This topic is about discussing the attitudes and approach towards nudity and naturism that people who are well known for other reasons share in their behaviour, interviews, approach to life, biographies etc. 

This isn't really about mentioning that certain celebrities have appeared naked in certain films. Casual, social, non-sexualised nudity in films is covered in this article https://www.anaturistworld.com/article/45492/non-sexual-social-nudity-in-the-cinema

This topic is more about what those in the public eye have said about being naked in the arts, or their attitude towards nudity in their private life and what they have said about it.   

We were listening to Juliet Binoche speak about nudity in the extras of Three Colours Blue a couple of days back, and we were pondering that when another member mentioned celebrity nudity on the activity feed and figured we should start this topic. 

I will quote the Juliet Binoche interview in a future post. As it was interesting to us in terms of naturism and the balance of nudity being both a very natural and non-shocking thing that people should be cool about but also having an awareness that for many it becomes something else. Something that many people interpret less healthily. Something we as naturist have to live with, especially if we attempt to promote and support naturism on the internet or through other media. Anna and I have always known that the message about naturism and an honest and healthy attitude towards nudity will result in some people learning but in many people just seeing nudity. So there is always a balance to be found between creating the right message and approach and not feeling like you are simply "prostituting yourself."

This must be something that many celebrities consider when they are asked to appear in front of a camera or even heading to a beach, or down a red carpet. Is this about attracting attention for yourself or just being real about who you are and how we should consider nudity?  And it would be interesting to consider this in the topic. 

One last thing before opening up the floor on this one. Who are people in the public eye in terms of this topic? I feel that it should be anyone who is best known for something other than nudity, naturism or simply attracting attention on media and the internet. Not influencers or internet celebrities, but people who we know of because of other aspects of their lives. Actors, musicians, politicians, sports people... high profile people, living or dead, known for the position they hold in the world beyond naturism and the internet. 

Cheers Steve

  

"I wish we all were naked all the time… I have always believed it is what’s underneath that counts. If we were all forced to be naked, perhaps we would start to see that a little bit more."

Celine Dion (Canadian singer/songwriter)

Celine also added to her interview. “I would my audience to be naked too.”

We feel there is a very important aspect to celebrities endorsing naked lifestyles, because they do have the power to sway the minds of their followers. Most people see their celebrity status as a platform in which they can or at least try to do some good, and we have always taken the view point that if they are prepared to stand up and speak up for naked living, we should welcome it, because these stars to a degree do have an impact.

There are many out there who have gained some notoriety because they have spoken out, and as naturists we should support them, it matters not if you love them or hate them, the fact is, if they are touting the joys of being naked, in a world of skinphobic’s, we should applaud them.

Bear Grills loves naked swimming, Amanda Holden often appears in the news for her statements of her joy of Naked Sunbathing. Ulrika Johnson just last year spoke out stating that the young of the today should get naked more and get over their hang ups, and actually start embracing their skin. Helen Mirren has been very vocal throughout her whole career, and has openly talked of how she would much rather be on a naked beach, as the people are much nicer.  

Kevin Bacon (Footloose) openly talks of how he loves the naked time with his naked family, and only gets dressed when the nanny comes, he has also spoken out on the therapeutic benefits to his life because of being naked.

Kate Humble (BBC’s Country file) “Sometimes you are in a beautiful place, and there is something very celebratory about just having a nudey dance.” She has a house in France and basically lives there naked when not filming.

Billy Connolly has graced our screens many times and is not shy about filming his as he calls them “Hippie Side” as he often strips of and dances for parts of his documentaries.

You would be surprised who loves naked life, and how long the list is with stars like Avril Lavigne, Robbie Williams, Hedi Klum, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Orlando Bloom, Justin Timberlake, and Cat Denning, and there have even been nudists in the Whitehouse.

Roosevelt would only play his guests at Tennis if they were naked, no clothing was allowed on his Tennis courts, and he insisted everyone play tennis. There have been a few others in the Whitehouse also in the past.

We think it is a good thing that people in the public spotlight speak out, and we are not talking about stunts or flashing for hits and likes, we are talking about real naked life and life experiences that have brought meaning to a celebrities life, for example Emma Thompson, and Jennifer Lawrence, who have both in the last year spoken publicly about how life changing it has been for them to be naked on set and how it has boosted their self confidence and changed the way they see their bodies, which is much more positive than it was.  

It is important we share with each other and those outside of naturism when celebrities do speak out with confidence and passion about their naked life and naked life experiences, because whether you are a fan or not, some people hang of these celebrates every word, and it is through that, the publics mind set can change slowly.

When it comes to celebrities and nudism I think it's important to make a distinction between work they've done and their private lives. In my opinion being naked when it comes to your vocation isn't neccessarily something they've done from an internal need or an innate desire - they are primarily doing it for the money. Miriam Margolyes made reference to it on the Graham Norton Show I think in 2021 when she was talking about the release of her autobiography. I think what she said was "I did it because I was paid an enormous lot of money". I recall she made the comment, or variations of the comment several times in the show. Usually celebrities appear on such shows because it's about publicity. It might be the release of a movie, or a book or something similar, but sometimes it's just about them keeping their name in the public arena. To me, the interesting thing about Margolyes' comments was an insight into their motiviation for producing something. Most of what we see in the celebrity world is generally staged and a small percentage is their actual personality. They don't usually talk about being paid for their work. They'll often brush it off talking about "an interesting project" or "something I like to do", but they never bluntly say "I did it for great wads of cash that came from you people watching this". I think any actor appearing nude, say in a movie, is only representing the character they're playing and not themselves. You can't mistake one for the other, even when they become typecast. Often celebrities use sex in a similar way to advertising and will slip in the occasional comment for the shock value or something that will get attention.

That said, I think there's probably a number of celebrities who do partake in nudism. I also suspect that a large number of them who are "true naturists" are generally reclusive about it because, I'm guessing, anyone in the general public seeing images of them nude are more than likely to revert to the sexualisation of the nudity, rather than taking it for the naturism values that we understand. The images that Steve referenced appeared to me to be images taken in a clandestine way, potentially by a papparazzi photographer. Typically blurry and possibly with a telephoto lens, or cropped.  While they may have been taken of the people (I'm sorry, I didn't recognise them at all to name them) while they might have been in a naturist moment, the release of the images may well have been either monetary gain or some other reasons other than just a "happy snap" that one of us may have taken. It's no different to one of us being photographed without permission and the images getting published. Well, there's one major difference. only a handful of people are likely to recognise my image whereas a celebrity is much more likely to be recognised and commented on.

I acknowledge that I'm being a little cynical here. But to my mind the overlap between reality and the fiction of the celebrity world is harder to discern that other aspects of our society. I think many of us want to feel that they are being completely honest, but I also think that we gain an affinity with them because they appear familar to us. Wee see them "all the time". The reality is that they don't know who we are at all. I'm not trying to say that they all project a falsehood 100% of the time, but I think we're often more blind to the reality of their world than we like to admit.

Tony we completely agree with your thoughts about financial gain and fame recognition - by happening to pose naked on a beach knowing you will be captured and splattered all over the papers and also being paid to do nude scenes on film/TV etc. Just as a pop star who appears virtually naked in a pop video, or a starlet appearing in a sheer dress, or one that doesn't keep her breasts under control is maybe more about getting noticed on the red carpet and out shining the other starlets to get into the magazines. 

This is partly what this topic is about - why they do it? and what they say about doing it? Sometimes the reality and the parts work together. Some stars will have no nudity contracts and maybe these are also the stars who will not be found on naturist beaches and maybe won't say "I love cooking in the nude." Others will do nude scenes without concern because they just feel cool about nudity in general, and others again may do a nude scene that they have been pressurised to do for a film and money and still hate it. What this topic is about is what they have said about nude scenes and nudity in general both good and bad as well as in their real life. Kate Humble for example is well known for her love of "naturism" on the land, but has never used it to gain money or fame. Emma Thompson has appeared nude in the odd film, but definitely also likes hitting the naturist beach or swimming naked in the river on her land, and it is hard to imagine that she has particularly used nudity to gain notoriety. Where as maybe Sharon Stone or Demi Moore probably did. 

We do have to filter out the hype and attention seeking, but at the same time celebrities will play to their strengths and what they are happy to do. I often cringe at sex scenes in films thinking "How can they kiss each other (and not just on the lips), fondle each other etc?" I know it is acting, there are dozens of people around, they are being paid and it must be very un-sexy - but I wouldn't want any one kissing me other than Steve, let alone fondling me. To me it crosses a line of what we should ask actors to do, but they do it, are paid and it is part of how they make their money. Maybe some people would feel the same about nudity, and I guess it really depends on how they feel about nudity. 

Then there are the journalists and reviewers who will pull these people apart if they don't have "perfect bodies" and that is tragic. A male film star would maybe feel very uncomfortable about people commenting about the size of his penis - and they would no matter how stupid such a comment is. A female film star is going to worry about much more - curves, breasts, bum size, fat anywhere, cellulite, wrinkles, stretchmarks. Actresses like Uma Thurman would get the thumbs up in their early nude scenes and the likes of Kathy Bates have people horrified. It is so wrong, but it must have an effect on how these people feel about doing nudity. Wouldn't it be refreshing if the beautiful young things that fall in love on film actually had imperfect breasts, untoned tummies or small penises when they undress in front of each other. It is great when middle aged women (or older) like Emma Thompson or Kate Winslet still do nude scenes. And we are also lucky that stars like Keira Knightley have shown that it is OK to be flat chested and get naked. I wonder if it is more likely to be English actors who are happy to not be perfect on film. 

I think this topic has some interesting ground - as well as some interesting facts and quotes to cover.