Supermodel Cindy Crawford is talking about how she ignored the advice of her agents and the people around her, and decided to pose nude in "Playboy" anyway because she was convinced that doing so would benefit her career - and it did.
Crawford stripped down for "Playboy" in 1988 and from that moment on she received new business opportunities that may not have been offered had she opted out.
Many celebrities have posed nude in "Playboy" or "Penthouse" and I can't think of anyone who posed whose career was damaged - in fact, posing actually advanced careers.
Here are some of the top celebrities whose careers seem to have benefited from posing nude for a reputable magazine:
Charlize Theron - "Playboy" (1999)
Kim Kardashian - "Playboy" (2007)
Drew Barrymore - "Playboy" (1995)
Melania Trump - "British GQ" (2000) / Max Magazine (1997)
Jackie Kennedy Onassis - "Hustler" (1971)
Madonna - "Playboy" (1985) / "Penthouse" (1985)
Brad Pitt - "Playgirl" (1997)
David Duchovny - "Playgirl" (1997)
Burt Reynolds - "Cosmopolitan" (1972)
All of these and many other celebrities have experienced a boost in their careers after posing nude. During the Women's Lib movement in the 1970s, "Cosmopolitan" magazine wanted to advance equality by featuring a male celebrity as a nude centerfold. Actor Burt Reynolds was the centerfold seen totally nude lying on a bearskin rug with a cigar in his mouth - a beckoning smirk on his face and his arm strategically placed so as to not reveal his privates. Posing nude turned Burt Reynolds into an instant sex symbol in the 70s.
Vanessa Williams, the first Black Miss America, lost her title after photos from earlier in her career were published in "Penthouse" magazine in 1984. Vanessa Williams did lose her title but the publicity from the nude photo shoot with another woman turned Vanessa into a superstar. Vanessa Williams got a recording contract and had several hits, including "Save The Best For Last" which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1992.
Rhonda Shear - an actress and successful business entrepreneur from New Orleans - hosted the late-night series "Up All Night" on the USA Network and posed twice for "Playboy." When Rhonda and I were dating in the mid-80s - her career was rolling and while she did lose her title as "Miss Floral Trail Queen" (or something close to that) - she admits that her career was advanced from posing nude in "Playboy."
Not everyone will want to admit this - but there is overwhelming evidence that celebrities experience a boost in their careers when they pose nude in a respected magazine. I wonder what that says about America?
