Few would find fault with the choice. On the Web, online interest in Bowden surged more than 500% after the news. Not surprisingly, related lookups on "katrina bowden pictures" spiked even higher. Also seeing big bumps: "katrina bowden 30 rock," "katrina bowden biography," and, from hopeful men the world over, a pleading inquiry -- "does katrina bowden have a boyfriend."
For her part, Bowden was kind enough to at least pretend to be surprised by the honor. She gives credit to the "30 Rock" fans who, no doubt, helped contribute to her triumph over such perennial favorites as Megan Fox and previous winners like Brooklyn Decker and Christina Hendricks.
Esquire called her an underdog, but she ended upblazing an impressive trail all the way to the championship. In the first round, she garnered more votes than Padma Lakshmi. Then she topped Kim Kardashian, Emmy Rossum, the "Glee" girls, and Megan Fox.
It's true that Esquire's award isn't exactly an Oscar. But still, expect the honor to help move Bowden ever closer to Hollywood's A-list.