Some people think that making it in showbusiness means saying “yes” to anything and everything—and that includes the possibility of having your birthday suit memorialized on screen. Surprisingly, some of the biggest names in Hollywood drew the line at nudity. Whether it’s a matter of comfort, faith, or personal values, these celebrities fought hard to keep it all on.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift isn’t someone you’ll never see nude on-screen, but that’s not exactly a surprise, given her branding. Although Swift’s songs have grown in maturity as she has gotten older, the 30-year-old artist said that she finds it easy to keep her clothes on “because I don’t really feel like taking them off.”
Ready for It
In the music video for Ready for It, Swift appears to be in her birthday suit, but she was actually wearing a flesh-toned, skintight bodysuit. Taylor told Glamour that she’s never been tempted to “push the envelope” in the way that some of her popstar counterparts have.
Jessica Alba
Although Jessica Alba has shed most of her clothing on screen, the 38-year-old actress refuses to strip down completely for a scene. Why? Well, the answer is pretty straightforward—she doesn’t want her grandparents to see her naked. “That’s it,” she said. “It would be weird at Christmas.
Elevating the Picture
According to Jessica Alba, nudity in film should serve an artistic purpose rather than just a shock to the viewer. Alba has maintained her position since 2005, when Elle Magazine asked her the same question. “If you look at the movies I have done, getting naked would never ‘elevate’ the picture,” she added.
Rebel Wilson
Rebel Wilson rose to fame through blockbusters like Bridesmaids and Pitch Perfect. Although she’s no stranger to walking on the wild side, Wilson refuses to perform in the buff. If you’ve ever seen a scene where the Australian actress appears to be nude, it’s actually body double—who’s also a South African burlesque dancer.
Playing it Safe
“I want to know that the people (i.e. the film crew) have a certain sensibility and decency. And a lot of times in comedy, they’re not those people,” Wilson told Marie Claire. For now, Wilson has decided that she wants audiences to focus on her humor, not her body.
Anna Kendrick
Like her Pitch Perfect co-star, Anna Kendrick also opted for a body double to perform the nude scene in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016). Kendrick expressed that she feels lucky to have avoided being pigeonholed as a teen movie actress.
Hoping for the Best
“I am not criticizing people who do [nude scenes], but I plan to keep doing what I am doing and hope it keeps going good,” she said. She also added that she usually doesn’t have to worry about turning down nudes scenes; it’s not a frequent request for the actress.
Megan Fox
After getting axed from the Transformers franchise, Megan Fox declared that she would never appear nude on-screen. Fox shared that she felt like nude scenes were damaging to her self-esteem; she turned down a number of roles that would have forced her to perform in “degrading scenes.”
Private Life
“There are some good projects I’ve read… but the things women are required to do in the movie are things I can’t have my sons ever know or see,” said the actress. “Those are things that are degrading to the woman who’s playing the character.”
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais started off his career as David Brent on the UK version of the mockumentary sitcom The Office. Gervais has since become a three-time host of the Golden Globes and starred in a number of feature films. The English actor and comedian has gotten in trouble for making fun of other celebrities.
Avert Your Eyes
“I don’t want to see this body—nobody does!” he told The Sun. Apparently, Gervais will shed his clothes on screen, but only down to the boxers. For a guy who’s known for testing the boundaries of political correctness, it looks like Gervais is well aware of his own personal limits.
Rihanna
You might remember the time Rihanna famously donned a transparent gown made entirely of Swarovski crystals, but that doesn’t mean she’s cool with full-frontal nudity on-screen. “My mother raised me with certain standards,” Rihanna told MTV.
Bad Gal Ri-Ri
Although her music videos can get a little NSFW, the designer and business mogul wants to protect her personal values without compromising her craft. Fortunately, Rihanna hasn’t faced any major career setbacks as a result of drawing the line.
Allison Williams
The daughter of MSNBC chief anchor Brian Williams wants to protect her future family from the potential fallout of nude performances. “Growing up with a parent in the public eye… I didn’t want to give my future hypothetical children another avenue by which to be made fun of,” she said.
Drawing the Line
However, Williams found it increasingly difficult to adhere to her no-nudity clause due to the nature of her character Marnie on HBO’s Girls. “I just wanted to give Marnie almost all of myself,” she added,” but there were things that felt like they should be mine and felt like they should always be mine.”
Samuel L. Jackson
During an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Samuel L. Jackson revealed that full-frontal nudity is something he would never consider. Although nudity hasn’t been a tremendous issue thus far in his career, he intends to request a body double lest the request is ever presented.
More Aura, More Problems
Jackson explained how the roles he plays have earned him a certain gritty reputation, and he’s concerned he wouldn’t… live up to the expectation. As Jackson jokingly put it, “My aura is so big.”
Katy Perry
As much as Katy Perry loves to push limits, the pop star says she’ll never be seen totally nude. Perry knows that many of her costumes leave little to the imagination, but she says that she likes playing that particular card because “it’s fun and it’s definitely in my deck.”
Pushing the Envelope
Perry says that she loves to “tease” in line with the nature of burlesque. “I’m 26 and I know these are my prime years and I’m confident,” Perry said, but she added that she certainly won’t be doing “a Playboy spread” anytime soon.
Sarah Jessica Parker
During the entirety of Sarah Jessica Parker’s six-season-long run on HBO’s Sex and the City, she never once stripped down to her birthday suit. Parker’s no-nudity clause is still intact, but the actress still admits she’s struggled with the pressure to take her clothes off. “They were like, ‘Sarah Jessica’s going to be nude tomorrow,’ and I was like, ‘I’m not going to be nude,’” she said.
Kristen Bell
Bell is far from being ashamed of her body; in fact, the 39-year-old actress is proud of her “buns and abs.” Bell has appeared in her undies on a number of occasions, but she draws the line at… well, butts. “I don’t show my crack!” she said to Women’s Health Magazine. “All the Mr. Skins of the world are like, ‘Ooh, Kristen gets naked!’ I’m like, ‘Dream on!’”
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon may have started her career playing girl-next-door roles like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde and Annette Hargrove in Cruel Intentions, but the actress later gravitated toward heavier roles. Although Witherspoon once said she was “flabbergasted by how many legitimate actresses” take off their clothes, she ended up breaking her no-nudity clause for the role of Cheryl Strayed in Wild (2014).
Blake Lively
When Blake Lively witnesses nudity in movies, she claims that it’s too distracting. “If I am watching a scene and someone has their boobs out, then that’s all I’m looking at—I can’t help it,” she said. Lively told the Daily Mail that she wants her audiences focusing on her performance instead of her body. “I just don’t think that will ever be right for me.”
Mila Kunis
At one point in Mila Kunis’ career, she was asked by an anonymous Hollywood director to pose semi-nude in a film promotion. When Kunis declined, she was told by him that she’d “never work again in this town.” Thankfully, Kunis stuck to her guns and maintained that she made the right choice. Regardless, Kunis has expressed contempt for the objectification women in showbusiness are subjected to every day.
Julia Roberts
If you think you’ve seen Julia Roberts bare it all, you are mistaken—she used a body double in Pretty Woman. “To act with my clothes on is a performance,” Roberts famously said in an interview with Marie Claire. “To act with my clothes off is a documentary.”
Jenna Fischer
After rising to fame on The Office, Jenna Fischer has shown some skin on screen, but she draws the line at nudity. Her rule? “Well, I wouldn’t do anything I wouldn’t be proud to show my parents,” she said. The actress might have worn a racy bustier in Blades of Glory and lingerie in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, but to her, those experiences were fun and light-hearted. “They can put makeup on your legs… It really has nothing to do with whether you’re in shape or not,” she said.
Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff stated that if she’s participating in a movie, she wants to be herself without taking her top off. “In the States, it seems it’s the trend to turn 18 or 19 and then take your shirt off and do something crazy.” Lizzie McGuire is all grown up, but she still has avoided doing “something crazy” to date, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
Jessica Simpson
Her Daisy Dukes may be iconic, but Jessica Simpson won’t budge when it comes to performing in the buff. The actress and fashion designer told Allure that no role could persuade her to deny her personal principles. “I don’t care how dark and intellectual the role could be. I don’t care if I frickin’ get an Oscar. I’m not going to do it,” she said, adding that she doesn’t believe anyone deserves to see what’s beneath her clothes.
Mandy Moore
Since her hit single “Candy” in 1999, Mandy Moore’s image has been squeaky clean. For the nude scene in Chasing Liberty, Moore used a butt double, saying that she’s a “modest girl,” and that she’s the only one who’s seen her butt behind closed doors. “I actually had to choose a body double that would be stripping down and jumping into a river in Prague for me!”
Isla Fisher
Isla Fisher is fully aware that by agreeing to perform in nude scenes, she could be pigeonholed into doing them more frequently. The Australian actress said that she feels like nudity might redirect the audience’s attention. “I feel like if you have a female comic character and then you see her nipples, then she is no longer funny,” she said. Fisher added that her vein of thinking is objectively incorrect, which she acknowledged, but it still ultimately led her to avoid doing nude scenes.
Jennifer Garner
There are plenty of celebrities who won’t go nude for the sole reason that they just don’t feel comfortable, and Jennifer Garner is one of them. There’s no deeper interpretation for Garner, who frankly told MTV, “I will not be taking it all off. The world deserves better. Not interested.”
Rachel Bilson
After her time on The O.C., Rachel Bilson starred as Kim in The Last Kiss—but right before production ended, Bilson was almost forced to give up the role because she refused to comply with nudity requests. The actress told Playboy, “Movies can be sexy or sexual without showing things.” Bilson’s strong-willed attitude prevented her from losing the role just because she refused to cross a personal boundary.
Christina Hendricks
While Hendricks was working hard on Mad Men, all anyone ever talked about was her body. She complained to New York Magazine, “It kind of hurt my feelings. Anytime someone talks about your figure constantly, you get nervous, you get really self-conscious.” Hendricks has since been very selective about her roles and outright refuses to perform in the nude.
Carrie-Anne Moss
Carrie-Anne Moss is worried about embarrassing her husband or her family if she were to act au naturel. Moss says she’s “just not like that all” and is concerned about what her mother would think. “Besides, lots of actresses like Julia Roberts and Michelle Pfeiffer don’t do nudity, so I don’t think it’s so important.” Moss also feels as though her body has become sacred since becoming a married woman.
Hailey Bieber
Even more often than actresses, models can be pressured to pose for photos bare-skinned. Long before Hailey Bieber strutted her stuff on the Victoria’s Secret runway, the young woman vowed that she would never model totally naked. “I would never pose topless. I wouldn’t ever pose naked,” she told People Magazine. Bieber said she’s fine with lingerie and bikinis so long as the shoot is tasteful, but she doesn’t want to risk crossing into overly-raunchy territory.
Ashley Benson
Ashley Benson wants young actors and actresses to consider the implications of agreeing to shoot naked for inadequate compensation. She claims to be shocked that extras agreed to be filmed topless for Spring Breakers despite having received no title credits. “Everyone tries to push you, and it’s easy to get talked into doing those things,” she said. “I’ll just walk off set, but not everyone realizes they can do that.”
Coco Rocha
Coco Rocha expressed her disdain for the ideas that models are “expected to be blank canvases.” Rocha said that she recalls being told at 15 that she would never make it in the industry if she didn’t shoot nude even if it violated her personal boundaries. Fortunately, Rocha’s successful career proved them all wrong. “I decided to put certain clauses into my contract. Perhaps I heard ‘no’ more often because of it, but there are always clients who are willing to work with a confident woman who knows who she is.”
Shannon Stewart
On the first-ever season of America’s Next Top Model, Shannon Stewart revealed that she would never pose nude or even wearing underwear. When Stewart came back for the All-Stars season, judges said she was relying on “semantics” to get out of a photoshoot for Fruit of the Loom. Stewart stands by her decision: “If I were to do that shoot, they would have replayed what I said on the first photo shoot. My brand is trustworthy; therefore, I would not be known as trustworthy because I'm not good for my word.”
Jon Hamm
Jon Hamm has never publicly declared a no-nudity clause, but the actor has never actually been seen in the buff for any role. Movie magic managed to uphold his modesty in Bridesmaids, which was the closest Hamm ever came to wearing only a smile on-screen. In real life, unfortunately, a photo of Hamm’s private parts was sold to the tabloids by snooping paparazzi.
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Collins’ work on film and stage made her a legendary actress, but the iconic star had to reject a role on the West End play circuit because the playwright had asked her to perform live while totally naked. “It is unseemly to undress on stage,” Collins said. The burden of having to bare yourself for strangers night after night also seems like an emotionally taxing ordeal.
Sarah Michelle Gellar
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress was made famous for the titular role of Buffy Summers. In an effort to maintain her image, Gellar has a no-nudity clause in her contract. Although she has never publicly addressed the choice, Gellar has turned down roles in the past that would have required her to be topless. Her representative told Page Six tabloid that “Sarah doesn’t do nudity, period. It has never been her thing.”
Emma Roberts
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Like her aunt Julia, Emma Roberts won’t perform in any fully nude scenes. She isn’t committed to the idea forever. Roberts said that she would consider changing her tune in the future, but she was fairly sure that she would never want to bare it all on camera. “I don’t know that I’d do a full-on nude scene, ever,” she told W Magazine. “But we’ll see.”
Emma Watson
Across the globe, we watched Emma Watson grow up on-screen during her time as Hermione in the Harry Potter franchise. Unlike her counterpart Daniel Radcliffe, who let it all out in Equus, Watson wants to keep Hermione with her. “I’m not going to get my kit off or snort cocaine in a film just to leave Hermione behind. I don’t want everyone to forget me as Hermione. I’m really proud of her,” she said in an interview.
Chris Pratt
Despite going from dad bod to Kumail Nanjiani overnight, Chris Pratt has no intention of becoming a sex symbol. According to the National Enquirer, posing nude on screen would be antithetical to his religion: “It’s not the public image he wants to project. It’s not something he sees as compatible with his faith.“
Rita Wilson
When Rita Wilson made a guest appearance on the HBO series Girls, she only outlined one specific detail in her contract. “I wanted it put in my contract… [They] don’t want to see me nude,” she said. “That’s all I have to say. I’m like, ‘Don’t write in any nudity, please!’”
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson’s no-nudity clause has been in place since she was 22 years old, but Johansson gave herself a little wiggle room when it came to 2014’s Under the Skin. the Marvel actress said she chose to perform nude because she felt that the character’s nudity was necessary and intentional rather than exploitative. However, Johansson likely will be keeping her clothes on in most future productions.
Cameron Diaz
There’s Something About Mary may have a scene that’s more explicit than any on-screen nudity could ever hope to be, but the Charlie’s Angels actress said she’s largely uncomfortable performing naked on screen. The first time Diaz agreed to nudity was in her forties for the 2014 film Sex Tape.
Olivia Munn
Olivia Munn isn’t so black and white with her no-nudity clause. She appeared topless in Magic Mike, but only because she believed the nudity was reasonable instead of feeling gratuitous. Apparently, Munn forgot she had filmed the scene until the movie premiered. “There are very few directors I would ever do it for,” she explained to Vulture. Munn said the scene took place because her character was exiting the showoer and she wanted to keep it as realistic as possible—it’s not like anyone showers with a shirt on.
Mark Wahlberg
In a shocking turn of events, Mark Wahlberg was wearing a prosthetic penis in Boogie Nights. Wahlberg only bared it all one time—he convinced the director of 2011’s Broken City to cut a sex scene from the film by agreeing to strip down. Apparently, Marky Mark said he would rather be caught in the nude than upset his wife by having to kiss someone else.
Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton’s rise to fame was largely due to her reckless antics, but the wealthy celebrity has only posed naked once, and it wasn’t meant for the public. After her infamous sex tape leaked without her permission, Hilton said that her life was turned upside-down. “That is actually the one regret in my life. I wish that I had never met that guy. I could not leave my house for months.”
Lena Headey
Cersei Lannister’s gruesome walk of shame was acted by Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey from the neck upward. Unlike most of the other cast members, Headey reused to appear nude from the get-go, relying on a body double for the scene. Headey said her decision was more for Cersei than herself: “Things really affect me. And the thought of being naked for three days and trying to contain her in the way she would be I think I would feel very angry. I didn’t want to be angry. I don’t think Cersei would be angry. I did what I thought she would do, emotionally.”
George Clooney
He might be one of People’s Sexiest Men Alive every single year for the remainder of time, but only his female counterparts were shedding their clothes in Clooney’s more intimate movies, such as Violante Placido in The American or Jennifer Lopez in Out of Sight. Although the actor has never gone on record stating that he has a no-nudity clause, it seems rather apparent that Clooney would rather act with his clothes on.
Jamie Dornan
Yes, Jamie Dornan’s butt has been viewed by many. Like… many, many. But the 50 Shades of Grey actor drew the line at full-frontal nudity, much to the dismay of anyone who was looking forward to seeing every last inch of Christian Grey. “I just thought, ‘We don’t need to be flashing the rest if it’s not essential to the story,” he said. Dornan added, “We’re not making porn, as much as people think we are.”
Jessica Brown Findlay
In Jessica Brown Findlay’s first role, she allowed herself to be filmed in the nude. However, the Downton Abbey star describes the situation as extremely manipulative, stating that she would not make the same decision twice. “To be honest, Albatross was naivety and not knowing that I could say no,” she said. Findlay thought she was going to be shot from behind—she “had no idea what was going to happen.”
Owen Wilson
Although Owen Wilson seems to appear naked in You, Me, and Dupree, the actor was actually using a body double. Wilson explains that he’s still self-conscious about disrobing on screen: “It’s hard to get totally comfortable with running out in front of a crew and neighbors that have come out on their streets to watch a Hollywood movie and here I come running out with pillows covering me.”
Neal McDonough
Neal McDonough was axed from Scoundrels after only three days because he refused to perform in any sex scenes with his co-star Virgina madsen, stating that he “put God and his family first, and me second.” McDonough said that he’s so dedicated to his wife Ruvé Robertson that he refuses to any love scenes with other actresses.
Jennifer Love Hewitt
After turning down the opportunity to do a Playboy spread, Jennifer Love Hewitt says that her body insecurities stopped her from agreeing to appear in the nude. She says that for the most part, she’s fine with her appearance, but some days she struggles with her body image: “... There are days when I’m like, ‘Ugh! Really? Why is it so hard to fit into my jeans?’”
Rachael Leigh Cook
Even if it’s not really her body, Rachael Leigh Cook says that she’ll never appear naked on screen. Cook expressed that she’s uncomfortable with the mere idea of stripping down for the camera. “I’m very shy,” the She’s All That actress said. “I won’t do nudity, and no body-doubling to make it look like it’s me.”
Will Smith
When Will Smith was rising to fame, he infamously refused to film a gay scene in Six Degrees of Separation that was integral to the plot—so it isn’t much of a stretch that the actor has spent the remainder of his career avoiding nudity in any of his work. Even Smith’s raps were reserved in nature.