With pictures of Kristen Stewart as a stripper in the upcoming Sundance player “Welcome to the Rileys” hitting the Internet last week, we decided to take a look back at five Hollywood actresses who starred as a stripper in the past, and how the decision impacted their careers. Some were launched into success stories, while others took a sharp downward turn. Hopefully, Stewart will take some pointers from those who came before her and avoid squashing the success “The Twilight Saga” has given her. If that’s even possible.
One unusual fact that’s worth noting: three of the five names on this list — Demi Moore, Lindsay Lohan and Heather Graham — all followed up their stripper appearances with roles in the Emilio Estevez-directed film, “Bobby.” It’s hard to say what that means, though three counts as a trend. Apparently, fake stripping drives female actors to Emilio Estevez. Go figure. Click the image above to check out our fictional strippers flipbook gallery.
Heather Graham
Most recently, Graham showed up as a stripper in this year’s surprise success story, “The Hangover.” It was a fitting return to mainstream film as her breakout role was the porn star Rollergirl in 1997’s “Boogie Nights.” The role brought her media attention and launched her into the best phase of her career. In 1999, Graham got her first leading role opposite Mike Meyers in “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” and she went on to star in 2001’s “Say It Isn’t So” and “From Hell.” Since, Graham has fallen out from mainstream films and has spent her time doing independent films like 2002’s “The Guru” and 2006’s “Bobby,” as well as returning to her television roots in “Scrubs” and “Arrested Development.” However, with the popularity of her good-hearted stripper character in “The Hangover,” she is sure to be offered better film roles over the next few years, or at least have a bigger role in the sequel.
Demi Moore
The early 1990’s were the time for Moore to shine. She became one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood after her successes 1990’s “Ghost,” 1992’s “A Few Good Men” and 1993’s “Indecent Proposal.” So when she made the choice to star in 1996’s “Striptease” as a former FBI secretary turned stripper, it seemed like the film would be an easy box office success, and it was. The film was universally panned by critics, receiving a 12% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it more than doubled its budget with $113 million in ticket sales. Moore nonetheless received a Worst Actress Golden Raspberry award for her role. The film marked the start of a string of unsuccessful films that went on until Moore was cast in 2003’s “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” but she has never returned to the success she had before “Striptease.”
Jessica Alba
Perhaps the most popular poster, T-shirt or lunchbox picture from 2005’s “Sin City” is the picture of Jessica Alba as stripper Nancy Callahan with the caption: “Skinny little Nancy Callahan. She grew up. She filled out.” Though Alba’s breakout film role was in 2003’s “Honey,” the success of “Sin City” caused her to become an international sex symbol. Alba went on to receive numerous starring film roles like 2005’s “Fantastic Four” and “Into The Blue,” 2007’s “Good Luck Chuck” and 2008’s “The Love Guru.” While all the films she has starred in since “Sin City” have been box office successes, they have been critical failures.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman has been a success story since she first hit the film scene as a 13-year-old in 1994’s “Leon: The Professional.” By the early 2000s, she had already been cast as Padmé Amidala in “Star Wars: Episodes I-III,” had become America’s darling from 1999’s “Anywhere But Here” and 2000’s “Where The Heart Is” and had landed indie success in 2004’s “Garden State.” So when she starred as American stripper Alice Ayres in 2004’s “Closer,” the critical acclaim both she and the film earned were merely a drop in the bucket for the success she was already experiencing. The Harvard graduate has continued to make smart film decisions and both her mainstream and independent films have gone on to be success stories.
Lindsay Lohan
When “I Know Who Killed Me” hit theaters in 2007, Lohan was far from the public darling she was at the height of her career in 2004, when “Mean Girls” came out. She had become a paparazzi favorite, had received numerous DUIs and had gone through several stints in drug-rehabilitation clinics. Lohan’s 2007 DUI arrest even prevented her from promoting “I Know Who Killed Me.” Whether or not the actress had banked on the film being her return to the high life, Lohan’s turn as two identical girls, one of them a stripper, was a box office failure when it grossed $9.6 million domestically. It was also a critical failure, receiving a mere 8% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes and setting the record for most Razzies received (Lohan received two: one for each of the twins she played). However, in spite of the film’s shortcomings, Lohan has gone on to be a part of a successful run on “Ugly Betty” and will star in Robert Rodriguez’s “Machete” in 2010.
