Akhilesh C.
Nudity is arguably one of the best-selling points of a film. However, only a handful of filmmakers have succeeded in making nudity appear more artistic than vulgar. From some of the top Hollywood actresses to downright rising potential stars, many have dared to bare it all despite the no-nudity clause in some of their contracts. Moreover, most of the time, nudity is only implied, or a body double is used. Frontal nudity, however, requires more tactfulness. The usage of prosthetics and body doubles has undoubtedly made it easier to film nude scenes and is perhaps one of the reasons why we see more of the bare in the movies nowadays.
Keeping that in mind, we bring you a list of films and scenes in which the actresses go fully naked. This is by no means a definitive list or a best-to-worst list. It is just to familiarize you with the exceptional actresses who dared to bare it all on screen in front of a film crew and yet were comfortable giving a perfect shot.
35. Jennifer Lawrence (No Hard Feelings)
Jennifer Lawrence went full nude in a sex comedy of all the genres she has covered in her filmography and how! She plays the role of 32-year-old Maddie, who goes skinny dipping with 19-year-old Percy Baker (Andrew Barth Feldman). She has been hired to prepare him for his upcoming college days. In other words, she has to be his date so he can learn how to get acquainted with girls, which will soon be necessary. While the two are having fun in the sea, some kids take their clothes away. This is when Maddie, fully nude, rushes after them, beats them up, and takes the clothes back. As sudden as the scene feels, Lawrence reportedly felt that it was hilarious.
34. Elizabeth Berkley (Showgirls)
There is something about strippers that enthralls men to no end. Logically, it makes no sense to just sit there and watch girls get naked for you, and you are not allowed to do anything. But watching the beautiful Elizabeth Berkley stripping, teasing, and eventually getting fully naked in front of a couple is a different ballgame altogether. Though the film was a box office bomb, it has gained a bit of a cult status in recent times, and her performance was lauded all over.
Read More: Actors Who Went Nude For Movies
33. Betsy Rue (My Bloody Valentine 3D)
This slasher reboot relies on sex and nudity to sell itself. It’s a typical teenage-camp-party-turned-violent kind of film. Betsy Rue, who is best known probably for this role, has a full-blown sex scene along with a couple of long shots of her being fully naked as she runs after her boyfriend. Crassness apart, Rue looks insanely sexy and gives the movie a much-needed viewing chance.
32. Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Carol)
Despite much applause for her performances in a scintillating career so far, David Fincher’s ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ is by far Rooney Mara‘s most critically acclaimed flick. She also received nominations for Best Actress at the Academy and the Golden Globes, among others, for her part. With a wide range of critically acclaimed works to her credit, including ‘The Social Network,’ ‘Kubo and the Two Strings,’ ‘Side Effects,’ and ‘Her’ to name a few, Mara has come a long way from glamorous roles to character-based roles, thus defining her stance as a seasoned actress in Hollywood. The brutal rape scene of ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, along with multiple sex scenes Mara has featured in, only shows us the artistic independence the actress roots for, which is not only admirable but is worth remembering.
31. Liv Tyler (The Leftovers)
Although Liv Tyler was never known for sporting frontal nudity, apparently, she left her inhibitions behind for ‘The Leftovers’ – a television series that revolves around an apocalyptic event that renders 2% of the world population disappearing. Liv Tyler has had a career spanning more than 20 years and she has given semi-nude appearances in many films – ‘Stealing Beauty’, ‘The Ledge’ to name a few. Known and critically acclaimed for her work in ‘Lord of the Rings’ franchise, ‘Armageddon’, ‘Reign Over Me’ and now with ‘The Leftovers’, Tyler has a long way to go as an actress and a potential superstar.
30. Olga Kurylenko (L’annulaire)
The French actress has always been known for her on-screen exposure and charming beauty, which is reminiscent of her modeling career. Starting her film career with L’Annulaire, in which she played Iris, a young factory worker who has lost her ring finger and is in between jobs, Kurylenko was awarded the Brooklyn International Film Festival Best Actress award for her role in the film, incidentally in which she also shot sequences with frontal nudity. After ‘Hitman’, alongside Timothy Olyphant, Kurylenko came into the limelight and filmmakers began to recognize her as a potential character actress, which followed with her appearances alongside the likes of Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Rowan Atkinson to name a few. She shot to fame when she landed the role of playing the Bond Girl for ‘Quantum of Solace’ alongside Daniel Craig. Her latest venture, ‘Johnny English Strikes Again’ has recently hit theatres.
29. Léa Seydoux (Grand Central, Blue is the Warmest Color)
We all know Léa Seydoux from movies like ‘Inglorious Basterds’, ‘Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol’, ‘Grand Central’, ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, and ‘Blue is the Warmest Color’ to name a few. One of her biggest career breakthroughs, however, is considered her appearance in ‘Spectre’ as the Bond Girl. Widely considered a rising star and bestowed with several Award nominations and wins, Léa Seydoux is also known for her bold appearances in most of her movies and, notably, her scenes of frontal nudity for movies like ‘Blue is the Warmest Color,’ ‘Grand Central,’ etc. had created quite a buzz back in the day.
28. Stacy Martin (Nymphomaniac)
‘Nymphomaniac’ is widely regarded as sexually one of the most explicit mainstream movies of all time. Stacy Martin, who started her film career with ‘Nymphomaniac,’ plays a young Joe in the movie, while Charlotte Gainsbourg plays the older version of the character. The film revolves around a nymphomaniac, Joe, and her sexual adventures through the ages. Stacy Martin’s other prominent movies include ‘Taj Mahal’ – a film based on the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, ‘Redoubtable’ – a French comedy surrounding the life and times of Jean-Luc Godard; and ‘Vox Lux’ in which she appeared alongside the likes of Natalie Portman, Jude Law, et al. while the story revolves around two teenage sisters who’re also aspiring singers. Apart from ‘Nymphomaniac,’ Stacy Martin has yet to hit the success button in her acting career.
27. Rosario Dawson (Alexander)
Rosario Dawson has always been known for her intense, dramatic portrayals – be it a movie or a television series. From Marvel’s Defenders franchise to character-oriented roles such as those in ‘Seven Pounds,’ and for her rare comic portrayals such as the one in ‘Top Five,’ Dawson has conquered most of the cinematic genres with her talent and prowess while having featured in more than 70 different films and tv shows, many of which turned out to be major blockbusters. Although not known for on-screen nudity, one of her rare nude appearances came up in ‘Alexander,’ wherein we saw Colin Farrell play the titular role. She played Roxana, the wife of the otherwise alleged homosexual Alexander the Great.
26. Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades)
Although many viewers claim that the ‘Fifty Shades’ franchise never had any frontal nudity, to begin with, there exist many uncut versions that do have ample frontal nudity, although momentary. Dakota Johnson first came into the limelight with a small role in ‘The Social Network,’ followed by her next big breakthrough, ’21 Jump Street’. After her ‘Fifty Shades’ breakthrough, that catapulted her career graph and recognition to another level altogether, she has since appeared in movies like ‘Black Mass’, ‘A Bigger Splash’, ‘Suspiria’ to name a few, although, most of them were met with average successes. Very few people know that she’s the daughter of yesteryear’s actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson.
25. Juno Temple (Killer Joe, Horns)
And now to an actress who’s mostly known for her frontal nude appearances, however momentary they might have been, Juno Temple is also a widely recognized character-actress, having often given pathbreaking yet underrated performances. Juno Temple began her acting career with ‘Pandaemonium’ – a film directed by her father Julien Temple. Thus far, she has appeared in smaller and larger roles in nearly fifty titles and counting – an impressive feat for an actress yet to reach 30. Although she’s given a lot of nude appearances on-screen, her depiction of full-frontal nudity in ‘Killer Joe’ beside Matthew McConaughey was the talk of the town.
24. Kelly Preston (Mischief)
Mischief is a lighthearted teen comedy-drama where three teenagers are shown dealing with their raging hormones. Kelly Preston has gone the distance when it comes to nudity in one of the scenes as she seduces the young and shy Jonathan. Though most of the scene is with Preston being topless, you can see her fully naked as the camera zooms out.
23. Adrienne Corri (A Clockwork Orange)
I have purposely included this name on the list. The only entry in the list where the actress getting fully naked is nowhere close to being sexy. Though Adrienne Cori has done quite a few notable roles in her life, she is known for her short one in Kubrick’s disturbingly dystopian A Clockwork Orange. In a horrifying scene, she is stripped down completely naked and raped by Alex (Malcolm McDowell). After two actresses quit the role because it was too humiliating, Kubrick praised Adrienne’s patience and comfort while shooting the scene in which she had to stand on a guy’s shoulders completely naked for weeks and was repeatedly hit by Malcolm to get Kubrick the perfect shot.
22. Heather Graham (Boogie Nights)
A film about the porn industry without any nudity would be an exception. But instead of relying on tricky camera angles and object placements to hide the nether regions, we can see Graham remove all her clothes and jump in bed with Mark Wahlberg. Though there is Julianne Moore in the movie, she isn’t seen fully naked, well, at least in this movie. The appropriate place to find Julianne Moore naked would be in the film ‘Shortcuts’ (1993).
Read More: Best Movies Like Porn on Netflix
21. Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones)
The “Red Woman” of the critically acclaimed British Television Drama ‘Game of Thrones‘, Carice van Houten was otherwise famous for her roles in movies like ‘Dorothy Mills’, ‘Valkyrie’, ‘Jackie’, to name a few. A revered and widely respected Dutch actress, van Houten has, apart from the GoT nudity, given frontal nude appearances in several other Dutch and European flicks. Regardless, ‘Game of Thrones’ has elevated her stature as a powerful actress who knows no inhibitions in exploring her artistic side – a fact for which she deserves all the respect and applause.
20. Adele Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Color)
The sultry French actress grabbed all the attention with the infamous lesbian sex scene with Lea Seydoux in ‘Blue is the Warmest Color,’ essentially a career-defining movie for Adele. Controversial yet regarded as one of the most intense lesbian love sagas ever made, ‘Blue is the Warmest Color’ is the narrative of Adele and Emma, two teenagers who fall for each other. Although Adele has yet to become mainstream and appear alongside the bigwigs of Hollywood, ‘Blue is the Warmest Color’ was definitely her stepping milestone to potential success.
19. Jennifer Connelly (Shelter, Requiem for a Dream)
Often known to be one of the most beautiful women in the world, Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly needs no introduction. Prominently known for her roles in horror and thriller flicks, Jennifer Connelly has come a long way from her debut (horror) movie ‘Phenomena’ to her 2017 flick ‘Only the Brave.’ Known for her award-winning performances in movies like ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ ‘Requiem for a Dream,’ ‘Hulk,’ ‘Dark Water,’ ‘Blood Diamond,’ ‘Winter’s Tale,’ ‘Aloft,’ ‘Noah,’ ‘Shelter’ to name a few, there isn’t a movie wherein her performance wasn’t praised or appreciated. Although Connelly hasn’t been averse to showcasing on-screen nudity, her frontal nudity scenes began only with ‘Requiem for a Dream’ and were mostly artistic in nature.
18. Rachel Weisz (Stealing Beauty, I Want You)
Just like Jennifer Connelly, Rachel Weisz has had a decorated and outstanding acting career right from the beginning. Weisz, a British actress by origin, appeared in smaller roles till the 1999 fictional action-horror film ‘The Mummy,’ which made heads turn. For Weisz, there was no looking back afterward. She appeared in a host of critical and commercial successes like ‘Enemy at the Gates,’ ‘The Mummy Returns,’ ‘Constantine,’ ‘The Constant Gardener,’ ‘The Fountain,’ ‘Definitely, Maybe,’ ‘The Deep Blue Sea’ et al. to her latest movie ‘Disobedience’ wherein she could be seen in an intense lesbian relationship (alongside Rachel McAdams), perhaps her one of the firsts. Weisz first sported frontal nudity in the film ‘Stealing Beauty’ but was mostly shadowed by Liv Tyler’s role. Her intense, sensual role in ‘I Want You,’ along with sexually explicit scenes, made all the news and also won the film a couple of awards.
17. Helen Mirren (Savage Messiah)
Helen Mirren isn’t someone who is averse to nudity. Though she has done umpteen nude scenes, her monologue in Savage Messiah stands out as she poses nude for a painter. Seldom would you find anyone delivering a short monologue without their clothes on! She is so comfortable taking off her clothes even in her ripe old age that she herself confessed that beyond a certain; one really stops caring what men in the audience think about your naked body.
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16. Maria Schneider (Last Tango in Paris)
Another Bertolucci entry, this very controversial film, has Maria Schneider go fully nude with Marlon Brando. A very graphic rape scene follows where Marlon Brando assaults Schneider. Apparently, Schneider was not of legal age then, and the film as a whole is full of debatable moments.
15. Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water)
The seasoned British actress’ initial breakthrough was the comedy-drama ‘Happy-Go-Lucky,’ which won Hawkins numerous awards. Her other notable works include ‘Blue Jasmine’, which came out to be more famous for the role of Cate Blanchett, ‘Jane Eyre’, ‘Godzilla’, ‘Paddington’, ‘The Shape of Water’ to name a few. Her first and only frontal nudity portrayal was seen in ‘The Shape of Water’ – a fantasy-drama that witnessed groundbreaking performances from Sally Hawkins and Michael Shannon and also went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Direction, Production Design, and Original Score. Sally Hawkins received a nomination for her role as a mute girl who falls in love with an Amazonian amphibian humanoid while stationed in a high-security research laboratory. Hawkins will be next seen in ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters.’
Read More: Sexiest Horror Movies
14. Olivia Wilde (Vinyl)
Not only is Wilde one of the boldest actresses working today, but she’s also one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood for everyone’s envy. A series regular in the television show ‘House’ in which she played the role of Dr. Remy Hadley, Wilde also appeared in numerous diversified roles in movies such as ‘The Girl Next Door,’ ‘Cowboys & Aliens,’ ‘Tron: Legacy,’ ‘In Time,’ ‘Rush,’ ‘Her,’ ‘Meadowland’ to name a few. Her nude appearances came to be known more when she played a role alongside Liam Neeson in ‘Third Person’, followed by her explicit frontal nudity in the television show ‘Vinyl’. So far, Wilde has appeared in more than 50 film and television titles.
13. Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary, The Deuce)
The critically acclaimed film ‘Secretary,’ which arguably is also one of the most cherished movies of Gyllenhaal, also featured her scenes of frontal nudity along with a pathbreaking performance. The movie revolves around a socially awkward girl, Lee, who applies for the job of a secretary for an attorney but gets into an intimate physical relationship with him. Other notable works of Maggie Gyllenhaal include ‘The Deuce’, ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’, ‘Stranger than Fiction’, ‘Hysteria’, ‘White House Down’ among others.
12. Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)
If there has to be a “rising from the ashes” story for an actress, it has to be for Alicia Vikander. Within a span of ten years of her acting career, Vikander has appeared in more than 35 film and television titles, with almost every movie registering a commercial and critical success at the box office. Initially, Vikander appeared in historical dramas such as ‘A Royal Affair,’ ‘Anna Karenina,’ and ‘Testament of Youth’ before she landed her pathbreaking role of Ava in ‘Ex Machina.’ Although there’s frontal nudity in ‘Ex Machina,’ it cannot be called explicit given the fact that Ava is a robot with human skin. Following the success of ‘Ex Machina’, Vikander has appeared in numerous films belonging to different genres like comedy, action, drama, romance and fantasy.
11. Alexandra Daddario (True Detective)
Daddario started her film career as a teenager in various teenage fantasy movies like the ‘Percy Jackson’ franchise, horror flicks like ‘The Attic,’ ‘Texas Chainsaw 3D,’ and thrillers like ‘Bereavement,’ ‘San Andreas,’ etc. But her primary forte appears to be romance comedy flicks like ‘Baywatch’, ‘When We First Met,’ ‘The Choice’ among others. Apart from mainstream movies, Daddario has also appeared in critically acclaimed television shows such as ‘True Detective,’ ‘New Girl,’ ‘The Last Man on Earth,’ ‘American Horror Story,’ ‘And White Collar’ to name a few. Her explicit nudity, however, was seen only in ‘True Detective’ alongside Woody Harrelson, in which she could be seen stripping naked in one of the episodes.
10. Scarlett Johansson (Under the Skin)
An interesting fact about one of the most beautiful women on the planet is that she has had a no-nudity clause in all her contracts from the beginning of her acting career. ‘Under the Skin’ was an out-of-the-league film by many standards and featured an alien (Scarlett Johansson) who lures single men into a mysterious space called “void” and harvests their organs. Although there are a few scenes in which Johansson could be seen completely naked, the implication is that because she’s portraying an alien, it wouldn’t be tantamount to human female nudity. Regardless, ‘Under the Skin’ is the only Scarlett Johansson movie in which the actress did a fully nude scene, albeit it isn’t sexual in nature, and also, the film boasts of an outstanding performance by the actress.
9. Kate Winslet (Jude, The Reader)
There are too many movies to mention where Kate Winslet hasn’t taken her clothes off. In fact, she has gotten naked in 4 roles out of the 6 for which she was nominated at the Academy Awards. Her famous drawing room scene in Titanic would forever be etched in the minds of the average cine-goer but few would know that she bared her entire body for her role in Jude (1994) where she allows a guy to take her virginity. Another notable mention where she is fully naked is ‘The Reader.’
8. Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct)
We can see quite a few scenes with Stone rolling in bed naked with Michael Douglas but there is one iconic scene that earns her a spot in our list. As a suspect, she is interrogated by the cops as she makes a changeover of her crossed legs and gives the audience a full view of what lies underneath the white dress.
7. Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Margot Robbie appeared in Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ along with Leonardo DiCaprio. While watching a Scorsese film, you are bound to expect some sexual activity in a weird sort of way. But Robbie appears completely naked in one of the scenes just before she and Leo have sex.
6. Tilda Swinton (Female Perversions)
British actress Tilda Swinton is often considered one of the greatest artists that ever walked this planet. An Academy Award winner, Swinton has appeared in countless films and television shows, most of which were blockbusters and have by far attained a cult status with the passage of time. Her movie ‘Female Perversions’ is the narrative of Eve, an attorney in LA, who has an unsatisfactory sex life and seeks respite from the erotic nightmares she has on a daily basis. Although Swinton has given nude appearances in many films, ‘Female Perversions’ stands out as the only Swinton film in which she has sported frontal nudity.
5. Eva Green (The Dreamers)
A Bernardo Bertolucci film has to have nudity, and ‘Dreamers’ (2003) has no dearth of it. The film follows twins, Theo and Isabelle (Eva Green), and an American student, Matthew, who bond and entangle erotically among one another. Green has given multiple full frontal nude shots, and the film even has a scene where she performs oral sex on one of her co-stars. Another fairly contemporary mention would be Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For(2014), in which Eva Green plays a conniving seductress and bears it all in many scenes.
4. Monica Bellucci (Irreversible, Malena)
The Italian model-turned-actress has been known for her sensuous portrayals in various Italian and Hollywood flicks, including her nude appearances that are a dime a dozen. Bellucci is also known for some extremely central roles she has played in her career spanning 30 years. Her notable movies include ‘Malena,’ ‘The Matrix franchise, ‘Under Suspicion,’ ‘Irreversible,’ ‘Tears of the Sun,’ ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ and ‘Spectre’ among others. Considered one of the sexiest women alive today, it is no wonder that Bellucci was liked by many for her roles in erotic romances like ‘Malena’ and psychological thrillers like ‘Irreversible.’ Even though momentary, Bellucci has given frontal nude appearances in both the movies.
3. Marion Cotillard (Une affaire privée, La Guerre Dans le Haut Pays)
Actress extraordinaire and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard is widely known as one of the best French actresses working today. Her films have garnered more than $3 billion in revenues at the box office. With over 50 English, French, and other language titles credited to her name, Cotillard remains one of the most celebrated actresses. As far as Hollywood is concerned, we know her for her appearance in movies like ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, ‘Macbeth’, ‘Contagion’, ‘Inception’, ‘Big Fish’, ‘Assassin’s Creed’ among others. Her nude appearances in ‘A Private Affair’, ‘War in the Highlands’ and a few other titles are reflective of the artistic freedom the actress has always rooted for.
2. Angelina Jolie (Gia)
‘Gia’ is a biographical drama based on the life of supermodel Gia Carangi (Angelina Jolie). From her rise as one of the first supermodels ever to her romance with another female model to her downward spiral into a world of drugs, all within a span of 26 years, Michael Cristofer’s film captures it all in a brilliant manner. It won Jolie a Golden Globe for Best Actress. While there are many scenes in the film where Jolie goes nude, one stands out. Gia and Linda, a make-up artist with whom she has an affair later on, pose nude for a photo shoot. Sizzling top to bottom, Jolie gives a “jaw-dropping” performance.
1. Emma Stone (Poor Things)
Based on the 1992 novel ‘Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish Public Health Officer’ by Alasdair Gray, ‘Poor Things’ is set in a steam-punk version of the 1880s. It is an exploration of society by a woman named Bella Baxter (Emma Stone). What’s unusual about that? Well, the scientist who found her almost-dead body brought her home, saved her, and then replaced her brain with that of her fetus. Yes, she was pregnant when she tried to kill herself.
We thus follow Baxter as she tries to make sense of the world, as a baby would, while also exploring her body (sexuality) as if it were a new toy. Director Yorgos Lanthimos doesn’t hold back from showing Baxter opening up to the pleasures of the skin, and Stone goes fully nude multiple times in the visually stunning film.
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