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

Olivier, who was playing Archie Rice, was at the peak of his acting career and considered something of a matinee idol.

From BBC • Jan. 17, 2025

Everyone knows that his cultivated image of a wealthy playboy who wined and dined beautiful women like he was some kind of matinee idol is another one of his lies.

From Salon • May 10, 2024

There’s former matinee idol Brendan Fraser, whose turn as a morbidly obese teacher in “The Whale” has earned him a lead actor nomination.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2023

There was a comedian in this cast, and a matinee idol for a leading man, and Magsie must content herself with a part and a salary much smaller than was given to either of these.

From The Heart of Rachael by Norris, Kathleen Thompson