12 Actresses Who Filmed Full Frontal Nude Scenes
The man has forever been enchanted by the naked female body. Without any intent of sounding sexist, it is, however, a fact that female nudity is more sought after than male nudity in cinema. Some call it an objectification of women while others call it artistic freedom.
Nudity is arguably one of the best selling points of the films. However, only a handful of filmmakers have succeeded to make nudity appear 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, at most of the times, the nudity is only implied or a body double is used. Frontal nudity, however, requires more tactfulness. The usage of prosthetics and body doubles have undoubtedly made it easier for filming nude scenes and is perhaps one of the reasons why we see more of the bare in the movies nowadays.
Since time immemorial, ardent cinema goers (especially men) have sought out films and scenes where the actresses go fully naked. Here is a list of best of them. This is by no means a definitive list or a best to worst list. It is just to give you a teeny-tiny idea that all these exceptional women dared to bare it all on screen in front of a film crew and yet were comfortable in giving a perfect shot.
12. Olivia Wilde (Vinyl)
Not only Wilde is 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.
11. 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. Her latest Netflix movie ‘The Kindergarten Teacher’ is generating the buzz nowadays.
10. 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’, ‘Testament of Youth’ before she landed at 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. Her role as Lara Croft in the reboot of ‘Tomb Raider’ was both appreciated and critiqued – for being gritty, realistic and thrilling to the core.
9. Alexandra Daddario (True Detective)
The 32-year-old actress 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‘, ‘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. Within a less than 10-year career span, Daddario has made appearances in more than 45 film and television titles.
8. 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 (played by 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 tantamount to human female nudity. Regardless, ‘Under the Skin’ is the only Scarlett Johansson’s movie in which the actress did a fully-nude scene, albeit it wasn’t sexual in nature, and also, the film boasts of an outstanding performance, arguably her best acting performance till date. Need I tell you about other movies of Scarlett Johansson?
7. 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 would be The Reader.
6. Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct)
Well, I don’t need to say much here. Surprisingly though, I don’t remember of a single scene in this film where Sharon Stone has shown her full frontal naked body. We can see quite a few scenes with Stone rolling in bed naked with Michael Douglas but the reason I included her name on this list is for the one iconic scene alone. 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.
5. Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street)
The new chic on the block and probably Martin Scorsese’s best blonde bombshell discovery yet, Margot Robbie appeared in ‘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 appeared completely naked in one of the scenes just before she and Leo have sex. It was a bit of a shocker as Robbie was just 23 when she did that, but boy has she pulled that one off.
4. Tilda Swinton (Female Perversions)
British actress Tilda Swinton is often considered as one of the greatest artists that ever walked this planet. An Academy Award winner, Swinton has appeared in a countless number of films and television shows, most of which turned out to be 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’ stand out as the only Swinton’s film in which she has sported frontal nudity. By far, Swinton has appeared in more than 70 film and television titles.
3. 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) where Eva Green plays a conniving seductress and has bared it all in many scenes.
2. 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 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’, ‘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.
1. 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. With her films have garnered more than $3 billion in revenues at the box office and with more than 50 English, French and other language titles credited to her name, Cotillard remains to be one of the most celebrated actresses even today. 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.