargate SG-1, The O.C., and How I Met Your Mother, and Baccarin is one brunette worthy of attention.  Thank you Brazil!

9. Mila Kunis (That 70′s Show, Family Guy)

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So, when I see myself place Mila Kunis at #9, you basically can read this list as 1-A through 1-K.  Keeping it international, Kunis was born in the Ukraine and speaks that sexy spy language known as Russian.  She is also an admitted World of Warcraft nut, learned English by watching The Price is Right, and has two different color eyes!!  Nice catch Macaulay Culkin!

8. Padma Lakshmi (Top Chef)

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The first of two food show based brunettes, Padma is living proof that being a dorky writer can score you a super hot wife.  At least for a little while, right Salman Rushdie?  This Indian beauty has been tearing TV up with her hosting gig on Top Chef where she was nominated for an Emmy, as well as  scoring numerous TV cameos and a cook book or two.

7. Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies)

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There were a number of reasons I was bummed out when Pushing Daisies got canned, not the least of which was losing my weekly does of the adorable Anna Friel.  As the “revived” Charlotte “Chuck” Charles, Anna was so cute, she made bee keeper outfits look sexy!

6. Rachel Leigh Cook (Psych)

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I might have had a hard time justifying the mostly big screen Cook being on a TV list if it wasn’t for her recent turn on USA’s Psych, but she is so crush worthy I probably would’ve done it anyway!  Seriously, I watch everything she does, not always with the best results, but I’ve been an RLC fan since her “This is Your Brain on Drugs” ad where she goes postal with a frying pan in the kitchen.  Crazy and hot?  Sold!

5. Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage)

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I have a buddy who is gonna scold me for letting this French Canadian hottie fall this far down the list, but when you’re dealing with this level of cute, you’re splitting hairs to start with!  He wouldn’t be wrong though, as Emmanuelle has managed to outshine a parade of beautiful girls on Entourage to become the highlight of any episode she graces.

4. Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls, Parenthood)

If you’ve read my stuff before, you know I am an unapologetic Gilmore Girls fan so it should be no surprise to see the quirky and beautiful Lauren Graham land high on this list.  While most known for her role as Lorelei, Lauren has been flashing her cute smile and sardonic wit on TV’s since 1996.  I know I am looking forward to her upcoming project Parenthood debuting March 2nd on NBC.  Hopefully it will be good and I can admire LG for seasons to come.

3. Nigella Lawson (Nigella Bites, The Today Show)

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There’s not a girl on this list who doesn’t wish to look as good at 50 as Great Britain’s domestic goddess Nigella Lawson.  As the host of numerous cooking shows bearing her name, Nigella is the diamond in the crown of TV chefs.  Sultry, flirty, funny and an amazing cook, if you didn’t have a food fetish before you first watched Nigella, you sure do now!

2. Alyssa Milano (Who’s The Boss, Charmed)

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There is not a single guy in my generation who did not not fall in love with Alyssa Milano.  For me, I was standing in line at Disneyland wearing a hockey jersey and I hear this girl compliment my fashion choice and look up to realize it was Alyssa!!  She was the first celeb I ever met and the first (out of like three total) girl I ever had a poster of on my wall.  And 25 plus years after first appearing on TV, she looks as gorgeous as ever.

1. Rachel Bilson (The O.C.)

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Rachel Sarah Bilson is such a lovely brunette, her birthday should be a national holiday.  Besides being the interesting girl on The O.C., Rachel has appeared on Buffy and Chuck while climbing Maxim’s Hot 100 list every year.  People even named her one of their 100 Most Beautiful in 2006.  Added nerd bonus, engaged to Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen!  This was a tough list to assemble, but I knew Rachel was sitting at #1 the whole time.