PARIS – French women have spurned elegance and glamour to name a 97-year-old nun, a 4-foot, 4-inch comedienne, and an actress specializing in frumpish roles as the females they most admire.

The top three in a poll for Elle magazine, Sister Emmanuelle, Mimie Mathy, 48, and Josiane Balasko, 55, were described as “heroines of modern times,” sharing generosity, compassion, humor, and joie de vivre.

Most of the others in the top 25 were in their 30s or older.

Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci, at fifth and sixth, were the highest ranked among those who would be classed as classically beautiful.

Three actresses thought by Elle to symbolize a “certain idea of feminine French refinement,” Catherine Deneuve, Carole Bouquet, and Jeanne Moreau, were in joint 11th position.

Sister Emmanuelle, born Madeleine Cinquin in Brussels, has devoted her life to working with the poor, especially in Egypt where she became known as the ragpicker, or scavenger, of the slums of Cairo.

Her parents were manufacturers of chic lingerie, dividing the family’s time between London and Paris. But at the age of 6 she was deeply affected by witnessing her father’s death by drowning and took holy vows as a teenager.

She dismisses comparisons with Mother Teresa but has built an army of admirers throughout the francophone world.

Sister Emmanuelle is now living out her days in prayer and meditation at a convent in Provence. But she still appears on talk shows belying her frail appearance with forthright views on poverty and youth.

Elle quoted the religious historian Odon Vallet as saying: “One might want to spend the night with a beautiful young woman, but the day with Sister Emmanuelle.

“In an eroticized age, she represents the return of charity and religious humanism.”

The president of her Paris-based charity, Trao Nguyen, told the Daily Telegraph: “She is increasingly weak and tired but remains lively and strong in spirit.

“But it is true that the top places in the poll suggest that French women were looking for deeper qualities than just show-business appeal and glamour.”

Ms. Mathy makes light of being a dwarf and is sometimes known as the “guardian angel” of French television after a hit series in which she played one.

Ms. Balasko could hardly seem more different from the stereotypical French actress. Outside France she is best known for starring roles as a butch, cigar-smoking lesbian in “French Twist,” a 1995 film that she also wrote and directed.