Actresses remembered for sex scenes
 

Can someone name some actresses made ‘notorious’ or just famous only by the sex scene(s) they were in? Except Sharon Stone and Meg Ryan, and ideally of a younger generation. Someone told me this doesn’t happen anymore, and I’m wondering what people think.

Chloe Sevigny in The Brown Bunny.

Lauren Lee Smith in Lie With Me.

Emmanuelle Seigner in Bitter Moon

Deborah Revy in Q(Desire)

Dakota Johnson in Fifty Shades of Grey

Carla Juri in Feuchtgebiete (aka Wetlands)

Eva Green in The Dreamers

Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux in Blue is the warmest Colour

Monica Bellucci for Irreversible (though it was rape scene and not sex scene).


I might recall more later.

What a perfect list. Thank you.

Re: Actresses remembered for sex scenes
 

Google : Julie Christie + sex scene + 'Don't Look Now'

Re: Actresses remembered for sex scenes
 

google sex scenes movies and it will show up

I did, but it’s not the same thing. Some of these actresses are virtually unknown anyway, and only became marginally known after the said sex scenes. I wanted reasonably mainstream actresses in whose case the sex scene just overshadowed other work.

To answer the question I believe you're asking, I do think that it's less common that actresses are known for "that scene".

For example, I know that Dakota Johnson was in a movie with lots of sex, but I'm not aware of a specific scene or element of a scene that is notorious.

Maybe it's that sex is more normalized in terms of how often we see it as content outside of erotic thrillers, but even when a film gets attention for its sexual content, I don't feel as though the actress involved then only gets regarded for that one thing.

On the other hand, when you talk about Meg Ryan are you referring to the scene in the diner? And when you talk about Sharon Stone are you referring to the "no underwear" moment? Those are memorable, iconic film moments, but I'm not sure I'd think of either of them as "sex scenes".

You’re right, they’re not full-on sex scenes as such - I was asking the question in relation to a particular discussion, it would really take way too long to explain the context, but in short, someone was arguing that a sex-related role/scene would get an actress remembered for that particular thing and ‘overshadow’ the rest of her career. I was wondering whether that still applies.

I do agree with what’s been said above, and in my own mind, Monica Bellucci is most associated with Irreversible, out of all the things she’s done, and the same goes for Eva Green (whom I love) and Dreamers (even over Casino Royale). These are just the first points of reference. You’re spot-on in that sex is no longer ‘shocking’ in itself.

The Sharon Stone "no underwear" moment in Basic Instinct was the first thing I thought of when I saw the title of this thread.

See! Thank you, my point exactly @Takoma11. It’s probably a bit imprecise, but that’s the kind of association I had in mind.

Re: Actresses remembered for sex scenes
 

Not that the actresses were only remembered for the sex scenes... but a couple I remember are...
Kim Basinger in 9 1/2 Weeks (1986),
Jessica Lange in The Postman Only Rings Twice (1981)... and for being undressed by King Kong in 1976! ;)
Maria Schneider (I think?) in Last Tango in Paris (1972)

Denise Richards in Wild Things.

The Jessica Lange scene in the kitchen in The Postman Always Rings Twice
is one of my favorite sex scenes EVER...smoking hot!!

Elizabeth Berkley Showgirls...and now that's the last thing that she's remembered for.

I mean, Denise also played Christmas Jones the Bond girl... but I concur.

It's funny that you mentioned Dakota Johnson...I don't remember a single significant sex scene in Fifty Shades of Gray

I mean, I also understood exactly which two scenes you were referencing.

But I'd go back to the idea that they were both iconic movie moments that were sex related. They were novel, memorable moments because they were surprising and shocking. Both of those moments have been endlessly referenced/parodied. You could similarly argue that Demi Moore is most famous for her pottery wheel scene in Ghost.

I'm just not sure that it's about the actresses so much as it is about the films in which they appear. Meg Ryan probably has the most "ownership" over her iconic scene. So it might also be that movies themselves in the more current filmscape haven't generated iconic sexual moments at that same level. I'm trying to figure out how best to articulate this, but when someone says "Sharon Stone" I actually don't just think about Basic Instinct. And when someone says "Meg Ryan" there are plenty of things I think about, with the diner scene being part of the mix.

In parallel, I don't feel like actors these days are as strongly associated with catchphrases in the same way that they used to be. But that might just be the telescoped perspective on the past. Think about phrases like "I'll be back!" or "Yippee-ki-yay". It doesn't seem to me that you get actors/actresses as strongly associated with a line of dialogue.

Natalie Portman in Black Swan :eek:

Re: Actresses remembered for sex scenes
 

This one may be a little out there...
But the actress's name is Jeannie Linero.

(Before I go on, anyone care to take a guess?)




If not her name, then her face is most definitely remembered by most who've seen the movie for her role in the scene.

Kate Winslet in Titanic.

I seem to remember her more for dancing on her toes...which looked painful!

What movie was that in? (I remember a dancing scene in Titanic, but it didn't look painful.)

I think that was Titanic if I remember correctly.

It's been a while since I watched Titanic. Maybe it's time for a rewatch because I don't remember that scene.

I don't remember it too well either, but while I don't remember her dancing, I think she showed somebody that she can balance on her toes with ease. There may have been more to that scene though.

Re: Actresses remembered for sex scenes
 

Jennifer Connelly in Requiem for a Dream (2000) comes to mind.

In Titanic, Kate Winslet goes to the lower, steerage decks and attends a festive party with immigrants. They're playing music, dancing to a fiddle, and she takes off her shoes and sways to the music then and does a toe stand. Which really looked painful!

I don't really have a suggestion (I don't think I could pick Dakota Johnson out of a line up, let alone tell you what film(s) or scenes she was in) but I do wonder if the prominence of sex and sexuality in everyday mainstream life means that the kind of scenes/films which 'made' an actress before or gave her notoriety on which to build the following career (Sharon Stone, Hedy Lamarr, Jane Fonda, Kim Basinger, Rebecca Dumornay are the first which spring to mind) simply don't have the impact anymore because you can (and often will) see similar stuff in music videos or on TV, let alone the constantly availabe, never ending amount of easily accessable material on the internet. There's no need to 'pretend' to be interested in art house, European film or seek out exploitation films if you can see exactly (and only) what you want anonymously and in secret via the internet.

I don't mean that the scenes themselves no longer happen, just that the impact is negated. Kind of in the same way the erotic thriller dies out in the late 90's/early 90's. I'm sure there are still erotic thrillers made, just not in the numbers that were becasue there isn't the money in them there was.

too bad....that killed her career

I think monica bellucci for malena is more famous.....it gives me creeps knowing that weinstein company made that movie...pervy harvey must have done something.

Re: Actresses remembered for sex scenes
 

Does Ned Beatty count?
(I didn't think so... but ya'll know what I'm talking about!) ;)

Re: Actresses remembered for sex scenes
 

Kim Kardashian.
She got famous for a sex tape, everything those idiots do is scripted and she must be a bloody good actress to make people think she's happily married to that moron.

Pia Zadora in "The Lonely Lady".

How did my thread get moved here? Magic...

Well, that woman ain’t no actress... or lawyer, for that matter...

Ludivine Sagnier in "Swimming Pool".

Re: Actresses remembered for sex scenes
 

Shannon Tweed....her entire career.