Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
As summer winds down and the autumn chill begins to set in, it’s time to gear up and get ready to go back to school. Even if you’re out of the classroom, chances are September 1st conjures memories of the school days of yesteryear. You can see the apple decorations on the walls, you can smell pencils being sharpened, and you can remember that one big crush you had on a teacher.
Yep, let’s not deny it. At some point, we all had a teacher who made a very particular impact on us. So let’s celebrate the sexy teachers and professors in film and television that we can appreciate as adults without shame. We’re ranking 30 famous teachers in pop culture based on how hot they are. Did your favorite make the grade?
(Please note that we omitted Mr. Kotter from Welcome Back, Kotter on principle as he would blow the competition away.)
What? Like you've never had a thing for an aging Brit with a fabulous mustache. [Where to Stream Goodbye Mr. Chips]Everett Collection
I mean…he's got a musical soul. That's hot, right? [Where to Stream Mr. Holland's Opus]Everett Collection
You might think we're jesting, but never forget that Schwarzenegger became famous because of his impressive physique. The punchlines about tumors and ferrets came later. [Where to Stream Kindergarten Cop]Everett Collection
Hey, some people really like a "take-charge" kind of guy who intensely stalks the halls with a baseball bat. [Where to Stream Lean on Me]Everett Collection
Though she may be an eccentric animated character, Ms. Frizzle can give real human teachers a run for their money. Not only is she smart (and kind of magical), but she also has an outrageous style that makes her stand apart. [Watch The Magic School Bus on Netflix]Everett Collection
Making music and being funny are two time-tested aphrodisiacs, and Jack Black has both in abundance. [Where to Stream School of Rock]Everett Collection
There's nothing more attractive than a man in a tweed suit railing about the state of poetry. I'M SERIOUS. [Where to Stream Dead Poets Society]Everett Collection
Maybe he had trouble spelling the word "professor," but Ted Mosby fit right in to the world of academics as a hot-to-trot architecture professor. [Where to Stream How I Met Your Mother]CBS
He's not a bad boy; he's a tortured soul. Professor Severus Snape did everything in his life all for the memory of his dead love, Lily Potter. If only that didn't [Where to Stream Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]Everett Collection
Yeah, Snape has that brooding Byronic thing going for him, but Professor Lupin is, like, way hotter. He's sweet, smart, brave, and always has chocolate on hand. Consider us howling. [Where to Stream Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]Everett Collection
Long before she was Professor McGonagle, Maggie Smith was inspiring young minds as Miss Jean Brodie - an elegant and sassy teacher full of charm and spirit. [Where to Stream The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie]Everett Collection
Never before have nerdiness and neurosis looked so hot. [Watch Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp on Netflix]Everett Collection
Mr. Turner was definitely the "cool" teacher, and being cool is a big part of being sexy, but he was never the sexiest teacher on Boy Meets World. [Where to Stream Boy Meets World]Everett Collection
MR. FEENY IS HOTTER THAN MR. TURNER. WE STAND BY THIS. [Where to Stream Boy Meets World]Everett Collection
Tina Fey defined "librarian sexy" in the early '00s, so it's no surprise that her character in Mean Girls has her playful humor and hot smarts in spades. [Where to Stream Mean Girls]Everett Collection
Though he's technically a high school football coach and not a fully-accredited classroom educator, we would love to be schooled on the finer points of life (and football) by the boyishly handsome Coach Taylor. [Where to Stream Friday Night Lights]Everett Collection
Admit it: you too would go undercover as a high school student if you got to ride a ferris wheel with a hottie like Mr. Coulson. [Where to Stream Never Been Kissed]Everett Collection
With her big blue eyes and adorkable spirit, Jess Day brings a super sunshine-y version of sexy to the classroom. [Where to Stream New Girl]Everett Collection
Ms. Cross has the kind of refined beauty and elegant sexuality that can ruin a boy and destroy a man. [Where to Stream Rushmore]Everett Collection
Even though we're not sold on Fever Pitch, we are definitely buying whatever Jimmy Fallon was selling in his early years as the cutest scamp in comedy. [Where to Stream Fever Pitch]Everett Collection
Like who wouldn't want to get with a gorgeous, gabby teacher with great style and access to an alien ship that can travel through time and space? [Where to Stream Doctor Who]Everett Collection
Do you know what's hotter than a vampire? A vampire hunter! And do you know what's hotter than a vampire hunter? One who teaches history! [Where to Stream The Vampire Diaries]Everett Collection
If you're a grown man who has to go back to school in order to inherit your father's company, having eye candy like Ms. Vaughn can't hurt. [Where to Stream Billy Madison]Everett Collection
Robin Williams played a 10-year-old boy trapped in the body of a 40-year-old man (because of Werner's syndrome) in this Francis Ford Coppola film. Naturally, the kid developed a crush on his teacher, played by a young Jennifer Lopez (YES, WE KNOW YOU'RE SHOCKED THAT FFC DIRECTED JACK.) [Where to Stream Jack]Everett Collection
Is he A? Is he not A? Is he a good teacher? Is he a statutory rapist? (Well, he's at least that last one.) In any event, Ezra is one of the hottest guys on a show resplendent with hot people, which lands him high on this list despite his dubious life choices. [Where to Stream Pretty Little Liars]ABC Family
With her leather jacket and stone cold stare, Louanne Johnson wasn't just a tough teacher, but an undeniably hot one, too. (And yeah, she killed it in cardigans, too!) [Where to Stream Dangerous Minds]Everett Collection
Okay, but like, besides the crippling cocaine addiction, you'd totally want to cozy up to Ryan Gosling's character in Half Nelson. [Where to Stream Half Nelson]Everett Collection
We're sure that John Pressman's a great teacher and all, but if our teacher looked like Paul Rudd, we'd probably never get anything done. DAT FACE. [Where to Stream Admission]Everett Collection
Cameron Diaz's naughty Ms. Halsey is the terrible teacher that we all secretly fantasized about having when we were young. We bet that some of you are probably fantasizing about more than being in her class. [Where to Stream Bad Teacher]Everett Collection
Remember what we said about tweed and passion? Well, no one looks better in a tweed suit, nerdy glasses, and a confused stupor than 1980s Harrison Ford. [Where to Stream Raiders of the Lost Ark]Everett Collection
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