Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence has topped AskMen's 99 Most Desirable Women of 2012 list.

The 22-year-old beauty, who achieved wider recognition in her role as heroine Katniss Everdeen in the box-office smash, dethroned Modern Family star Sofia Vergara who dropped down to No 12.

Lawrence beat off strong competition from some of the world's hottest women including reality star Kim Kardashian (No 98), model Miranda Kerr (6) and pop star Katy Perry (21).

Lawrence rose to the top from No 47 last year with the majority vote of a poll of 2.4 million readers.

"Overall, there's a sense that she's a little more authentic than other actors," AskMen editor-in-chief James Bassil said.

"She's fresh because we haven't seen her all over the gossip pages for the past three or four years."

Friends with Benefits star Mila Kunis came a respectable second in the 12th edition of the annual survey which the site says is based on sex appeal, character, intelligence, talent, sense of humor, professional success, achievements in 2012 and potential for 2013.

Kunis, who is dating Ashton Kutcher, has been a firm favourite on the AskMen Top 99 since 2008.

The top five was rounded up by model Kate Upton, R&B star Rihanna and Crazy, Stupid, Love actress Emma Stone.

AskMen's 99 Most Desirable Women 2012 FULL LIST

1.       Jennifer Lawrence

2.       Mila Kunis

3.       Kate Upton

4.       Rihanna

5.       Emma Stone

6.       Miranda Kerr

7.       Kristen Stewart

8.       Jessica Gomes

9.       Jessica Pare

10.   Michelle Jenneke

11.   Candice Swanepoel

12.   Sofia Vergara

13.   Blake Lively

14.   Christina Hendricks

15.   Emilia Clarke

16.   Cheryl Cole

17.   Zooey Deschanel

18.   Olivia Munn

19.   Naomie Harris

20.   Claire Danes

21.   Katy Perry

22.   Lara Stone

23.   Sarah Silverman

24.   Jessica Biel

25.   Kate Middleton

26.   Chanel Iman

27.   Adriana Lima

28.   Freja Beha Erichsen

29.   Emma Watson

30.   Hope Solo

31.   Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

32.   Beyonce

33.   Michelle Obama

34.   Alison Brie

35.   Erin Heatherton

36.   Olivia Culpo

37.   Sara Carbonero

38.   Rashida Jones

39.   Marion Cotillard

40.   Alessandra Ambrosio

41.   Lolo Jones

42.   Allison Williams

43.   Ronda Rousey

44.   Candace Bailey

45.   Scarlett Johansson

46.   Kerry Washington

47.   Anne Hathaway

48.   Natalie Portman

49.   Azealia Banks

50.   Solange Knowles

51.   Jemima Kirke

52.   Keira Knightley

53.   Antonija Misura

54.   Olivia Wilde

55.   Doutzen Kroes

56.   Selena Gomez

57.   Kat Dennings

58.   Amanda Seyfried

59.   Marissa Mayer

60.   Marcela Valladolid

61.   Heidi Klum

62.   Bar Refaeli

63.   Sherlyn Chopra

64.   Cobie Smulders

65.   Leryn Franco

66.   Morena Baccarin

67.   Bipasha Basu

68.   Paula Patton

69.   Lucy Liu

70.   Genesis Rodriguez

71.   Lana Del Rey

72.   Rachel Weisz

73.   Lindsey Vonn

74.   Chloe Wilde

75.   Carly Rae Jepsen

76.   Jessica Chastain

77.   Cassie

78.   Joan Smalls

79.   Tracy Spiridakos

80.   Tina Fey

81.   Iggy Azalea

82.   Liu Wen

83.   Rose Byrne

84.   Olivia Thirlby

85.   Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (Pussy Riot)

86.   Imogen Poots

87.   Bar Paly

88.   Shailene Woodley

89.   Aubrey Plaza

90.   Jenna Marbles

91.   Rocsi Diaz

92.   Paulina Gretzky

93.   Katie Holmes

94.   Amrita Acharia

95.   Kate Moss

96.   Ana Ivanovic

97.   Charlize Theron

98.   Kim Kardashian

99.   Berenice Marlohe

Jennifer Lawrence: "Stand up for myself"

The Friends with Benefits actress, who recently went public about her romance with Ashton Kutcher, made it to No 2.

Maybe it was the Baywatch-inspired video or the clip of her performing the Cat Daddy dance in a revealing bikini but both provocative videos were enough to send the 20-year-old Sports Illustrated model's popularity through the roof.

Rihanna

Emma Stone