Celebrities who posed for Playboy
In October 2015, after losing millions of readers to easily available Internet pornography, Playboy announced that it would be doing away with nudity in favor of partially clothed, raw intimacy. Not a bad idea considering that web traffic to Playboy's site jumped from about 4 million to 16 million when it removed nudity last year.
Still, though, the announcement has some mourning the loss of an iconic cultural cornerstone. Despite its raciness and the controversy that occasionally surrounded it, countless celebrities posed for the groundbreaking adult magazine as a sort of Hollywood rite of passage. This 1985 Madonna cover is just one of the most famous.
Marilyn Monroe
When Playboy was first published in 1953, the inaugural issue featured nude photos of Marilyn Monroe. It was notably left undated because the magazine's founder, Hugh Hefner, didn't know if there would be a second issue.
Steve Martin
While one might expect public figures like Madonna and Marilyn Monroe to grace the cover of Playboy, other celebrities' cameos were far more unexpected. Comedian Steve Martin, for example, was a bit of a surprising choice for the January 1980 cover. It's probably one of the most memorable ones ever, though.
Mariah Carey
Between the time she came out with "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and when she married Nick Cannon, Mariah Carey appeared on the cover of Playboy. She donned a one-piece bathing suit with cutouts, and the issue hit the stands in March 2007.
Kim Kardashian
"Keeping Up with the Kardashians" debuted on E! in October 2007. Two months later, its poster girl, Kim, posted up on the cover of Playboy.
Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford appeared on the cover of Playboy's July 1988 issue, alongside articles on Jesse Jackson and "The Last Words On Ronald Reagan."
Playboy has stated that its history of provocative articles and newsmaking interviews will remain intact, even after the makeover -- something the magazine has featured since its very first issue, Hefner explained to CBS' Charlie Rose in 2005.
"It was all there, I mean there were food and drink features, fashion," Hefner said.
Drew Barrymore
In January 1995, Drew Barrymore graced the cover ... a child star, all grown up.
Jessica Alba
In March 2006, fresh off her box office success with "Sin City," "Into the Blue," and "Fantastic Four," Jessica Alba posed for Playboy. Those, of course, were the days before she was a wife, a mother, and a pioneer of eco-friendly soap.
Pamela Anderson
Model and actress Pamela Anderson has appeared on more Playboy covers than anyone else. Beginning in 1989, her Playboy career spans 22 years. She appears on numerous covers, in several centerfolds, and even wrote the foreword to the 2012 coffee table book, "Playboy's Greatest Covers."
Chelsea Handler
Comedian Chelsea Handler appeared on the cover of Playboy's 2009 Christmas issue; the bigger shock perhaps not being that she bared it all, but that she did so in a rather serious context.
Uma Thurman
Long before Uma Thurman slayed countless men with martial arts in "Kill Bill," she did it with pictorials in the Australian incarnation of Playboy.
Lindsay Lohan
In 2012, "Mean Girls" star Lindsay Lohan struck a mean pose on the cover of Playboy's January/February double issue. Insiders said the shoot was designed to be reminiscent of the magazine's inaugural shoot with Marilyn Monroe.
Hugh Hefner later hinted on his Twitter that the Lohan issue was one of the best-selling in Playboy history.
Bruno Mars
Steve Martin wasn't the only male to grace the cover of Playboy. In April 2012, Bruno Mars appeared on a Playboy cover as well, albeit fully clothed.
Jenny McCarthy
Long before she became a co-host of "The View," Jenny McCarthy began her career as a Playboy model in 1993. In 1994, she was chosen as Playmate of the Year and parlayed her success into an acting career.
Kate Moss
British supermodel Kate Moss graced the cover of Playboy's January/February 2014 double issue in the magazine's signature bunny ears and tail. The pictorial spread ran alongside a Q&A between Moss and Tom Jones, in which she discusses her cocktail of choice and a night when someone tried to take a picture of her going to the bathroom in the men's room.
Vanna White
In May 1987, "Wheel Of Fortune" co-host Vanna White bared her behind on the cover of Playboy. In a cute play on her television personality, the two Y's in the magazine's name were left out, as if a contestant might soon spin the wheel and shout out that letter.
Carmen Electra
"Baywatch" actress Carmen Electra appeared in Playboy several times over the course of her career. The first was in May 1996.
Dolly Parton
Country icon Dolly Parton posed for Playboy in October 1978. It must have been good luck because, shortly afterward, she unleashed a stream of pop-country hits that topped the singles charts, including "9 to 5" and "Islands in the Stream."
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron appeared on the cover of Playboy in May 1999, the same year she appeared in both "The Astronaut's Wife" and "The Cider House Rules." It's probably safe to assume the Playboy Mansion had a fairly different set of rules than the Cider House.
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra earned the "sin" in her last name when she posed for Playboy in May 1995, just one month shy of her 55th birthday. What can you say? Her father was Frank Sinatra, so she learned how to do things "her way."
Naomi Campbell
British supermodel Naomi Campbell stripped down for the December 1999 issue of Playboy, smack in the prime of her career. Her pictorial was 14 pages long.
Farrah Fawcett
"Charlie's Angels" actress Farrah Fawcett largely resisted taking her clothes off for magazines or movies throughout the '70s and '80s. So, when she posed semi-nude for the December 1995 issue of Playboy, it created a bit of a stir.
At the age of 50, Fawcett posed for the magazine again. That July 1997 issue came with an accompanying video, in which Fawcett - also an artist - painted a canvas with her body.
