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Infamous Celebrity Spreads

By Jessica Henderson

The rule of thumb in the magazine biz is that nothing sells magazines better than celebrity weddings, celebrity babies and, of course, celebrity scandal. Vanity Fair, a Conde Nast publication, is the latest beneficiary of the print truism. It’s too early to know whether the now-infamous “topless” photo of Disney ‘tween star Miley Cyrus goosed the Conde Nast-owned magazine’s newsstand sales, but odds are good the media maelstrom will yield some sales increases. Vanity Fair’s website scored some four million hits the day the photos went live in late April, a record for the site.

Vanity Fair is no stranger to provocative pictures, and their effect both sales and the magazine’s A-list image. Remember Demi Moore’s naked and pregnant cover shoot back in 1991? How about those snapshots of Monica Lewinsky romping on beach a decade ago? Marie Claire has compiled a list of some of the most infamous celebrity magazine spreads in recent memory, a reminder to pop culture enthusiasts that the bigger they are, the more interested we are in seeing them undressed.

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Demi Moore, Vanity Fair (1991)

demi moore, vanity fair, celebrity scandals, celeb nude photos, publishing, tabloid demi moore, vanity fair Though it seems de rigueur now, Moore gave birth (pardon the pun) to nude pregnancy shot, a tabloid staple these days. Liebovitz shot that one, too. A year later, Moore would go on to pose in her birthday suit for another Vanity Fair cover, nude save for skin-thin coating of body paint made to look like a three-piece suit.

Britney Spears, Rolling Stone (1999)

britney spears, rolling stone magazine, celebrity scandals, celeb nude photos, publishing, tabloid britney spears, rolling stone magazine Then a 17-year old tartlet on the rise, Spears sexed up the cover of Rolling Stone in her skivees for her first magazine cover, lensed by photograher David LaChapelle. Shot inside the Louisiana home she shared with her parents, Spears later told the mag: \"Holy Roller religious people made such a big deal about that photo, and I didn\'t really get it. That\'s the way I\'ve always been, and I thought that photo was a good representation of who I really am.\" More prescient words have never been spoken.\r\n

Lindsay Lohan, New York magazine (2008)

lindsay lohan, new york magazine, lindsay lohan marily monroe, celebrity scandals, celeb nude photos, publishing, tabloid lindsay lohan, marilyn monroe, new york magazine Were still perplexed by a post-rehab Lindsay Lohans decision earlier this year to recreate the infamous Marilyn Monroe photo shoot, dubbed The Last Sitting, for New York magazine. The Marilyn photos uncannily captured her vulnerability as a pin-up. Lohans shoot with Stern seemed to many a transparent headline grab.

Janet Jackson, Rolling Stone (1993)

janet jackson, rolling stone cover, celebrity scandals, celeb nude photos, publishing, tabloid janet jackson, rolling stone cover Michaels kid sister appeared topless with a pair of someone elses hands cupping her breasts on the cover of Rolling Stone. (They lucky mitts belonged to her then-husband Rene Elizondo.) Snapped by Patrick Demarchelier, the iconic shot is one of the most memorableand widely copiedpop music portraits ever captured.\r\n

John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Rolling Stone (1980)

john lennon & yoko ono, rolling stone, the beatles, celebrity scandals, celeb nude photos, publishing, tabloid john lennon & yoko ono, rolling stone Another Leibovitz triumph, taken the day before Lennons murder. What is interesting is [Yoko Ono] said she\'d take her top off, said Leibovitz, \'and I said Leave everything on\' -- not really preconceiving the picture at all. The portrait, which Rolling Stone used as their tribute to Lennon a month after his death, was named by The American Society of Magazine Editors as the top magazine cover of the last 40 years.

Dixie Chicks, Entertainment Weekly (2003)

dixie chicks, entertainment weekly, celebrity scandals, celeb nude photos, publishing, tabloid dixie chicks, entertainment weekly The country crossover stars appeared on the EW cover naked, with epithetsSaddams Angels, Traitorscrawled all over their bodies. The shot was a response to incensed fans who boycott the band following frontwoman Natalie Maines anti-Bush comments at a London concert.

Muhammad Ali, Esquire (1968)

celebrity scandals, celeb nude photos, publishing, tabloid, muhammad ali, esquire muhammad ali, esquire (1968) The image of the prizefighter, bent and pricked with six arrowsa latter day St. Sebastianis one of the most iconic magazine covers in history. It was shot by ad guru George Lois after Ali rejected his draft into the army based on religious beliefs. (He was stripped of his heavyweight title for the offense.) The cover sparked heated debate about religion, race and, of course, Vietnam.

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