The 25 Greatest Moments Of Female Nudity In Hollywood Movies

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Pervy dudes and gentlemen, say hello to Hollywood’s biggest party-pooper of the moment, Mr. Justin Theroux. Unless you haven’t ready a gossip blog in the last couple of months, it should be no mystery that the actor/Iron Man 2 screenwriter is currently dating Jennifer Aniston; the two met while filming the new comedy Wanderlust (in theaters this Friday).

In the raunchy comedy, from director David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models), Aniston and Paul Rudd play a husband and wife who, after losing their big city jobs, reluctantly head down south and move into a nudist colony full of free-living, happy-go-lucky residents. And, in the original shoot, Aniston herself went topless during a protest scene—that’d be quite a selling point, no?

Well, it was never meant to be for ticket-buyers, sadly, since the actress has since gotten cold feet and requested that her boobies get pixilated, according to The Wrap. The reason: She’d rather not give us the eye candy goods out of respect to Theroux, her new hubby. Whether it’s his personal doing or not, Theroux is, as of now, on our ish list.

To combat against the disappointment, we’ve taken a look back at the best examples of actresses not wimping out and actually removing their tops, for a little something we’d like to call The 25 Greatest Moments Of Female Nudity In Hollywood Movies, which, unfortunately, doesn’t show the actual NSFW moments—we’re not Penthouse, after all. Besides, you’re supposed to be mad at Justin Theroux, not us.

Written by Matt Barone (@MBarone)

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25. Kate Winslet in Titanic (1997)

OK, it’s true: We love James Cameron’s monstrous hit Titanic. And why shouldn’t we? For all of the love it receives on behalf of girls who want to sleep with Leonardo Dicaprio, as well as those karaoke regulars who can’t stop singing Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” Titanic also packs a strong narrative and an epic conclusion that’s just as heart-stopping and tragic today as it was back in 1997.

Oh, and there’s also that little plus of seeing Kate Winslet’s breasts as Dicaprio sketches a picture of her—it’s the scene that both you and your girl can get all misty-eyed over, though for completely different reasons.

24. Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler (2008)

Want to hear something unbelievably crazy? Marisa Tomei is 47-years-old—that’s right, the woman you see above, who looks just as gorgeous today as she did in 1992’s My Cousin Vinny, is old enough to be your mother. Be glad that she isn’t, though, because it’s not fun having to kick your gawking friends’ asses and paying therapists to break down your Oedipal complex.

In Darren Aronofksy’s magnificent The Wrestler, Tomei, no stranger to on-screen nudity, takes her cinematic nakedness to new levels by playing a stripper with a heart of gold, and not to mention a rack that could make a grown man cry. Come to think of it, those therapy bills would also cover uncomfortable discussions about wanting to “suck mom’s milk” as a grown man.

23. Malin Akerman in Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle (2004)

It’s not entirely fitting to label Malin Akerman an A-lister just yet; still, though, the funny and versatile blonde certainly has the chops to better any movie that she’s in, and it was her mom-given “gifts” that helped a then-unknown Akerman to momentarily steal the show in 2004’s unexpectedly hilarious Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle.

During Harold (John Cho) and Kumar’s (Kal Penn) night of hungry, R-rated antics, the potheads end up inside the trashy home of deformed perv Freakshow (Christopher Meloni), whose horny wife (played by Akerman) propositions the boys with her exposed bosom. Foolishly, Harold and Kumar haul ass out of there, due to Freakshow’s insistence on making the event a foursome. If we ever make a list of film’s biggest cock-blockers, expect to see the hillbilly on there.

22. Denise Richards in Wild Things (1998)

Fans of Wes Craven’s Scream franchise and Fox’s old Party Of Five series (we know you’re out there) can attest to the fact that, yes, Neve Campbell was once exceptionally hot. So when one hears word that she engages in some sensual lady-on-lady smooching and fondling in the twisty 1998 thriller Wild Things, it’s worthy of excitement.

Blame it on Campbell’s decision to keep her top on, or the inarguable truth that co-star Denise Richards had a sick body back in 1998, but, as it turns out, the Scream heroine is practically a non-factor in said lesbian makeout session. Richards, however, with her willingness to lower her bathing suit’s upper covering, is a revelation.

21. Carla Gugino in Sin City (2005)

Hot chicks brandishing lethal firearms—does it get much hotter, danger seekers? Well, how about if one of those hotties is Carla Gugino (one of the acting game’s sexiest ladies who deserves more acclaim), and she’s topless while pointing the loaded weapon directly at you?

There’s a lot to love about Robert Rodriguez’s violent, campy, and stylistic adaptation of Frank Miller’s Sin City graphic novels, but, for our money, the most endearing aspect is Gugino’s all-too-brief moment of glory, which happens early into the film and maintains its eye-catching dominance all the way until the closing credits. Not even the sight of Jessica Alba riding a pole or Rosario Dawson is skimpy S&M attire can dethrone her.

20. Heather Graham in Boogie Nights (1997)

Before she landed the breakthrough role of a lifetime in Paul Thomas Anderson’s porn industry drama Boogie Nights, Heather Graham wasn’t totally anonymous. First gaining critics’ praise in 1989’s indie Drugstore Cowboy, the blonde stunner co-starred in several small-time flicks over the next eight years.

Who knew that all it’d take for Graham to reach in-demand status was to play an adult film starlet on roller skates who gleefully shows off her boobs while having cinematic sex with Mark Wahlberg’s enormous, fake Johnson? The lesson here: Everyone follows a different path to success.

19. Amber Heard in The Informers (2008)

So what if the talented Amber Heard has been cursed with movies that disappoint and a TV show (Playboy Club) that lasted only three episodes? She gives her all in every performance—and in some cases, “all” refers to everything that’s beneath her bra and shirts.

One such dismissible film aided by Heard’s generously physical acting is the 2009 adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ dense, genre-hopping novel The Informers. A rather ineffective and messy book-to-film misfire, director Gregor Jordan’s pic is worth watching for Heard’s all-out sex scene, and little else.

18. Christina Ricci in Prozac Nation (2001)

She has a tendency to pick awful movies (Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star) and incredibly bland TV shows (Pan Am) to star in, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Christina Ricci will forever remain one of Hollywood’s most uniquely sexy actresses. And, frankly, we don’t get to see enough of her.

Although that wasn’t the problem in the 2001 independent drama Prozac Nation, in which she gave a, ahem, revealing performance as drug-abusing nymphomaniac battling depression. Rising to the part’s challenge, Ricci proves to the world that little Wednesday Adams is all grown up in one especially memorable, nipple-heavy scene.

17. Jessica Biel in Powder Blue (2009)

In 2009, the notion of big-name actresses playing strippers wasn’t as hot as one would think. The reason: No thanks to Natalie Portman (Closer) and Jessica Alba (Sin City), it became clear that Hollywood’s leading ladies had no intention of portraying pole dancers who, you know, actually strip off their garments.

But then along came Jessica Biel, who saved the day by letting her stripper character’s breasts go free and bath in hot wax in the thriller Powder Blue. Just like that, all was once again right with the world.

16. Jennifer Connelly in The Hot Spot (1990)

For a second, we considered going with Jennifer Connelly’s nakedness in Requiem For A Dream for this list’s purposes, but then we remembered the words “ass to mouth” and how depressed, not all that aroused, her character’s degradation made us feel.

A natural beauty of Miss Connelly’s caliber deserves the smutty recognition here, though, so thankfully there’s director Dennis Hopper’s 1990 erotic thrill ride The Hot Spot, a mostly forgotten flick that should be recalled with admiration for one simple reason: A young Jen Connelly, then virtually unknown, removes her bikini’s top and puts her peers to shame. And, fortunately, there are no rubber store-bought dongs in sight.

15. Angelina Jolie in Original Sin (2001)

Angelina Jolie is the best kind of A-list actress. In addition to repeatedly catching the eyes of Academy Award voters, enticing swarms of paparazzi, and covering high-end magazines, she’s also unafraid to go nude if the role demands it. At least that was the case back in the day, before she turned into a director and started acting less.

Original Sin holds up as Jolie’s best time sans top, and the money-shot comes during a steamy sex scene with Antonio Banderas. There’s nothing sinful about it.

14. Demi Moore in Striptease (1996)

What’s the best that can be said about Demi Moore’s laughably inept Striptease? Well, it’s not as bad as Showgirls. Faint praise, indeed, for a notorious turkey that earned both box office profits and multiple Razzie Award victories in 1996, including the big one, Worst Picture.

None of the movie’s downsides can be attributed to Moore’s efforts, however; giving the project her all, the then-34-year-old star bared everything in an undeniably game performance. One that required her to rip her top off and stick her pair of knockout knockers in a giddy, overacting Burt Reynolds’ face. As they say, “Duty calls.”

13. Naomi Watts and Laura Harring in Mulholland Drive (2001)

As much as we love writer-director David Lynch’s mind-bending thrillers, for all of their ambiguity and creepy nuances, we can’t help but want to yell at the man sometimes—watching a film nine times just to assemble a rational explanation is grueling! No matter how great the flick is!

Making matters even more frustrating, Lynch doesn’t want viewers to easily decipher his films’ mysteries, which is why the Mulholland Drive DVD doesn’t have a “Scene Selection” option, and why perverts like us have to sit there and fast-forward nearly two hours’ worth of movie to get to the film’s carnal climax: stars Naomi Watts’ and Laura Harring’s sensuous, and topless, girl-on-girl love scene, the culmination of endless sexual tension.

12. Lisa Bonet in Angel Heart (1987)

We would’ve paid top dollar to see Bill Cosby’s face when he first saw Angel Heart, the criminally overlooked 1987 psychological horror-thriller in which Lisa Bonet, one of his on-screen kids, gets naked and participates in both racy sex and an animal-killing voodoo ritual. Assuming Cosby has ever seen the film, that is—if not, that’s his loss.

Because, aside from Mickey Rourke’s knockout performance and a terrifically dread-soaked mood, Angel Heart benefits greatly from Bonet’s topless moments, the nicest of which is a particularly acrobatic round of bump-and-grind with Rourke that ends in blood. It’s hot enough to melt a whole box of Jell-O pudding pops.

11. Amanda Seyfried and Julianne Moore in Chloe (2009)

On a purely cinematic scale, Chloe, writer-director Atom Egoyan’s seemingly pointless remake of the 2004 French pic Nathalie…, is a disappointing thriller that starts off strong, hits an intriguing midpoint, and then jumps the shark with a Fatal Attraction-light conclusion.

Along the way, though, we’re treated to a few wonderful shots of Amanda Seyfried’s birthday suit, the highlight being a longer-than-expected lesbian sex bout with the equally naked, and hot, Julianne Moore. It’s four list-worthy bare breasts for the price of one—too bad they come in an otherwise forgettable dud.

10. Eva Mendes in We Own The Night (2007)

In 2001, Denzel Washington earned his first Oscar trophy for Training Day, the gritty crime drama that also introduced us all to Eva Mendes and her wonderful twos; cast as Washington’s girlfriend, the Cuban-American actress has a quick, blink-and-you-could-miss-it moment on a bed with her breasts exposed. For a clearer, and much more erotic look at the goods, consult the underrated 2007 crime flick We Own The Night, in which Mendes, lying face-up on a couch, plays with herself and lets the boobies fly.

9. Salma Hayek in Desperado (1995)

If there’s one thing that putting this list together reminded us, it’s this: Antonio Banderas is a certified pimp. The guy gets all touchy feely in not one but two moments on this countdown, the first of which happens alongside Salma Hayek’s breathtaking naked frame in Robert Rodriguez’s kick-ass gunslinger romp Desperado.

Like Banderas’ other moment, which we’ll keep on the hush until you’ve reached its higher position here, his familiarity with Hayek’s exposed cans occurs during a scorching sex scene—and like the other one, it’s also one of the many reasons why we’d love to be Antonio Banderas.

8. Colleen Camp in Apocalypse Now (1979)

It’s a rare moment of harmless eye candy in a devastatingly visceral film: The busty Colleen Camp, playing a drugged-out Playboy playmate, shows the typically tightly wound Chef (Frederic Forrest) what she’s working with while they’re holed up inside a mini plane's cockpit.

Taking place during Apocalypse Now’s palate-cleansing USO show interlude, which off-sets the film’s predominantly bleak tone and psychological horror, Camp’s lone scene leaves a lasting impression. And makes us happy that director/co-writer Francis Ford Coppola’s intense research into military lifestyle didn’t neglect R&R.

7. Halle Berry in Swordfish (2001)

Ask 10 cinema junkies to cite the premise behind Swordfish and we’re guessing only two or three of them will be able to recite it even half-correctly. Without the trusty assistance of Google, we’d be right there amongst the majority, and for the same common reason: The only thing worth remembering about director Dominic Sena’s jumbled and dull computer-hacking thriller is Halle Berry’s six-second topless scene. Which happens at the film’s 38-minute mark, was the flick’s biggest selling point, and earned Berry an additional $500,000. It was worth every penny.

6. Katie Holmes in The Gift (2000)

Watching Katie Holmes robotically walk red carpets alongside hubby Tom Cruise these days, it’s easy to forget that today’s dull, vapid bean-pole was once a curvy, sultry actress. And the former Dawson’s Creek starlet’s crowning achievement in sexiness remains director Sam Raimi’s fascinating little supernatural thriller The Gift—yes, the one that Goldstein (David Krumholtz) joyously recommend in Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle.

Dropping her top for lucky-ass Greg Kinnear, Holmes displays two of Hollywood’s finest, yet most under-appreciated, hooters. A double-whammy we’re not likely to see on screen again anytime soon, unless Tom Cruise goes wacko for a second time and remakes Eyes Wide Shut.

5. Shannon Elizabeth in American Pie (1999)

Any living, breathing man can sympathize with American Pie’s quick-shooting Jim (Jason Biggs). All the kid wants to do is bang the smoking hot foreign exchange student (Shannon Elizabeth) who’s naked in his bedroom and fresh off of “prepping” herself with some dirty magazines. And it appears that he’s about to do just that, and Elizabeth’s large, idyllic mounds are there for the grabbing. But then dude “blows it” before they’ve even rounded first base. It’s the moment that briefly put American Pie into film’s horror genre.

4. P.J. Soles in Halloween (1978)

Only a mute, psychotic homicidal maniac could stand deathly still at the sight of P.J. Soles’ bra-less chest. But that’s exactly what Michael Myers, cloaked in a white bed sheet and impersonating Soles’ dead boyfriend, does in her presence. Looking like a statue, Myers holds a motionless position as Soles removes the blanket covering her nude body and asks, “See anything you like?” Myers, far from a romantic, just strangles her with a phone wire minutes later; we, on the other hand, would’ve replied with a, “Will Rob Zombie eventually ransack this scene in his Halloween? Yes—the answer’s ‘yes.’”

3. Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)

Take another look at the sixth and seventh words in the above headline: “Female Nudity.” What immediately comes to mind? A woman’s breasts, right? It’s all good, because we’re right there with you. That’s why we almost forgot to include one scene that should’ve come to mind before anything else in this countdown—we’re referring to Sharon Stone’s infamous crossing-of-the-legs bit in Basic Instinct’s now-iconic interrogation sequence.

In one of cinema’s all-time great I-can’t-believe-they-went-for-it moments, the fearless Stone made the “crotch shot” shockingly erotic and sexy. Sadly, though, that’s a thing of the past, thanks to those embarrassing paparazzi photos of celebs like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan unknowingly (or more likely intentionally) flashing their nether-regions.

2. Jane Fonda in Barbarella (1968)

When discussing the hottest women of all time, don’t sleep on late-1960s-era Jane Fonda. Playing the bodacious title character in director Roger Vadim’s infamous sci-fi cult classic, the blonde and statuesque Fonda elevates Barbarella from campy fun to hormonal overload before the plot even kicks in; the film’s brilliant opening credits sequence, one that should serve as a model for a Kate Upton-led Barbarella remake (make it happen, Hollywood!), Fonda floats around in zero gravity as her gloves, legging, and helmet all come off and her boobs are teased, with the credits’ letters moving over and, thankfully, away from the nips.

1. Phoebe Cates in Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)

No list centered on bikini moments, dream sequences, or watery sexiness would be complete without the granddaddy of them all, '80s goddess Phoebe Cates’ slow-motion, poolside dropping of her red bathing suit top in Fast Times At Ridgemont High’s iconic daydream sequence.

Truthfully, the rest of Cates’ career choices paled in comparison (save for the terrific horror-comedy Gremlins, of course), but who needs awards or multiple film classics when your wet, aired-out breasts are the stuff of legend? Certainly not Phoebe Cates.