For many stars of the stage and screen, being featured in the pages of Playboy magazine is somewhat of a rite of passage. These salacious photos can be incredibly empowering for them and beyond that, their fans sure seem to enjoy them as well.
From Marilyn Monroe to Madonna, countless stars have stripped down to their birthday suits to give viewers a glimpse of some of their most valuable “assets”. And for many of them, being featured in this iconic Men’s magazine has done wonders for their career trajectories.
Since it’s inception in 1953, Playboy magazine has been as polarizing of a publication as it has been a subject of immense fascination for the masses. The nudey mags founder, Hugh Hefner, was a pioneering player of the sexual revolution, and his controversial creation ended up becoming a cultural pillar for decades.
In this definitely Not-Safe-For-Work video, we’ll be taking a look back at some of the stars that you might have forgotten had once graced the pages of the magazine you probably kept hidden under the mattress when you were a teenager.
Terry Moore
There is practically nothing that Terry Moore hasn’t done. She dates Hollywood bad boy James Dean. They’re good friends with Marilyn Monroe and get to work with her longtime idol Tyrone Power. Then, she marries the eccentric magnate Howard Hughes. In 1952, she nominates for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Come Back, Little Sheba. At 93, Moore is one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
In August of 1984, Moore became the oldest woman to pose in the nude for Playboy. Even though she was 55 when she posed for the magazine, she still looked incredible!
In 2020, Moore was interviewed by Fox News, who asked her what her Playboy experience was like. Moore revealed that her husband at the time had begged her to do it. At first, she refuses, but after informing that she chooses what photos for publication, she warms up to the idea.
After the shoot, she realized that they were some of the best pictures that had ever been taken of her. She blows away by the photography, lighting, and makeup. Moore tells Fox that she never believes it if someone tells her before that she’ll pose for the magazine. In the end, she pleases with the results.
Carol Lynley
Best known for her role in 1972s The Poseidon Adventure, actress Carol Lynley started her career as a child model before transitioning to acting. Her film career began in 1958 when she appeared in the Disney film The Light in the Forest. She followed that role up with appearances in 1959s Holiday for Lovers and Blue Denim. The latter proves to be quite controversial as she and co-star Brandon deWilde depict her as dealing with an unwanted pregnancy and then an abortion which was illegal at the time.
At the peak of her career at 22, Lynley posed nude for the March 1965 issue of Playboy. Afterward, her career started to decline.
Marilyn Monroe
The first issue of Playboy hit newsstands in December 1953. One of the first famous women to appear on the cover was Marilyn Monroe. Even though Monroe’s nudes were used to help launch the magazine and it’s cover was emblazoned with the words ‘the famous Marilyn Monroe nude’, the late blonde bombshell hadn’t consented to the images being used, nor was she ever paid for her appearance.
While that might sound shocking, especially by today’s standards, Hugh Hefner and company hadn’t actually broken any existing laws by using her nude photos without her permission.
Monroe had taken the nude photos at a time when she needed to pay her bills. In 1949, Monroe found herself strapped for cash and unemployed when she agreed to pose naked for pin-up photographer Tom Kelley for a whopping $50. She desperately needed to pay her car payment and didn’t have any other options.
The shoot took two hours, and Monroe had Kelly promise her that she would look unrecognizable in the pictures. To further protect herself and feeling ashamed and embarrassed at what she had just done, Marilyn signed the release documents with her alias “Mona Monroe”.
$900 For Nudes
Kelley later sold the nudes for $900 to the Western Lithograph Company, who later published them as part of a pin-up calendar called “Golden Dreams”. A year after posing for the shoot out of sheer desperation, Marilyn started finding success as an actress when she appeared in the 1950 films All About Eve and The Asphalt Jungle.
After Monroe had become a bonafide star, Hefner became obsessed with her. He then purchased the rights to her nude photos from Western Lithograph in the Fall of 1953 for $500. Like we already mentioned, after Monroe’s nude photos were featured in Hef’s magazine in 1953, she never received a dime from him. She even had to purchase her own copy of the magazine just to see the images for herself.
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Nancy Sinatra
Best remembered for her hit songs like Sugar Town and These Boots Are Made For Walking, Nancy Sinatra, the daughter of famed crooner Frank Sinatra was one of the biggest sex symbols of the swingin’ 60s.
In 1972, Nancy decided to exit the spotlight to start a family. After more than two decades of home life, at the age of 54, Sinatra posed for a 1995 issue of Playboy. Surprisingly, Nancy’s conservative, Catholic family supported her decision to appear in the magazine. When she asked her dad about doing it, Frank simply told her that she should demand that Hefner double the amount that he was going to pay her. Taking Ol’ Blue Eyes advice, Nancy did just that, and Hugh ended up agreeing to her terms.
Vanna White
Of all the stars that you would expect to pose for Playboy, the squeaky clean, wholesome Vanna White of Wheel Of Fortune fame was one of the most surprising. White had regrets about the lingerie-clad photos that she consented to for the magazine. She would later reveal that she needed the money to pay her rent when she first moved to Tinsel Town.
When Hefner bought the photos, she specifically requested that they would not be used for the cover. Despite her wishes, in May 1987, White appeared on the cover of Playboy. Afterward, a huge rift was formed between her and the now-infamous millionaire bachelor.
Cindy Crawford
Supermodel and actress Cindy Crawford has always been this winning combo of girl next door meets sex goddess. It was Crawford’s down-to-earth innocence and wholesome reputation that made her an unlikely candidate for a Playboy centerfold. Regardless, she ended up posing for three issues of the magazine in 1988, 1996, and 1998.
Suzanne Somers
This Three’s Company star appeared in Playboy on two occasions – first in 1980 and then again in 1984. Her first round of nudes were taken by photographer Stan Malinowski in 1970 when she was still just a struggling actress and model. She was told that she was a candidate to be Playmate of the Month in 1971, but she declined the honor right before the shoot.
She later denied posing in the nude while she was a guest on The Tonight Show. After the episode aired, Malinowski published the photos that he had taken a decade earlier. Reportedly Somers was initially motivated to pose nude in order to pay for medical bills for her son Bruce Jr. after he sustained injuries in a car accident.
When the photos were finally published, Somers feared that her son, who was then 14, would see her nudes, so she sued Playboy and ended up settling for $50,000.
Four years later, hoping to boost her career after her popularity died down following her 1981 Three’s Company contract debacle, Somers posed for a nude pictorial with photographer Richard Fegley. This time around, she believed that she would have more control over the quality of photos that would be selected. Despite her belief that her son would not want to see his mother naked, Bruce Jr did end up viewing her second pictorial when he was 18.
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah refused to pose naked for photos throughout the 70s and 89s, so when she appeared in the nude in the December 1995 issue of Playboy, she created quite a stir. The issue ended up becoming one of the best selling editions of Playboy in 90s, selling more than four million copies globally.
After turning 50, Fawcett posed for Playboy once again for it’s July 1997 issue. Once again, it went on to become another bestseller.
Dolly Parton
In October 1978, the queen of country music, Dolly Parton donned bunny ears to pose for the cover of Playboy. She was the first country singer to ever appear on the magazine’s cover. While she didn’t appear nude in the photoshoot, it went on to become one of the most famous covers and centerfolds in the magazine’s history.
In 2021, at 75, Dolly dusted off her old bunny outfit to recreate her famous pose for her husband Carl Dean’s Birthday.
Joey Heatherton
This American singer, dancer, and actress was one of the most prominent sex symbols of the 60s and 70s. She is perhaps best known for her numerous television appearances around this time – especially as a frequent variety show guest. As far as films go, Heatherton starred in films such as 1965s My Blood Runs Cold and 1977s The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington.
In 1997, at the age of 52. Heatherton posed nude for Playboy’s April issue.
Well, that about wraps up this video. Which celebrity were you most surprised to learn appeared nude in the pages of Playboy? And can you think of any other unexpected stars who posed naked for the magazine? Let us know in the comments
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