Playboy, after a long history of salacious pictorials, closed the book on their notorious centerfolds.
But many folks don’t remember that, back when Hugh Hefner started the magazine in the '50s, Playboy was more than just a "girlie" magazine; it was also a well-respected publication known for high-brow content.
Literary talent like Ray Bradbury was featured in 1954, when Fahrenheit 451 was serialized in its pages — and in the 1960s, famous interviews were conducted with musicians like the Beatles at the height of their fame.
Of course, it’s impossible to separate all that cultural achievement from the magazine’s saucy reputation. But back in the '50s and '60s, when pinup culture was at its height, plenty of well-known ladies were clamoring to pose for Playboy’s pages — though most appeared in slightly more modest "pictorials," rather than the truly scandalous centerfold.
In fact, as our gallery below details, lots of up-and-coming actresses took advantage of the exposure to create a more sultry "bombshell" image at the height of the'50s and '60s.
Scroll through the gallery below for a few famous faces that you may be surprised ever posed for Playboy.
What do you think of Playboy ending their infamous centerfolds? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
1. Marilyn Monroe
As the ultimate sex symbol of the'50s, Marilyn was the obvious choice for the very first Playboy model.
The Gentlemen Prefer Blondes actress started her career as a pinup and ended up in the newly minted magazine’s first issue in 1953 after the founder Hugh Hefner purchased a nude photo of her used in a different publication.
She would go on to pose for the magazine directly in later years.
2. Brigitte Bardot
The sultry French actress gained international fame with Roger Vadim’s And God Created Woman, and was known in the'50s and '60s for playing risqué characters, which made her a natural fit for the magazine.
3. Jane Birkin
These days, Jane Birkin is probably most famous for the highly coveted Hermès bag that bears her name.
But during the mod movement of the 1960s, the English actress headed to France, where she married the famous director Serge Gainsbourg and starred in a number of scandalous avant-garde films.
4. Elizabeth Taylor
The violet-eyed starlet made a name for herself as a virtuous adolescent, but by the time she was starring in such classics as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, she had fully shaken off her modest image, and was rebranding herself as one of Hollywood's most enduring sex symbols, a process that naturally included a stint in Playboy.
Click through to the next page to see which two-time Oscar winner also made an appearance in the magazine.
5. Jane Fonda
Academy Award–winning actress Jane Fonda was quite the rebel during the Swinging Sixties.
Not only did she promote a wide variety of activist causes, she also redefined female sexuality with her scandalous film choices and decision to strip down on camera.
6. Catherine Deneuve
The "ice queen" of French cinema, Catherine Deneuve was known for her glacial portrayals of reserved beauties with mysterious pasts.
No doubt plenty of her fans were surprised that she agreed to let her guard down and pose for the magazine.
7. Jayne Mansfield
Another blonde bombshell of the 1950s, Jayne Mansfield was constantly compared to Marilyn Monroe.
After Monroe made history as Playboy's first model, Mansfield was close behind, posing just two years later.
8. Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar got her start as a scantily clad dancer in the Ziegfeld Follies, but quickly parlayed her success into a starring turn playing the scandalous villainess Catwoman in the Batman TV series. She appeared in Playboy after shifting her focus to musical theater.
Go to the next page to see which one of Alfred Hitchcock's refined leading ladies appeared in the magazine's pages.
9. Kim Novak
The stunning model and actress is most often remembered for her role as the mysterious, two-faced femme fatale at the heart of the Hitchcock classic Vertigo.
Novak posed for the magazine just one year later, months before she dropped suddenly into obscurity.
10. Nancy Sinatra
The sultry 1960s pop goddess didn't appear in Playboy during her heyday (perhaps she was afraid of what her father Frank would say!).
Instead, she waited for decades, not appearing in the magazine until 1995.
11. Sophia Loren
These days, Italian actress and Oscar winner Sophia Loren's name is practically synonymous with grace and ageless beauty.
But a few decades back, she wasn't afraid to ruffle feathers by appearing in Playboy on at least two occasions.
12. Ursula Andress
The Swiss actress made cinema history as the very first "Bond girl," famously emerging from the ocean in a bikini as Bond's beautiful sidekick Honey Rider. She went on to pose for Playboy the next year, after the film became a box office success.
Were you stunned by some of the names of this list?
Then please SHARE on Facebook for anyone who never realized how different the reputation of Playboy was back in the '50s and '60s!
