# Marilyn Monroe nude in Playboy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 2, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444 "2016-11-02T14:23:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/1 "2016-11-02T14:23:40Z")
Marilyn Monroe appeared nude as the first Playboy centerfold in the mid-1950s, after her career as an actress was firmly established. Why did she take this step towards such sensational exposure? Certainly this centerfold was pinned up in lockers, auto shops, and barracks everywhere, but did this in any way harm her standing as a legitimate actress, or did it just pile on the publicity? Has there been any other established actress who had contemporary nudes published? (Let’s not talk about Burt Reynolds in Playgirl.) I know Madonna had been in Playboy, but those photos were taken long before she became a star, and her strategy had always been to be outrageous, and it was the mid 1980s when this was less sensational than it would have been in the 50s. In Monroe’s case, this was a time when she was a legitimate actress. This happened before I was born but I imagine at the time that Playboy was probably quite controversial in going mainstream with nudity, even if it hadn’t been Monroe. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/2 "2016-11-02T14:27:46Z")
The photos were taken earlier, by a noted photographer of nudes, because she needed the money. Hefner bought them as the most bombshell layout he could find for the first issue of PB. I had a chance to buy an original gelatin print of the primary shot a few years back. I was like $20 short, and it’s one of the few things I regret failing to score. Farrah Fawcett did several pictorials later in her career. Yes, her nipples were as big as they were on the swimsuit poster. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/3 "2016-11-02T14:29:54Z")
She had posed for the pictures five years earlier, when she was an unknown. All Hefner did was [buy the pictures](http://national.suntimes.com/national-celebrity/7/72/1152237/hugh-hefner-marilyn-monroe-playboy/) from the calendar company that owned them for $500. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/4 "2016-11-02T16:09:22Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Has there been any other established actress who had contemporary nudes published? Yes it happened very often in Playboy. For various values of “established”, “actress” and “contemporary.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/5 "2016-11-02T16:28:38Z")
Jayne Mansfield was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month for February 1955, right after Bettie Page. But Jayne was not an established actress; she had one uncredited tv role. She used it get famous. And you won’t find any other established actresses as Playmates, because Hefner deliberately used “girls next door” rather than famous names. Many of the ones in the 1950s were established nude models, like Page, Eve Meyer (Russ Meyer’s wife), and Alice Denham, but their names were not known by the general public. After the 1950s, the easier question to answer would be to name an established actresses who _doesn’t_ have nude photos easily available, at least from film stills. Here is a SFW list of 254 [Celebrities who posed nude for Playboy magazine 1953-2016](http://www.imdb.com/list/ls072704799/). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/6 "2016-11-02T16:32:02Z")
Teri Polo was established (she’d had lead or regular roles in at least six different TV shows and had been in Meet the Parents) before she appeared in Playboy in 2005. Mimi Rogers wasn’t a big star when she posed, but she had gotten a reputation in serious roles. There were also a surprising number of actresses who posed during the down side of their careers. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/7 "2016-11-02T16:33:03Z")
In terms of just centerfolds in the first 10+ years, the number of real actresses that were PotM are very few. Stella Stevens was PotM Jan 1960. She was just starting out her career. Although it was widely believed that appearing in PB back then killed an actresses’ career, instead this seems to have really helped launch it. Jayne Mansfield was PotM Feb 1957. She didn’t appear actually nude. This was no biggie, but her later pictorials, esp. for _Promises! Promises!_, caused a lot of negative reaction. Actresses that had [pictorials](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_in_Playboy_1953%E2%80%9359) in the _very_ early days include Tina Louise (several times), Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and Kim Novak. These involved little to no nudity and were frequently not shot by PB but purchased. IIRC, Novak’s caused a controversy despite the tameness of the picture. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/8 "2016-11-02T16:58:15Z")
Early Playboy pictorials were not _ **spread** _ shots as they later became. So the concept of sensational exposure wasn’t as much as the OP is making it out to be. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/9 "2016-11-02T17:03:46Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Early Playboy pictorials were not _ **spread** _ shots as they later became. So the concept of sensational exposure wasn’t as much as the OP is making it out to be. They were at the time, but times have changed. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/10 "2016-11-02T17:44:44Z")
BTW, Burt Reynolds did not pose nude. His naughty bits were hidden. So were Marilyn Monroe’s, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/11 "2016-11-02T18:01:45Z")
Tiffany (the pop star) posed back in 2002. I still have that issue. It’s a keeper! :o NSFW: [http://www.idolator.com/7593347/pop-stars-playboy-topless-pic-pics-shoot-spread-celebrities/tiffany-playboy-nude-nsfw-naked-boobs-1-topless](http://www.idolator.com/7593347/pop-stars-playboy-topless-pic-pics-shoot-spread-celebrities/tiffany-playboy-nude-nsfw-naked-boobs-1-topless) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/12 "2016-11-02T18:04:12Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > So were Marilyn Monroe’s, for that matter. Well, not ALL of them… :o ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/13 "2016-11-02T18:54:57Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > There were also a surprising number of actresses who posed during the down side of their careers. Joey Heatherton, for one. I remember seeing her in those mattress commercials when I was younger, thinking that was two things that would go good together. IIRC she was in her 50’s when she did her Playboy pictorial (she may have done earlier ones), black net bodysuit comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/14 "2016-11-02T18:57:05Z")
FYI: Madonna was already a household name by the time she posed for playboy. At least with teenagers she was. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/15 "2016-11-02T19:04:41Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > FYI: Madonna was already a household name by the time she posed for playboy. At least with teenagers she was. That was mentioned in the OP. She didn’t pose for Playboy. She posed for a photographer long before she was famous and Playboy later bought the photos. She was quite famous when she published the book _Sex_ so she does fit with the question in the OP but not for Playboy. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/16 "2016-11-02T19:06:59Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Well, not ALL of them… :o Ah, right. Monty Python had a slightly different definition than I was using. For purposes of the historic record and for no other reason at all, let me say that a few early b&w full nudes showing pubic hair are known to exist. None in the Tom Kelley shoot that the Playboy image came from showed hair. In fact, I don’t think there are any such pictures in color. History is fun. > [@Grrr](#): > > FYI: Madonna was already a household name by the time she posed for playboy. At least with teenagers she was. The Tom Kelley shoot was in 1949, when Monroe had had only two tiny film roles and was about as unknown as an actress in Hollywood could be. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/17 "2016-11-02T19:19:51Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > BTW, Burt Reynolds did not pose nude. IIRC, his pic was in _Playgirl_, not _Playboy,_ and was quite undressed, if not nude (or so I am told). ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/18 "2016-11-02T19:23:28Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Early Playboy pictorials were not _ **spread** _ shots as they later became. So the concept of sensational exposure wasn’t as much as the OP is making it out to be. Playboy didn’t even show pubic hair until around 1975, several years after Penthouse was already showing hints of what was under it. But Marilyn was nude-nude-nekkity-nude in most of the shots, which was good enough for 1955. The Madonna shots were of her much younger, dark-haired and IIRC with as much hair below the neck as above it. There’s also the Tracy/Traci Lords issue of Penthouse, shot when she was 16-1/2 and thus technically child porn and illegal to own. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/19 "2016-11-02T19:32:32Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > IIRC, his pic was in _Playgirl_, not _Playboy,_ and was quite undressed, if not nude (or so I am told). His picture was in _Cosmopolitan_. Nude, but posed so no genitals showed. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444/20 "2016-11-02T19:34:06Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > The Madonna shots were of her much younger, dark-haired and IIRC with as much hair below the neck as above it. As I recall, she also looked very skinny. So much so, that I thought if she used the “I was young and starving” excuse for photos, I’d believe her. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-nude-in-playboy/770444.md?page=2)